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David G Baker
02-21-2012, 5:43 PM
In the past few months I have noticed that several of my battery powered wall clocks and some of my photo gear have had serious damage in the battery compartments caused by leakage. In all of the years I worked in broadcasting and the thousands of AA Duracell batteries that we used I never noticed any leakage. Does anyone know if Duracell has changed its manufacturing procedures to cause the leakage problem? I contacted them by E-mail and received an apology but no answer as to how to avoid the problem or what caused the leakage. The items are all located indoors in a home environment. Have any of you experienced similar problems with Duracell batteries?

Lee Schierer
02-21-2012, 6:30 PM
The company I used to work for built two AA processing machines for Duracell. They went somewhere in the states, then they were moved to Mexico and the last I heard they had been moved back to the states. Clocks are bad for batteries because the use so little power the batteries tend to stay in them a year or more and run until they are fully discharged. In most other applications you run the batteries dead in a couple of months or less. When you buy batteries look at the expiration code/date on the package and buy the ones with the date farthest from the day you are making the purchase, that way you will get the freshest inventory and be less likely to encounter aging problems.

Phil Thien
02-21-2012, 6:56 PM
In the past few months I have noticed that several of my battery powered wall clocks and some of my photo gear have had serious damage in the battery compartments caused by leakage. In all of the years I worked in broadcasting and the thousands of AA Duracell batteries that we used I never noticed any leakage. Does anyone know if Duracell has changed its manufacturing procedures to cause the leakage problem? I contacted them by E-mail and received an apology but no answer as to how to avoid the problem or what caused the leakage. The items are all located indoors in a home environment. Have any of you experienced similar problems with Duracell batteries?

Yes.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?178961-Leaky-alkaline-batteries&highlight=batteries

Matt Marsh
02-21-2012, 7:27 PM
Yes, but not with AA size, but with Ds, and it was with both Duracell and Eveready Powerhouses. Last summer we had two pieces of very expensive equipment at work damaged by Eveready Powerhouses. Here at home, Duracell Ds ruined two Maglights. All of the batteries were installed for less than a year. I made almost the same comment as you did, I can't remember experiencing a leak with any battery since the 1960s with my Johnny Express!

Jason Roehl
02-21-2012, 8:20 PM
Yep. I've had a Maglite get "welded" shut by (probably) Duracell batteries. I've put it in a vise and applied channel lock pliers to it (I'm no weakling, either). The cap still won't budge.

Jeff Nicol
02-21-2012, 8:21 PM
I started using the Rayovac batteries as they have a warranty on damage if it is caused by the battery, but you have to send in the equipment in for inspection (I think). But I had a set go bad in a trail camera, but there was no damage to the camera that I could not clean up (Corrosion). They sent me new batteries and were very helpful and polite. I still us them and they last just as long as the other brands.

I use mostly rechargeables now without any trouble at all.

Jeff

David G Baker
02-22-2012, 12:10 AM
I will give Rayovac batteries a try next time I buy batteries and will look for expiration dates. Thanks guys. I have a very expensive light meter that I remove batteries from after each use due to the fear of corrosion.

Brian Brown
02-22-2012, 12:11 AM
For the last 6 or so years, I have had the same problems with Eveready. I am curious where you buy your batteries? I get mine at Sam's club, because I use so many. I have been wondering if battery companies make a cheaper version for the big box stores, and a higher quality for other stores. I wouldn't be much of a mental reach since nearly every other company makes two versions of their products to make the price point for the Borgs.

John McClanahan
02-22-2012, 8:06 AM
In past years I have had more problems with Rayovac than Duracell and Energizer combined. I had Rayovacs leak in the motor drive of my film camera before they died. Just my experience.

For AA applications, I have found the lithium batteries to be the best insurance against corrosion. They seem to last long enough to offset the higher cost.

John

David G Baker
02-22-2012, 10:33 AM
Brian B.
I get my Duracells at Walmart, same source as Sam's Club. Never thought about quality difference depending on which retailer sold them. I use a lot of AA batteries and agree that Lithium would be a better choice for expensive equipment even if they cost more.

Chuck Wintle
02-22-2012, 12:44 PM
i never had a duracell leak in any of my electronic stuff like remote controls, remote mice etc. maybe they have moved some production to China and the quality is poor?

John McClanahan
02-22-2012, 9:30 PM
I know of an Energizer plant in a small town an hour away. They make alkaline AAA, AA,C and D cells. As far as I know, there is no cheap quality versions made. Doing so would risk cheapening their brand name.

Brian Elfert
02-23-2012, 11:18 AM
There seem to be a lot of stories about the same items being made to two different quality standards depending on the retailer. A lot of people think this is true of faucets sold by the big boxes. The same part number faucet may be sold by a plumbing supply house and also by the big boxes. If the part number is the same, does anyone really think the big box model is going to be different than the plumbing supply house model? The manufacturer would have a heck of a time with warranty and parts sales if the same part number was built with different parts internally. They would probably also open themselves up to lawsuits I would suspect.

Now, the faucet at the big box may have a different part number and be built special for the big box market. A faucet manufacturer who builds inferior products with the same brand name for the big box market risks destroying their reputation just to gain a few more sales.

alan miller
03-02-2012, 4:06 PM
I had three 3d maglites ruined with duracell's.

Frank Stolten
03-05-2012, 2:37 AM
I've had leakages, some serious enough to ruin the device, with all the major battery brands so I don't know that Duracell is
any worse than other brands. Now, I periodically check all devices with batteries to try and catch the problem before it gets serious. It's a real pain to do that but it's better than having some expensive items ruined.

Gary Hodgin
03-05-2012, 4:49 AM
Yes, I don't know if the leakage problem applies to other brands. I've gone with Duracell for the past several years because I thought I got better life out of them. But, just the other day I noticed leaks in a flash light that I was checking out when we received a tornado warning. This wasn't the first time. Batteries are a pain.

Kevin W Johnson
03-07-2012, 4:05 AM
Alkaline batteries produce hydrogen as they discharge, either thru use or self discharge as they age. I'd venture to guess that the formulation has been changed, and whatever ingredient is used to combat the hydrogen formation has been decreased.

It's a wonder they just didn't follow the lead of ice cream, orange juice, and other producers and just make them smaller. :p

Lex Boegen
03-07-2012, 7:26 AM
Just a WAG on my part, but I've noticed many batteries boasting on their packaging about using less (or no) toxic metals, making them more landfill-friendly; so it wouldn't surprise me if shorter life and/or more corrosion was a byproduct of those changes.

John Coloccia
03-07-2012, 7:49 AM
Funny. I've had numerous leaking batteries in the last couple of years. Prior to that, the last leaky batterie I can remember is from my childhood. I guess I'm not the only one after all. How pathetic. I'm trying to remember if I had any problems with Energizer batteries. I think all my problems were with Duracell. Still, Rayovac's guarantee is reminiscent of the days when companies actually stood behind their products. I think I will switch to Rayovac.

Kevin W Johnson
03-07-2012, 11:14 AM
Just a WAG on my part, but I've noticed many batteries boasting on their packaging about using less (or no) toxic metals, making them more landfill-friendly; so it wouldn't surprise me if shorter life and/or more corrosion was a byproduct of those changes.

I believe 1996 was the cut-off for mercury in alkaline batteries, most battery manufacturers packaging have just "joined" the "green bandwagon" while the products were essentially on the wagon long ago. I suspect the leakage has to do with recent changes aimed at making the production cost of the batteries cheaper.