New 9V alkaline battery at 9.6V? Used to be ~9.3V

[jolshefsky]

I was wondering if anybody knows why Duracell ProCell alkaline 9V batteries have a higher voltage now? I've been buying them for the better part of 10 years and for all that time, every single one had a new voltage of 9.20-9.35V (in circuit, light load ~20mA). The last pack I got had a different shape and the voltage on each one was around 9.6V. Is there a new alkaline technology around?

[Zero999]

Pot luck?

9.6V seems like a reasonable voltage, which is 1.6V per cell.

Could it be the ambient temperature at the moment? I've heard it's quite hot in many parts of the US, at the moment, as it is in Europe: there's one massive heatwave going on in the northern hemisphere!

[Cyberdragon]

We'll have to compensate for higher battery voltages due to global warming.

[alank2]

Fresh Duracells are almost always 1.64-ish V which *6 is 9.84V.  Could the 9V you used before have been older?  Maybe some procells were aged ones?

[BrianHG]

Just read the datasheet: https://d2ei442zrkqy2u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PC1604US12141.pdf

Loot at the last graph, as the temperature rises, 9.8v at room temp, could be as much as 10v on a hot day.
Look at the speed that that voltage drops to a normal value, just leave the battery sitting on the shelf and this top voltage will drop over time.

[BrianHG]

And no, there is not a new alkaline technology.  In fact, all the duracell types are bogus, they are all basically the same no matter what the advertisers and prices might lead you to believe.

Even the Quantum datasheets are bogus.  The modified the vertical axis scale compared to their other data sheets to make it look like the battery has a lower impedance, but, convert the scales, and zoom into the .pdf and notice the photo-shopped painted in line over the original screenshot measured line from the measuring instruments and it turns out the double priced quantum batteries are identical to the regular cheap duracell coppertop versions.

Energizer does the same BS, only the lithium AAA batteries deal better with high current loads, or, very low temperature environments.  But in low current room temperature applications, Alkaline actually outperforms the lithium.