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  • Author Author: dougw
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Miracle Batteries

dougw

My first digital multimeter was a Micronta....here it is, fresh from my museum archives:

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I remember being very impressed with its long battery life when I was using it decades ago, probably because it didn't use LEDs. But now I just turned it on and it powered right up, so I checked the batteries and they look pristine. The absolutely astounding thing is I believe these are the original Radio Shack Enercell Extra Life batteries bought when the meter was new! More than 3 decades ago! I did hang out at Radio Shack in the 70's and 80's but I definitely haven't bought batteries at Radio Shack for decades. I just measured the voltages at 1.54 V and 1.539 V.

Count me astonished, gobsmacked, flabergasted and totally blown away at how they can still be in this pristine condition. On the batteries it says they have a "miracle seal" - that is obviously not just hype. I have never seen any AA batteries sit on a shelf for a decade without dying and spewing their guts all over the battery compartment. I am going to have to see if these batteries are still in production - they are truly spectacular.

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  • That is really an impressive find, . My colleague recommended me these Energizer Industrial cells, which have a shelf life of 10 years. I bought a few of them to supply power to my IR thermometer ("No lies" IR Thermometer - part I ), which consumes just a few nA (more in Measuring nanoamps ) in sleep state. I will see, how they go, it has been just over a year since I installed them.

     

    Otherwise the troubles with leaking batteries over time are killing me. I have no idea what to do or how to prevent the damage. It happens all over and over again. Different cell types leak even if not completely discharged and still before the marked end of life date.

    I even thought about creating a spreadsheet with all the devices that use batteries and writing down the end of life of the batteries to prevent this, but it is not a definitive solution image

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  • That is really an impressive find, . My colleague recommended me these Energizer Industrial cells, which have a shelf life of 10 years. I bought a few of them to supply power to my IR thermometer ("No lies" IR Thermometer - part I ), which consumes just a few nA (more in Measuring nanoamps ) in sleep state. I will see, how they go, it has been just over a year since I installed them.

     

    Otherwise the troubles with leaking batteries over time are killing me. I have no idea what to do or how to prevent the damage. It happens all over and over again. Different cell types leak even if not completely discharged and still before the marked end of life date.

    I even thought about creating a spreadsheet with all the devices that use batteries and writing down the end of life of the batteries to prevent this, but it is not a definitive solution image

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