Duracell AA Battery Leakage

[David G Baker]

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]

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]

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/showthre...ight=batteries

[Matt Marsh]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I had three 3d maglites ruined with duracell's.

[Frank Stolten]

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.