I once worked with a component engineer who once told me that if it has a battery in it it WILL leak. Count on it.

 

For long term items, such as thermostat, sump pump monitor, fire alarm, water alarms, I have switched to the lithium batteries from Energizer. They have yet to leak. Alkalines will just plain leak and I had actually set a calendar reminder to replace all alkalines every year to avoid damaged items. Lithiums are $1.94 vs $0.68 for alkalines but no more cleaning/repairing/trashing damaged items is worth it. That said, still use alkalines in heavy use items like kid's toys and TV remote where they will get depleted within a year. My experience is alkies leak when sitting unused or in extremely slow drain situations.

 

Please don't go political here with a IMO poor Segue to talk about Elon Musk.

 

Please don't go political here with a IMO poor Segue to talk about Elon Musk.

Comment edited.

 

Recently I had an Energizer AAA make a loud pop a few hours after I removed it from a wireless mouse. I stored the batteries in the garage over the winter but apparently the storage temperate for alkaline goes down to -40C so I didn't think there would be an issue.

It gave me a pretty good scare because I tossed the battery on my bed for disposal but forgot about it until it popped. I should have taken a photo but didn't want to fiddle with it in case it exploded. I did some light research and I'm not sure what caused this. The only potential abuse was cold storage for a few months.

 

It gave me a pretty good scare because I tossed the battery on my bed for disposal but forgot about it until it popped. I should have taken a photo but didn't want to fiddle with it in case it exploded. I did some light research and I'm not sure what caused this. The only potential abuse was cold storage for a few months.

Did Any materials came out from the battery case?

 

I have converted most of my AA batteries in my house (in clocks and alarm sensors) to low-leakage (precharged) NiMh rechargeables as they pay for themselves in a few years, and I've never experienced one that leaks (can't say the same for alkalines).
Also like not adding a dozen or more batteries to a landfill every year.

 

I use Eneloops too, great technology.
https://www.panasonic.com/global/energy/products/eneloop/en/lineup/eneloop.html

 

I use Eneloops too, great technology.
https://www.panasonic.com/global/energy/products/eneloop/en/lineup/eneloop.html

That's impressive ... say I were to use one of those AA batteries in an ordinary wall clock. How long would it last before it needs recharging?

 

That's impressive ... say I were to use one of those AA batteries in an ordinary wall clock. How long would it last before it needs recharging?

I note all the marketing material promoting Enerloop is focussed on the advantages in high-discharge applications, where NiMH obviously is going to win out.

An alkaline battery at extremely low discharge in a clock will have a similar capacity to the Eneloop (~2000mAh) so I would guess a similar amount of run time (or better, even). There's a lot of ill-defined variables there, though, so possibly best determined empirically.

 

I note all the marketing material promoting Enerloop is focussed on the advantages in high-discharge applications, where NiMH obviously is going to win out.

An alkaline battery at extremely low discharge in a clock will have a similar capacity to the Eneloop (~2000mAh) so I would guess a similar amount of run time (or better, even). There's a lot of ill-defined variables there, though, so possibly best determined empirically.

Thanks, my question is more related to its rate of self-discharge than its actual capacity

 

Thanks, my question is more related to its rate of self-discharge than its actual capacity

https://eneloop101.com/batteries/eneloop-test-results/

ENELOOP 10 YEARS SELF DISCHARGE TESTS
Which rechargeable battery lasts the longest?
Regular Eneloop AA have a proven history of being the best and most reliable NiMH batteries that last the longest. Below we show some tests done on 10 and 12 year old Eneloops. See the results yourself.

Rechargeable battery with lowest self discharge
Here we have the true LSD King of NiMH batteries. The LSD discharge test was performed by Grant, from getpreparedstuff.com with a UltrasmartCharger. The cells were new in package, and dated July 2007 which make them just over 10 years old. The result is a discharge capacity 1147mAh at a discharge current of 400mA, which is an amazing 60%. And likely only lost 10% in 10years. This almost looks unbelievable.

