EEVblog 1653 - Alkaline Battery Leakage Testing 2 - Electric Boogaloo

[floobydust]

The battery seal is basically a plastic piston with a ring of bitumen. The KOH electrolyte is very caustic and attacks many materials.
I can't see this seal design able to "burp" without leaking a bit, so that means it's the gas generation that is the first problem.

My old (Duracell) AAA seal pics, pretty much the same as Energizer:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/alkaline-battery-leakage-testing-part-1/msg2253834/#msg2253834

This was in a research paper:
"Gas can form in all of these [alkaline] batteries due to the corrosion of zinc.  Zinc in the battery gets corroded into the electrolyte as the battery is used. This corrosion can cause electrolysis and can cause the generation of hydrogen gas in the canister. Build-up of hydrogen gas can cause the battery to leak, limiting the ability of the battery to function.  Mercury suppresses this zinc corrosion, which is why it is added..."

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1349-energizer-battery-leakage-made-in-usa/msg3348732/#msg3348732

"... The closure members, since they are usually exposed to the elements contained within the cell are required to be substantially inert to such elements. As a result it has been preferred to utilize plastic e.g. nylon, polyethylene, polysulfone, and other generally inert materials for such members. In many cases, however the aforementioned materials have shortcomings such as cold flow under temperature cycling and imperfections in the surface area thereof. The metallic surface areas in contact therewith generally have imperfections as well. Thus, a cell electrolyte such as the common alkaline KOH utilized in many commercial cells (an aggressive leaking material) may leak, over a period of time, through such imperfections. Such leakage is in fact exacerbated by the hydrogen gas evolution common in alkaline cells which tends to push the electrolyte through the path of least resistance, i.e. the seal."
"... The aliphatic or fatty polyamides are coated on sealing members such as grommets by means of a relatively expensive and complicated spraying procedure."

"alkaline electrolyte battery container, cover, etc. tends to crawl the wall by capillary action to wet the sealing piece has the property that oozes to the outside from the sealing part of the battery. This behavior metal surface is connected to the negative electrode, i.e. it appeared strongly to the negative terminal side of the sealing portion, prone to leakage. This is commonly known as liquid leakage due to electrical capillary action..."

Ref. to the patents https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/alkaline-battery-leakage-testing-part-1/msg2251275/#msg2251275

[xrunner]

Dammit now I'm pissed! I went searching for different brands of battery I have in use and found this mess. A Yamaha remote for a stereo amp with Rayovac AAA batteries. One of them puked all over the spring connector. Just for fun i'm going to contact Rayovac and see what they do about it. The batteries have an expiration date of Feb 2031.

 

Referring to the post above, I actually thought I'd try to get a refund for the damaged Yamaha remote from Rayovac. I know - I'm a masochist. I spent over a week of sending pictures of the damaged remote and leaking battery (they only do one question and reply per day), seemingly like I was at a legal trial. Well today they actually said they would send me a check for $14 to cover the cost of a new replacement remote which is available on Amazon.

Miracles never cease! 

Thank you for your patience. Regarding your case, we would like to inform you that, as compensation from our side, we will be able to offer you a $14 USD check. Kindly reply to us confirming your mailing address, full first and last name, and if the $14 USD check will be a suitable reimbursement. Once we received your approval, please allow up to 21 business days to receive the product replacement check via USPS. If you have any questions or concerns, please respond to this email for further assistance.

 

Sincerely,

Rayovac Consumer Services

[amyk]

If you want absolutely guaranteed leakage then use zinc/carbon zinc/chloride: run them totally flat, and they will all shit their guts out, every single one.

That's because the zinc casing of those cells is actually one of the electrodes and gets consumed in use.

[Xena E]

If you want absolutely guaranteed leakage then use zinc/carbon zinc/chloride: run them totally flat, and they will all shit their guts out, every single one.

That's because the zinc casing of those cells is actually one of the electrodes and gets consumed in use.

Historically didn't happen so much I understand, however the thickness of the zinc has been reduced to the point it can be guaranteed that it looses integrity at end of life.

As @coppercone2 said they are so thin that they can be crushed between forefinger and thumb...( if they're ones that don't have a steel jacket, yes.)

I have seen them leak around the + terminal seal whilst still servicable.

[Kleinstein]

I do believe the theory, (not mine), that alkaline cells are most prone to leakage if intermittently discharged, or placed in very low drain devices such that they exceed their shelf life.

This makes perfectly sense. The current pulse can damage the oxide layer on the zinc and this way allow corrosion on the zinc to restart and produce hydrogen. Chances are large pulses with very low current in between could be especially bad. 

TV remotes are somewhat prone to cause leakage on the batteries. They take high current when used and essentially non most of the time.

[coppercone2]

but I found TV remotes just leak a little but some devices cause them to spew their guts. In a tv remote I expect slight contamination, but some other stuff looks like cells get gibbed

[Brumby]

......., I actually thought I'd try to get a refund for the damaged Yamaha remote from Rayovac. I know - I'm a masochist. I spent over a week of sending pictures of the damaged remote and leaking battery (they only do one question and reply per day), seemingly like I was at a legal trial. Well today they actually said they would send me a check for $14 to cover the cost of a new replacement remote which is available on Amazon.

Miracles never cease! 

Thank you for your patience. Regarding your case, we would like to inform you that, as compensation from our side, we will be able to offer you a $14 USD check. Kindly reply to us confirming your mailing address, full first and last name, and if the $14 USD check will be a suitable reimbursement. Once we received your approval, please allow up to 21 business days to receive the product replacement check via USPS. If you have any questions or concerns, please respond to this email for further assistance.

 

Sincerely,

Rayovac Consumer Services

Well, congratulations!   

However, that would be a simple business decision.  The $14 is a lot cheaper than further correspondence.  Mind you, the initial exchanges would be necessary to weed out the less "masochistic".   

[Fungus]

Just a note:

I was cleaning something up yesterday that somebody else (not me) had let batteries leak into and I'd read on the Internet that lemon juice gets rid of the green gunk easily.

I figured I'd give it a go.

The affected battery terminals were the pull-out type so I pulled them out and dropped them in a yogurt pot with lemon juice and damn if it didn't make the green gunk vanish in no time, and no scrubbing needed.

They were still tarnished underneath but the green gunk just disappeared.

Try it!

[Leuams]

I was itching for a simple and easy project over the holidays so I built up one of these circuits and have left it running since the end of November. Today I just noticed the Rayovac batteries are leaking. I got one (more like 3)!