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  • Author Author: shabaz
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Leaking Alkaline Cells

shabaz

I just opened up a (semi) expensive bit of equipment and discovered the Duracells inside had leaked with the typical

white powder (potassium hydroxide) : (  and corroded contacts in the battery compartment as the result.

These ones were dated 'best before' March 2024, and had been inserted for less than a couple of months (and had just average use

during this time).

 

I was wondering what experiences others have had, and if they have successfully brought product liability charges against the manufacturer.

In the UK, a manufacturer can be held responsible for their faulty product, and any damage to property or to people (pure economic loss is not covered -

i.e. down time, loss of earnings, etc). However I expect in most cases the manufacturer just settles before a claim is raised in court.

 

I believe it is well known that Duracell batteries leak (something they don't mention in their bunny commercials) - so I always try to purchase Energizer or

other brands, but sometimes stores only have the Duracell option for alkaline cells : (

 

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  • in reply to jw0752

    Hi John,

     

    Excellent, that will be interesting to do!

    First part of the autopsy will be to take photos of the battery as-is, and then photos after cleaned up of the white powder, and then I'll try to peel off the label to see the metalwork quality.

    Then, should we slice it into some cylinders, or axially or first try to unplug the end?

    I'm not sure what is safest, but I will wear gloves and glasses and perform the operation outdoors in case things get hot or worse.

    I saw this video on battery construction: https://youtu.be/ksxSOwA933M

    but not found any literature on what precautions to consider when opening up an alkaline cell - a lot of the dissection information out there only refers to zinc carbon.

  • in reply to mcb1

    Hi Mark!

     

    They were installed in a receiver spec'd at 110mA nominal, so low risk of overheating. That would be an interesting experiment though, discharging Duracells through a low resistance for some time and then leave them and see what happens after a few months.

  • in reply to shabaz

    Hi Shabaz,

    I like your idea to check one out internally. I am going to dissect one here in my shop and I will post the autopsy pictures. You can do the same and we will see how consistently they are manufactured across the globe.

    John

  • in reply to shabaz

    The discharge of the internals may not be due to running flat.

    They could have overheated and then discharged.

     

    The white deposit often cleans off with hot water ... (obviously depending on how well you can isolate the battery compartment)

    You will need to neutralise the acid that is contained in the white deposit .... baking soda is always in the cupboard.

     

    I haven't really seen any issues here, but then most of my batteries over the years have been cheap sourced or nicads.

     

    Mark