General > General Technical Chat
30 year old AA cells
Alex Eisenhut:
AAs didn't always explode into a giant ball of chemicals after a few weeks... Found these in the battery compartment of a small radio. Barely some corrosion, still measure 1.5 volts open circuit. :clap:
Made in U.S.A. I wonder how many of these small batteries are still made in the US?
Didn't measure how much current they can still put out.
magic:
I have seen AA cells which made it for over 30 years in a calculator and still worked (enough for a calculator) and weren't even corroded. But those were Japanese :P
edpalmer42:
Those are carbon-zinc cells. I've seen both carbon-zinc and zinc chloride cells (usually marketed as 'heavy duty') that have a very long shelf life. I have a couple of Radio Shack Enercell Extra Life (zinc chloride) cells that have a date on the bottom of 08-98. Not only are they free of corrosion, they still work! It actually says "Miracle Seal" on the side. They're N cells that I use in a Fluke Temperature Probe.
They're probably still made in the millions. They're cheap to buy, available everywhere, and most people don't know the difference between 'heavy duty' and alkaline. Their in-service life is much shorter than alkaline.
Ed
Circlotron:
--- Quote from: edpalmer42 on September 21, 2020, 05:12:21 am ---Those are carbon-zinc cells. <snip> Their in-service life is much shorter than alkaline.
--- End quote ---
I read somewhere that carbon-zinc and alkalines have approximately the same Ah capacity at low drain e.g. a clock that runs for 12 months. At high drain a carbon zinc falls flat on it's face though.
Alex Eisenhut:
--- Quote from: edpalmer42 on September 21, 2020, 05:12:21 am --- It actually says "Miracle Seal" on the side. They're N cells that I use in a Fluke Temperature Probe.
--- End quote ---
Oh yeah, I found a good old Pocket Repeat game at my Dad's place too, that one had a green 9V Radio Shack cell in there with the Miracle Seal. It measured 9V open but was unable to power the thing. Also no leaking.
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