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Author Topic: BATTERY DAMAGE  (Read 339 times)

K1QQQ

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BATTERY DAMAGE
« on: April 26, 2020, 09:38:33 PM »

Just a curious question. Right forum ?

Portable Radios. Batteries.

It is ancient knowledge not to leave batteries in a radio BUT does it really mean anything these days ?

I had a couple good dx portables destroyed by batteries left in them. Did not just eat the battery compartment.

BUT recent times I have not heard much about the subject. Nobody wants to take the batteries out every time you set a radio down you are using.

Do they make batteries better now ?


Just a warning. 2 of my brand new C Cranes I put to the aside for a month or so and I open the battery compartment to look and what ??? !!!!! It's like somebody poured brown water in there. (maybe they did)

Batteries tarnished and wet and battery case some liquid brown. I hope I caught it before it ate the radio or simply made it not work forever.


What the H do they put in a battery that would result in such ?


NOW the problem has been with DOLLAR TREE batteries. (Sunbeam?) A cheap solution if you have these stores all around you. I never saw a battery put out liquid so fast. Also recent checked voltage of new ones at the store and they flunked with the battery tester. These are the general purpose ones. I have had luck with the alkaline if you can find them.
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WA6LDQ

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #1 on: April 26, 2020, 10:37:30 PM »

Lithium AA’s or AAA’s never corrode and have very long shelf life. I never use anything else. About a buck each on eBay. Good luck.
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K6BRN

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #2 on: April 26, 2020, 11:37:30 PM »

Lithium batteries are pretty good, generally do not leak but are very expensive compared to alkaline batteries.

Alkaline batteries will leak caustic potassium hydroxide electrolyte from their relief valves sooner or later and it will crust up inside a device and corrode the surrounding metal.  But there is some GOOD news.  Potassium Hydroxide is a base and will be neutralized by a weak acid, such as the acetic acid found in vinegar.  In fact, inexpensive white vinegar will almost magically wash away the crust and leave the underlying case and metal quite clean.  I've restored all sorts of devices that looked hopeless by simply washing or soaking them in white vinegar, followed by a warm water wash.

Best Regards,

Brian - K6BRN
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K6BRN

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2020, 11:47:07 PM »

ADDENDUM:

While alkaline 1.5 volt AAA, AA, C and D cells seem to invariably leak, Alkaline 9V batteries rarely do in my experience.  I'm not sure why.  But it's a good thing, because 9V lithium batteries are about $7.50 each on Amazon.

Brian - K6BRN
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KD2TTM

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2020, 03:55:54 AM »

If I think a battery-powered device might sit a long time unused, I make sure it has lithium batteries in it.  Besides not leaking, they also have a 10+ year shelf life.

Yes, they're expensive, but probably not as expensive as the damage that could be caused by alkaline cells. 

I'm curious about the possibility of low self-discharge NiMH cells venting.  I use them instead of alkaline or lithiums in most  applications.  Any chance?
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K6BRN

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2020, 06:57:13 AM »

Robert (KD2TTM):

I use a lot of rechargeable NiMH Eneloop cells in household devices - I've never had them leak yet.

I HAVE seen very old NiCd cells leak.

Brian - K6BRN
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KD2TTM

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2020, 07:39:17 AM »

Robert (KD2TTM):

I use a lot of rechargeable NiMH Eneloop cells in household devices - I've never had them leak yet.

I HAVE seen very old NiCd cells leak.

Brian - K6BRN

I'm glad to hear that, Brian.  My experience is the same so far; I just don't have a lot of years of experience with them yet.

Bob
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W1VT

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2020, 07:43:43 AM »

I was cleaning my garage yesterday and turned on an old flashlight and it still turned on!  It had 2004 Duracells.  I opened it up and the batteries were still in good condition.  As it was a really cheap flashlight I just put the batteries back in and put it back where it was!

Zak W1VT
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K6BRN

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2020, 08:50:58 PM »

Thank you for sharing, Zak.  Perhaps alkaline batteries only leak in expensive flashlights?
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AC7CW

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2020, 05:05:15 PM »

Robert (KD2TTM):

I use a lot of rechargeable NiMH Eneloop cells in household devices - I've never had them leak yet.

I HAVE seen very old NiCd cells leak.

Brian - K6BRN

Love 'dem Eneloops! I've used them almost since they came on the market. I have had one or two start leaking but it was just a little oily feeling at the seam, they never leak and destroy anything. They are so inexpensive in the long run that it enables one to buy a lot of battery operated gadgets that one might otherwise pass on
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Novice 1958, 20WPM Extra now... (and get off my lawn)

WB6BYU

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2020, 08:50:40 PM »

I've had more issues with AAA types leaking sooner than anything else,
but any alkaline (including 9V types) can leak.   Especially with AAA
batteries in LED flashlights, I now take them out for storage, keeping
just a couple around handy with batteries in them.

Where practical, especially for expensive equipment that I don't
use often, I keep a set of batteries in a zip lock bag along with the
equipment.

Not say that all batteries leak - I just came across some that were
too old to have date codes that still worked fine.  It seems to be
some sort of probability function:  some cells just don't seal as well.
And heat seems to increase the chance of leakage.

I did pull some NiMh batteries out of a box from when we moved
and found at least one cell had leaked.  But they seem to go dead
before they leak, at least on the ones I've had.

I do have some lithium AA batteries for critical applications, where
either weight or storage time are important.  But a lot of my equipment
is more likely to run down a battery by leaving it on rather than
too much use, and the lithium doesn't give any advantage over cheaper
cells in that use case.

KB3UWC

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2020, 06:38:37 AM »

Here is my story about 9 volt Energizer batteries. First i had one destroy my $300 Mac tools automotive multimeter, I used at work. The battery was still in date. I was using the meter and it shut off. when i went to replace the battery, there was some corrosion on the clip. I tried to clean it off, corrosion had leached up the negative lead and corroded the wire  off the circuit board. The wires run under the display which would be almost impossible to get off the main board. Mac tools refused to even look at it, when they found out what happened.
 last year i bought a box of 12 energizer 9 volt batteries dated Nov 2022. I used a few of them in my metal detector (i always remove the battery from it when i am done). I went to replace the batteries in my smoke detectors, all 5 seemed to all be chirping with in a weeks time. I put in a new battery from the box i bought and it was dead. As were all the rest in the box. No more Energizer batteries for me
   Steve KB3UWC
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RENTON481

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Re: BATTERY DAMAGE
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2020, 09:25:43 AM »

I've had more issues with D cells leaking after long term non-use / storage than the smaller cells. But that's just my own experience.

It's probably a good idea to check the battery compartment in your radios during periods of non-use.
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