 

I used Duracell 9V batteries for years...they don't leak.
But I have noticed the life expectancy doesn't seem to be as long as it used to be.

I've had more than a few leaked Duracell batteries that would beg to differ.

 

I've had more than a few leaked Duracell batteries that would beg to differ.

I haven't had a single one.

 

I haven't had a single one.

Glad to hear it, but don't be surprised when you do.

 

When did this change?

For years (decades), Duracell has been my near-exclusive battery of choice, with Energizer being the go-to alternative if Duracells aren't available. I've never had problems with either, and I've had plenty of batteries that sat in my refrigerator until well after their expiration date and still worked fine (though I'm sure with a loss of capacity). Never a leak until now. The batteries that I've been using are all older -- I stocked up on most sizes about five years ago and ran out of AA and AAA batteries near the end of last year and bought a couple large packages of both (AA from Duracell and AAA from Energizer). It's those new batteries that aren't lasting and are leaking.

What are the good quality alkaline batteries now?

A long time ago (talking 30 or 40 years ago), you couldn't beat Radio Shack's Enercell batteries. But even if they were still around, I'm sure they would have cheapened them up to the point of uselessness by now.

I've been assuming that nearly any other battery brand I might try is likely a re-branded cheap Chinese crap brand. Like so many things (tools, DVD players, etc.) it seems you can't trust the old quality-name brands any more.

Interesting- my experience has been opposite. Energizer better, Duracell crap, even though they are both probably (ultimately) made by the same company. If you go back far enough, a company's name-brand battery was usually the best- that changed somewhere along the line, and it is now usually the worst, IMHO.

I've learned the hard way- If I don't use it after a month, I take the battery out. Having a battery corrode in a $1,000 Fluke test set was enough to make me make that decision, as well as in a labeller, and a camera, and a few other things.

 

say I were to use one of those AA batteries in an ordinary wall clock. How long would it last before it needs recharging?

I'm testing that now with the Amazon basics NiMh batteries.
The claim is, they hold 80% of their capacity for 2 years, so roughly a 10% loss per year.

 

All battery types will eventually leak in the right conditions.
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/cl511-battery-replacement.164695/


NiCads were left uncharged for years. The crystal growth cancer.

 

say I were to use one of those AA batteries in an ordinary wall clock.

I've had an atomic wall clock in the kitchen for over 18 years. I replace batteries (regular batteries, not rechargeable) on average once every two years, best I can guess. The #1 thing I hated about that clock was having to reprogram it every time I changed batteries. So I installed a capacitor; off hand I don't recall size or type. I can now pull the batteries out and replace them within 20 seconds and the clock remains programmed. One thing I have NOT experienced with that clock is batteries leaking. I WONDER IF - - - the cap is doing something to prevent leakage. Logic would say "No". But evidence, anecdotal, suggests there might be a possible benefit. To prove that out - I'd have to set up very long term experiments. Something I neither have the time or desire to do.

Just thought I'd throw this out there.

 

When I turned it on -- the damn thing came on!

Many times the "off" state is not really off for the battery. A slow continuous discharge (hi Z short, "sleep power") then turns into leaking. I bet ya the DMM you have has a really good "off" state, possibly a rotary switch to completely cut the batt out. I have meters that only have digi push button for on-off. If I don't use them often I will pop batts out. Many meters these days come with Lithium batts buried inside the case.

All battery types will eventually leak in the right conditions.

Probably out-gassing, and the use of cheap metals on the ends causes the blossom corosion.

Going to get worse if we levy a tariff on China. Cheap is going to become an extinct word.

That's interesting, I already had the notion the China stuff in US was already "expensive" junk, meaning already paying too much, now it will become "very expensive" junk.

Bought a pack of 10 button cell batteries (CR2032's) on Amazon. Used one. A few years later I needed another. The remaining 9 were all dead.

I bought a 50pack of Energizer 2032's, had them for about 2yrs now, used about 10 of them, the rest still seem ok.
The days of "licensed" and/or "authorized" seller needs to come back. Amzon does not support that attribute, I wonder why