DuraHELL batteries

[NoisyBoy]

There already was one dated back to 2012, but the case was dismissed in 2015.

I guess our best option is to vote with our wallet, to pick something that does not destroy our equipment and expensive electronics. 

Nimh and lithium cells are also my go-to, depending on how often they get used.

[james_s]

Anyone ever had one of the lithium AA batteries leak? I've encountered several vintage computers that were thoroughly destroyed by leaking lithium thionyl chloride cells but I think the 1.5-ish volt cells are much more benign.

I've used them in the past in a few things but was not all that impressed with the value for the price. Currently the only thing I have them in is the flashlight I keep in the emergency kit in my car.

[SilverSolder]

The Lithium primaries have a long calendar life span in low current applications, so I've put them in all portable meters etc. -  also smoke alarms (there are 9v versions of these things).

They also work well when it's really cold, for example outdoor temperature sending units during winter months. 

Anything that uses the batteries quickly (i.e. faster than a few years!) is not a good candidate for these things (Eneloops are your friend).

[james_s]

I tried them in smoke alarms once years ago, they were expensive and supposed to last 10 years but I think I only got about 5 years out of them before they started beeping. Now I use NiMH in my smoke alarms too, when the first one starts to beep I swap in the spare and then cycle each through the charger, I typically get about 9 months out of the batteries I'm using.

[SilverSolder]

Most of my alarms are powered from the mains, with the battery acting as backup only, so chances are I'll see the full shelf life...

Even for purely battery powered ones, 5 years is ok by me.  That's still a lot of messing around with step ladders etc. saved. 

[JimS]

I quit using Duracell's around two years ago.
After having to replace the furnace thermostat, a mini mag light and a Direct-TV remote.
Found leaking ones in my parts storage cabinet/drawer.
Cleaned up the mess made in customer owned equipment.

Purged all Duracell's and I now use Panasonic / EverReady industrial or Ray-o-Vac.
I mostly use AA, AAA or 9V for home and work.
I found Digi-Key a good source and sometimes I use Mouser.

I suspect that they made a change to the formula used and/or the case design.
Or as another poster commented, went to the lowest bidder.

[james_s]

It seems like alkalines really started leaking a lot more after they all switched to mercury-free formulations. Prior to that I'd had some of them go many years without leaking. Not too long ago I found one of those green Radio Shack 9V batteries in something, I suspect it was the original from 1989-1990 when the thing was made, it was dead but still hadn't leaked.

[cliffyk]

I have been using Amazon's "Amazon Basics" house brand AAs & AAAs alkaline cellss (Cs, Ds and 9V batteries too) for a couple years now--never a problem and they last in service as long as anyone's.

A while back, in complete violation of what my gut was telling me¹, I  bought a pack of Harbor Freight's  "Thunderbolt" AA cells--complete junk, the first two from the pack were dead, of the remaining more than half were dead. Closer examination revealed almost all had "frosting" around the bottom (-) seals. Returning them I found that 2 of 3 packs on the rack were showing the same signs of leakage. Cheap alkaline button cells (CR-2032, -2025, -2016, LR-44, etc.)  are pretty much the same, all leaking when you buy them...

--------------------------------------------------
¹ - I have found that if you do what your gut tells you, you might be wrong--however if you do not follow it's guidance you probably will be wrong. So the real choice is between "maybe" being wrong and "probably" being wrong.

Sort of like buying "the cheapest there is": Doing so will very likely get you the "cheapest there is"--it's not always true, but it is true often enough that one should pay heed.

Many years back IBM salespeople, while helping customers deal with sticker shock, always stated: "No one was ever sorry they bought the best there is."

[SilverSolder]

[...]

Many years back IBM salespeople, while helping customers deal with sticker shock, always stated: "No one was ever sorry they bought the best there is."

The problem with Duracell is that their marketing department is very good - they understand that a slick looking product sold at a premium price will, to most people, look like "the best there is" and people will choose that product over cheaper ones that are actually better!

Economists have a word for this, it is called the Veblen effect.

[james_s]

Most of my alarms are powered from the mains, with the battery acting as backup only, so chances are I'll see the full shelf life...

Even for purely battery powered ones, 5 years is ok by me.  That's still a lot of messing around with step ladders etc. saved.

Yeah if I had to mess with ladders I'd probably see things differently. I can reach all of my smoke alarms standing on my feet except for the one in the guest room downstairs which has a slightly higher than normal ceiling, I need a step stool for that one. I prefer the mains powered type but my house was built in 1979 and has only one of those, I later added a battery powered alarm in every room.

[George Edmonds]

Hi

I have seen exactly the same behaviour, the worst part is that they also appear to out gas a corrosive and conductive gas as well as leaking.

George  G6HIG in Dover

[CDaniel]

Probably they did the external metal shell thinner and thinner , or cheaper alloy , as you can imagine the "economy" in large volume is huge . And for the majority of customers that don't keep them for long this is not a noticeable issue 

[madires]

Or they are trying to figure out how much cheaper they can go to maximize profit before ruining the brand. Anyhow, I prefer store brand alkalines from Aldi, IKEA and Lidl because they offer the best performance to price ratio and don't leak more often than premium priced brands. AFAIK, there are only a few battery manufacturers left and brands simply order batteries with specific specs, similar to component suppliers in the automotive industry.

