EEVblog #1274 - Long Term Alkaline Battery Leakage Testing

[timelessbeing]

Would you trust a modern alkaline not to leak over 10 years?

Of course not.

There are examples here on the EEVblog where people are finding them leaking before they've even been installed in any device...

I know. Scroll up and you'll see examples I posted on this page.

I'm still not going to waste money on lithium. It's cheaper to buy a new clock.

[timelessbeing]

The benefit of lithium in that application is having more energy so they last longer.

marginally in these applications

[SilverSolder]

[...]
I'm still not going to waste money on lithium. It's cheaper to buy a new clock.

But that takes effort to do.

I pay myself $100 an hour for anything I do that I don't enjoy.  So, spending 20 minutes finding, ordering, and hanging a $5 wall clock actually costs me nearly $40 by my calculation!  So, a lithium battery is easily worth its price to me, if it stays in service significantly longer than the alternative.   

Your calculation may be different, if you have a hobby of searching for clocks and hanging them up, then a lithium battery doesn't make sense, you'd probably change the clock before the battery drained anyway!

[timelessbeing]

well if you pay yourself  then you'll get your money back. Also, your rates are a rip off.

[coppice]

I pay myself $100 an hour for anything I do that I don't enjoy.

If I have to pay me $100 an hour, I find I'm overpriced, and the work gets outsourced.

[SilverSolder]

It's a good way to think about if something is worth doing or outsourcing.

Basically, is it easier to make the $ to pay someone to do it, than it is to do it yourself?

If I like doing it, I charge very little per hour so I am quite competitive.  If I really hate it, the rates are even worse than already quoted, and someone charging hundreds an hour can get my business! 

[timelessbeing]

It's a good way to think about if something is worth doing

Is it though? How much do you charge to put away the dishes or do the laundry? Your life sounds expensive.

The lithiums will last 15% longer, saving me a grand total of 2 seconds per year for swapping batteries.

[SilverSolder]

It's a good way to think about if something is worth doing

Is it though? How much do you charge to put away the dishes or do the laundry? Your life sounds expensive.

The lithiums will last 15% longer, saving me a grand total of 2 seconds per year for swapping batteries.

They will last 15% longer in your application.   In my ultra low current drain application, I expect them to last 2x, maybe 3x longer - essentially, I expect them to last the full 10 year shelf life.

[timelessbeing]

Well according to Energizer datasheets, the lower the power requirement, the smaller the capacity advantage.

[SilverSolder]

I'm just looking at the same datasheets...    Shelf life: 10 years.   That's at least 2x longer than alkaline, perhaps 3x in some cases.

So, if you only draw e.g. 50mAh per year...  the lithium battery should last the full 10 years, whereas an alkaline will self destruct in 3 - 5 years.

[timelessbeing]

"should"
we already know what their promises are worth.

[SilverSolder]

Let's resume this thread in 2027, that's when mine will all be 10 years old! 

[timelessbeing]

9V (true) batteries are not immune either.


A whole box of them .... dead and leaky

[BravoV]

9V (true) batteries are not immune either.


A whole box of them .... dead and leaky

Meh ... just the box, thats nothing, compared to the casualty I suffered.

More details here -> YARA2 : 9V Alkaline cells do leak, check your expensive gears often guys ...