DuraHELL batteries

[SilverSolder]

The big brands can sometimes successfully sell "marginal" products at premium prices because most consumers are not aware of the "marginality".   

This doesn't just apply to batteries...

Caveat emptor!

[rsjsouza]

Interesting... Two 2018 Duracell batteries in their initial stages of leaking: (and a short youtube clip)






Contrast that to excellent quality 2013 Energizers still going strong on my mouse. These are from the era of excellent Energizer batteries.

[SilverSolder]

I don't think I have any Duracells left in any device now.   I even recycled all the remaining "new" Duracell alkalines that I had (about 20 cells) -  what's the point of taking the risk of using them?   Using them is like intentionally exposing yourself to Covid-19! 

[IanB]

If I have a piece of critical equipment I have started using the Energizer Ultimate Lithium's as I have never seen one leak. Also I use carbon zinc cells (the cheap ones from Dollar Tree) and have not had an issue with them. I have an Eveready D cell with a date code of 1948 on it that has never leaked. It is a standard LeClanche cell.

So I do not for the life of me know why they can't make cells that do not leak.

There is some physics and chemistry behind this.

Carbon zinc cells could leak when the electrolyte eats through the outer zinc electrode shell. However, they do not build up any gas pressure, and the electrolyte is a dry paste, so any leaking is just by creepage. Modern cells are packaged inside a steel outer casing which seals them and keeps the electrolyte inside. This is why modern carbon zinc cells are rarely seen leaking. No gas pressure and sealed outer casing.

Alkaline cells are built as a sealed unit, but they can build up gas pressure (hydrogen) inside while sitting around. There are chemicals to absorb the hydrogen, but if the hydrogen is produced too fast, or if the absorbing chemicals run out, then pressure will build up inside until the electrolyte bursts out. Due to the internal pressure, when the leak happens it tends to create quite a mess.

Lithium cells do not have much inside them that can leak, and have no gas pressure problem, so they are relatively safe.

NiMH cells certainly do build up gas pressure inside, but they are sealed very securely, so it will take an extreme event to make them leak. An extreme event could be severe overcharging or overheating. They are not likely to leak in normal use. (They are also quite dry inside, so there is not much to leak out anyway.)

[Bill158]

If you think that what happened to your remote or meter is bad trying getting one of these examples of CCC out of a AA pocket flashlight barrel!  I just had a DuraHell AA swell up inside of the barrel of a MAGLITE 2 cell flashlight and it was the top cell next to the lamp assembly.  I just bought it a few months ago for around $25.  I know I didn't leave the light on because it "turns on" by twisting the top assembly which also focuses the light.  It was OFF and besides I would have seen the light on because it is one of the newer bright LED models.  I just wouldn't come out!
So I had another MAGLITE just like this one.  I took it apart and figured out how to get the lamp module out.  It comes out through the bottom of the barrel.  So I got a nut driver which was about the diameter of the barrel and placed it at the top of the lamp assembly and began hammering down.  I figured the flashlight was junk now so why not try.  That cell was swollen in SO BAD that it took a real hard hammering many many times to get it to get to the bottom of the barrel where I could grab it with pliers and twist it the rest of the way out.  I guess I didn't do any damage to the lamp assembly because when I got it put back together and install 2 Energizer cells it worked just fine.
I have had more than enough of these pieces of DuraHell CCC also leak exactly like everyone has shown in their photos.  NO MORE for me!
Bill

[Red Squirrel]

Oh man yeah that would suck with a flashlight.  At least with remote I have decent access to get the cells out.  Surprisingly the damage was minor after.  I was able to clean it all out. 

[rpiloverbd]

Original or knock-off?

[Cubdriver]

Original or knock-off?

I've bought enough at different times over the years from legitimate sources (big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes, not sketchy unknowns on eBuy or Amazon) that there's little or no chance that they're ALL knock-offs.  I'd bet that none were.  And they've been crap leak-wise for long enough that it's not an anomaly - it's crap design.  Pree-2000 cells found in old gear have much better structural integrity, and if they do leak it is a very small amount compared to what the current crop of AA/AAA cells are inclined to puke out.

-Pat

[Jeff eelcr]

I have seen 1 brand new one (AA size) putting out negative 1.5 volts.
Jeff

[IanB]

I have seen 1 brand new one (AA size) putting out negative 1.5 volts.
Jeff

Yes, that happens if you accidentally reverse the probes on the meter 

[SilverSolder]

 

I have seen 1 brand new one (AA size) putting out negative 1.5 volts.
Jeff

 

Was the plastic wrapper put on the wrong way round?

[staticresident]

I have very few items in the house that take primary batteries.   Almost everything gets NiMh batteries.  They save you so much money and headache.  Just have to cycle them every other month or so, and your good for years.

[wraper]

I have very few items in the house that take primary batteries.   Almost everything gets NiMh batteries.  They save you so much money and headache.  Just have to cycle them every other month or so, and your good for years.

What do you mean by that? They have about the same capacity as Alkaline and don't need any cycling. Unless you use non LSD cells which quickly self discharge for low consumption devices.

[wraper]

Pulled two of these Pairdeer AAA from a long forgotten Fluke Voltalert, batteries which originally came included. They have 06/2013 best before date printed on them. Still 1.54V and short circuiting gives 3A current. Good as new. Made by Zhongyin (Ningbo) Battery Co.

[MrMobodies]

I thought I got rid of the Duracells in the house as I now use Eneloops and I have a few Industrial/Procells lying about that I keep out when not in use but pulled this Duracell out of a microphone and spent the night cleaning it out.

Notice "Best Before Mar 2027" so it can't be old.

I looked around the house and found four Duracells some of which are newer and all tested good. I have binned them so they can degrade naturally without taking out anymore of my things.

