quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Start contacting Duracell about replacing those items......and I'm sure they'll bring their quality back.

I've had some AAA's leak, no issue with any of the other ones from Duracell.

Had a battery leak and swell in my favorite flashlight Duracell refunded the cost of the flashlight. I gave them the data off the battery (date and a code).
Then took the flasklight, determined I could clean it up and replace the switch. It's working now.

I've stopped using Duracell alkalines in anything that costs more than a few dollars to replace. Never had any problems with Energizers, in fact Amazon has Energizer lithium AA's on sale so I ordered a couple of cards of them yesterday.

quote:

Originally posted by Rinehart:
The old school military spec batteries were da kind.

I used to spend a lot of time on the water and we had as personal equipment those old school flyboy USGI SDU-5/E distress strobes. These things helped locate a number of folks in bad situations around the Outer Banks and elsewhere in blue water.



Don’t know who designed the batteries on these, but I’ve found NOS ones from years ago that still work and didn’t crack/bulge/ooze. They were the 6.0 v Lithium Manganese Dioxide battery design.
I wonder if the new mil-spec model batteries are as robust?

Finding those batteries are a pia....they make an adapter that makes it possible to use 123 batteries.

And regarding the leaking batteries, I thought it was just me...last 3-4 years I have seen 20 or more .....never had it happen before that.

There a bunch of Chinese knock off batteries out in the market place these days. Same with many of the poplar customer products. Chris

I only use lithium batteries in anything that I care about, or that's for serious use. Alkalines are relegated to stuff like cheap remote controls.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Anchor:
There a bunch of Chinese knock off batteries out in the market place these days. Same with many of the poplar customer products. Chris

True-but if Duracell investigates and then pays for repair or replacement of the damaged item, they are kind of implicitly admitting it was their crappy battery that leaked (and that it wasn't a knockoff).

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Anchor:
There a bunch of Chinese knock off batteries out in the market place these days. Same with many of the poplar customer products. Chris

True-but if Duracell investigates and then pays for repair or replacement of the damaged item, they are kind of implicitly admitting it was their crappy battery that leaked (and that it wasn't a knockoff).

AND, If they pay for enough damaged equipment, they MAY go back to making good batteries again.

Is the leak problem Duracell specifically, or is it that type of alkaline in general?

I have had Costco's Kirkland brand alkaline leak and ruin a couple of things.

Once, they paid for a replacement (it was a Garmin aviation GPS). Another time the batteries messed up a flashlight; one of the Costco people took the flashlight and cleaned up the mess, returned it to me in working condition and gave me some new batteries.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Is the leak problem Duracell specifically, or is it that type of alkaline in general?

I have had Costco's Kirkland brand alkaline leak and ruin a couple of things.

Once, they paid for a replacement (it was a Garmin aviation GPS). Another time the batteries messed up a flashlight; one of the Costco people took the flashlight and cleaned up the mess, returned it to me in working condition and gave me some new batteries.

It is a nature of Alkaline batteries. However, duracells USED to be the gold standard and flawless and never leak (well almost never). Lately they seem to be leaking fairly often or at least a lot more often than they used to.

I have had about 4 Duracell leaks in the past two years. I won't buy any more.

I removed them from everything and replaced them with Eneloops mostly. The expensive stuff (Surefire, Eotech) get lithium AA batteries. Seriously people,do not put alkalines in an EoTech! What are you thinking??!!I

I started using Amazon brand alkaline batteries for the kids toys and cheap stuff and so far so good, no leaks.

Hate to resurrect such an old thread, but it happens to be the most "on topic" of any I found in my search, so here goes...

Many posts have been made recently about leaky alkaline batteries, and unfortunately Duracell, which was once my "go to" battery, had risen to the top of the list! While I *thought* I had eradicated my home of all of the pesky things and replaced them with either rechargeables, or Energizers for low-drain stuff, there was one item I missed!

Am working on replacing a leaky water heater this morning and went into my shop for a saw to cut a PVC pipe. Glance up at my favorite clock, and "atomic" LCD wall clock that also shows temperature and a few other things, and the display was blank. I thought "Oh well, the batteries died, so I'll just pop in some new ones and get back to work". Opened the battery compartment and there were three Duracell AAs amidst a puddle of blue goo and rusty springs! Dammit... forgot about those, and now my clock is a mess!

Don't have time at the moment to do a thorough cleaning, so I dumped the batteries and wiped up the wet stuff with a paper towel, and will proceed the clean the contacts later when the water heater is done (see my new thread about products warranties and failures). If I can't get it cleaned up and working again, I'll let Duracell replace it! Dammit...

Just found my first 9v Duracell expanded and leaking. Never thought I would see a 9v!

I've had leakage problems with Duracells for ages; Costco has been the primary source of those. Mostly use rechargeables these days, as well as Energizers when I find them in bulk from trustworthy sources.

One thing I noticed about Duracells; if the device with them is regularly used the cells seem to leak far less. We have a few D-cell powered motion detector lights; I've yet to have any leakage issues with those since something/someone is always activating them. But the poor Maglight flashlights with the D-cells from the same batches are left mostly unused and just sit around...sure enough at some point they become victims of leaky batteries, especially the ones stored upstairs where them temps get hotter during the summer months.

I've tried to switch many of our lighter-use devices with Energizers or some rechargeable cells. Either than or make sure that a decent supply of vinegar is around to clean up the mess and electrical contacts and hopefully salvage the damaged device.

I've had problems with Duracell and Energizers. If a battery leaks and damages something I call to get it replaced (flashlights, other small stuff). I've found it easier to deal with Duracell for replacement. Neither pay shipping or tax on whatever you need to replace - sort of a bummer.

I've been getting away from Duraleaks for sometime, my daughter caught the last batch actually leaking inside of the package (Costco)

Unfortunately I didn't replace the Energizer Lithium's in my Eotech 512 soon enough. Fortunately the corrosion that ruined the springs was correctable by cleaning it with D5 and paying $18 (and freight) to Eotech for simply getting a new battery cover for it.

I've moved to Eneloops, Panasonics rechargeables that tend to not leak.

The Engergizer Lithiums leaked? I thought lithium batteries were better than alkaline because they didn't leak.

Good timing. Just pulled two from a battery powered device. Thought the batteries died but I found the beginning of leaking. Fortunately before any damage was done.

quote:

The Engergizer Lithiums leaked? I thought lithium batteries were better than alkaline because they didn't leak.

Yes, they do have that reputation. Yes 100% they leaked. Less likely to leak would be a better choice of words. A quick internet search will see that it happens to others: https://budgetlightforum.com/node/63880

If you stuffed them into an Eotech like I did, best to just take them out when you clean your weapon and put them in when you go to the range.

We stopped using Duracell many years ago. They are garbage.

I have always been afraid of trying rechargeable batteries, but maybe I need to.

quote:

Originally posted by Kilroy2721:
We stopped using Duracell many years ago. They are garbage.

I have always been afraid of trying rechargeable batteries, but maybe I need to.

You won't go back once you do. Eneloops are the rechargeable Panasonic brand that are the top rated. Cheaper in the long haul than Duraleaks and Costco occasionally has the kit on sale with the Panasonic charger. A close second are the made in Japan Ikea house brand.