[cliffyk]

Probably they did the external metal shell thinner and thinner , or cheaper alloy , as you can imagine the "economy" in large volume is huge . And for the majority of customers that don't keep them for long this is not a noticeable issue 

Most consumer grade alkaline cells now have plated steel shells and end-caps--not a metal known for it's exceptional corrosion resistance...

[SilverSolder]

Or they are trying to figure out how much cheaper they can go to maximize profit before ruining the brand. Anyhow, I prefer store brand alkalines from Aldi, IKEA and Lidl because they offer the best performance to price ratio and don't leak more often than premium priced brands. AFAIK, there are only a few battery manufacturers left and brands simply order batteries with specific specs, similar to component suppliers in the automotive industry.

Looks like they have already managed to ruin their reputation among professional/knowledgeable people...  how long before it becomes general knowledge, and thereby ruins the brand?

[cliffyk]

Or they are trying to figure out how much cheaper they can go to maximize profit before ruining the brand. Anyhow, I prefer store brand alkalines from Aldi, IKEA and Lidl because they offer the best performance to price ratio and don't leak more often than premium priced brands. AFAIK, there are only a few battery manufacturers left and brands simply order batteries with specific specs, similar to component suppliers in the automotive industry.

Yup, East Penn/Deka and Johnson Controls (now Clarios) make 60%+ of the common "brands" of automobile batteries available in the U.S. Throw in Delco and Exide and you've got 90% covered...

[bc888]

I'm finished with Duracells after a near new package had a bunch leaking. My daughters eagle eyes spotted it. Costco refunded the money, and I decided to go eneloops. Sadly I forgot the Duracells in the Motorola walky talkys which were leaking badly when I finally found it. Deoxit brought one back to life, the other:-(  You can't give me free Duracells. They're trash.

One exception, HJK has cut a bunch of 9 volts apart, he points out that the Duracells appear better built, and I use them in my smoke alarms and have yet to see one leaking.

[SilverSolder]

I'm finished with Duracells after a near new package had a bunch leaking. My daughters eagle eyes spotted it. Costco refunded the money, and I decided to go eneloops. Sadly I forgot the Duracells in the Motorola walky talkys which were leaking badly when I finally found it. Deoxit brought one back to life, the other:-(  You can't give me free Duracells. They're trash.

One exception, HJK has cut a bunch of 9 volts apart, he points out that the Duracells appear better built, and I use them in my smoke alarms and have yet to see one leaking.

You should claim your free repair/replacement from Duracell...

[Fungus]

Looks like they have already managed to ruin their reputation among professional/knowledgeable people...  how long before it becomes general knowledge, and thereby ruins the brand?

So long as their legal defense costs them less than making decent batteries they'll just keep putting, "New formula, garanteed not to leak!" on the packages and the public will keep right on buying.

[zitt]

Something is definitely wrong here. There's no way every pack should be like that.

Nope; I agree the brand is garbage.
I have a pack of new from Costco Quantums.... and my wife was one the phone with Google fiber...complaining that she couldn't get the TV box to change channels. She confirmed she had replaced the batteries.

After sitting there listening to her fight with the phone tech... I told her to hand the controller to me. There was not red button flash when a button is pressed.  I opened the battery door; and one of the Quantiums had corrosion on it from the package causing to be insulated from the battery terminal.
I went to the package; and grabbed another battery with the same problem.

That is ridiculous; and simply put... I have better things to do than deal with batteries corroding in packages from a "reputable" manufacturer. Good buy Dur-a-hell!

[masterx81]

Also here, stop alkalines... Only eneloop (normal, not lite and not pro) aa and aaa. For 9v nimh energizer, and tried also with good success "9"v bonai li ion (if isn't a problem with the device the lower voltage)

[SilverSolder]

Also here, stop alkalines... Only eneloop (normal, not lite and not pro) aa and aaa. For 9v nimh energizer, and tried also with good success "9"v bonai li ion (if isn't a problem with the device the lower voltage)

How long do those Bonai 9V things stay charged (i.e. what is their self discharge rate like)?

[masterx81]

Also here, stop alkalines... Only eneloop (normal, not lite and not pro) aa and aaa. For 9v nimh energizer, and tried also with good success "9"v bonai li ion (if isn't a problem with the device the lower voltage)

How long do those Bonai 9V things stay charged (i.e. what is their self discharge rate like)?

Seem quite low, put one on my "second choice" meter last year, still alive. Ni-mh lasted at best 6/8 months between charges. Li-ion must have a low self discharge compared to no-mh (excluding eneloops, that have also a quite low self discharge). My meter sign low battery at around 7.2v, the bonai are rated at 7.4v, so are ok. They have also internal overcharge protection (not tried overdischarge). Tested them with "smart" 9v charger (opus BT-C900, that's not ideal as stop the charge using the internal protection of the batteries) and the amperage is the same reported. By now i'm satisfied. I'll let you know if the meter goes in flames due to the battery 
Now that you ask me, i have bought an electronic load, i can try to measure the remaining charge of the other bonai that i have charged and stored last year.

[free_electron]

energizer lithium. work like a champ

[SG-1]

Never had a Varta brand leak.  Used them in my camera flashes & other devices many years ago. 

Have not used them in years.