[SilverSolder]

It is really irritating that they are unable to manufacture a quality product while at the same time charging premium prices as if they do.  Numpties.

[Cubdriver]

It is really irritating that they are unable to manufacture a quality product while at the same time charging premium prices as if they do.  Numpties.

I think we're the bigger numpties if we continue buying the damned things despite repeatedly having them puke corrosion on everything.  I finally got smart and completely ditched them as a brand about six years ago.

-Pat

[floobydust]

Duracell has been through so many acquisitions for decades, a few @hole owners. Sadly the brand is almost 100 years old and used to be excellent long ago.
1996 Gillette Company acquired Duracell, 2005 Proctor & Gamble, 2014 purchased by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns Mouser.
All they're interested in is maximum profit. Cheapen the product as much as possible and hurrah our scorecards look great.

I see it with many old brands that were very good product- they get acquired and then it's the race to the bottom for price and quality, exploiting consumer loyalty to a "brand name".
What a scumbag way to make money.

[MrMobodies]

I don't remember many Duracells leaking back over 20 years ago.

I did see many of these Panasonic red "Special power" batteries leak and some unknown extra/heavy duty brands.

[Cubdriver]

Duracell has been through so many acquisitions for decades, a few @hole owners. Sadly the brand is almost 100 years old and used to be excellent long ago.
1996 Gillette Company acquired Duracell, 2005 Proctor & Gamble, 2014 purchased by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns Mouser.
All they're interested in is maximum profit. Cheapen the product as much as possible and hurrah our scorecards look great.

I see it with many old brands that were very good product- they get acquired and then it's the race to the bottom for price and quality, exploiting consumer loyalty to a "brand name".
What a scumbag way to make money.

Sadly a fate that seems to befall many formerly well regarded and respected brands.  Porter-Cable is another that comes to mind.  They used to make excellent woodworking power tools - sanders, routers, that sort of thing.  Then they got bought out by Stanley (also formerly a well respected company) and became purveyors of a crap line of rechargeable cordless power tools sold by big box stores.  I seem to recall reading recently that they’d discontinued their line of routers.

-Pat

[SilverSolder]

And then they wonder why cheap Chinese knockoffs are so popular...   basically, consumers are discovering that in too many cases, the "known brands" are cost optimized down to being not much better than a cheap knock-off, and the price difference is purely due to the brand name!

[coppercone2]

Duracell has been through so many acquisitions for decades, a few @hole owners. Sadly the brand is almost 100 years old and used to be excellent long ago.
1996 Gillette Company acquired Duracell, 2005 Proctor & Gamble, 2014 purchased by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns Mouser.
All they're interested in is maximum profit. Cheapen the product as much as possible and hurrah our scorecards look great.

I see it with many old brands that were very good product- they get acquired and then it's the race to the bottom for price and quality, exploiting consumer loyalty to a "brand name".
What a scumbag way to make money.

Sadly a fate that seems to befall many formerly well regarded and respected brands.  Porter-Cable is another that comes to mind.  They used to make excellent woodworking power tools - sanders, routers, that sort of thing.  Then they got bought out by Stanley (also formerly a well respected company) and became purveyors of a crap line of rechargeable cordless power tools sold by big box stores.  I seem to recall reading recently that they’d discontinued their line of routers.

-Pat

If I recall the porter cable worm drive saws used to be considered legendary for things like patio construction. Very good mechanical drive, very robust chassis, hard to overload or jam *but they did have a grounding problem that made them less safe due to aluminum (or was it magnalium?) body* .. so they used to be able to spend a life of cutting 4x4, 2x6, 2x8 and being dropped from the first story all the time (i.e. cutting timber on the sides of houses from a ladder). Their downfall has something to with the Sears company?

[PlainName]

Dug out my old Gameboy DMG-01 to see if it's Ebayable and surprised to find a set of four Duracells in it (oops). No leak at all - could have been brand new if I didn't know better. Even more amazing is they still had more or less full charge!

Date code is 2005 so before the brand took a nosedive. Seventeen years! I might flog 'em on Ebay as vintage (probably fetch more than the Gameboy).

[james_s]

If you think that what happened to your remote or meter is bad trying getting one of these examples of CCC out of a AA pocket flashlight barrel!  I just had a DuraHell AA swell up inside of the barrel of a MAGLITE 2 cell flashlight and it was the top cell next to the lamp assembly.  I just bought it a few months ago for around $25.  I know I didn't leave the light on because it "turns on" by twisting the top assembly which also focuses the light.  It was OFF and besides I would have seen the light on because it is one of the newer bright LED models.  I just wouldn't come out!
So I had another MAGLITE just like this one.  I took it apart and figured out how to get the lamp module out.  It comes out through the bottom of the barrel.  So I got a nut driver which was about the diameter of the barrel and placed it at the top of the lamp assembly and began hammering down.  I figured the flashlight was junk now so why not try.  That cell was swollen in SO BAD that it took a real hard hammering many many times to get it to get to the bottom of the barrel where I could grab it with pliers and twist it the rest of the way out.  I guess I didn't do any damage to the lamp assembly because when I got it put back together and install 2 Energizer cells it worked just fine.
I have had more than enough of these pieces of DuraHell CCC also leak exactly like everyone has shown in their photos.  NO MORE for me!
Bill

I think I would try hydraulic pressure. Hose clamp the flashlight body in the end of a hose and pressurize it, If it's stick as tight as yours was it might blow the body out of the end of the hose before the battery budges but then again it might not, a manual grease gun can develop hundreds of PSI.

[nukie]

FYI I have two new Energizer 9V lithiums leaking blue syrup from two different batches but they two years before expiry.