We've had Duracell AAs in several devices that have leaked badly. The latest were back ups in a weather radio that would have been used infrequently during power outages. The expiration date was 2023 so they weren't terribly old. I thought Duracell was a good brand, is this typical for all alkalines?

We've had good luck with Panasonic Eneloop rechargeable AAAs and am considering relpacing all of our alkalines with Eneloops.

All alkaline batteries are prone to leaking.

Duracell's are better than most (or at least they were back before I abandoned alkaline batteries altogether), but that doesn't change the reality of alkaline batteries.

Skip the alkaline batteries in any electronics that matter, and instead use nickel-metal batteries like your Eneloops, or lithium batteries like Energizer Ultimate or Duracell Ultra. Well worth the slightly higher price.

I don't use alkaline batteries at all, any more, with the exception of 9V and the little coin cell/button batteries.

I use Eneloop and Energizer NiMH rechargeable AA and AAA batteries in things that are used frequently (e.g.: TV remotes) and Energizer primary lithium AA and AAA batteries in things that are used infrequently (e.g.: my shooting earpro).

I don't even use the alkaline batteries that come free in new TV remotes and the like.

Too many leaking incidents.

They certainly seem to have gotten worse. I used (5+ years ago) to ONLY use Duracell batteries, and used tons of them, and very, very rarely had any leak - like once or twice in 10 years and hundreds of batteries.

Over the last couple of years I have had Duracell batteries leak at least 10 times while using fewer batteries than I used to.

For many years Duracell's never leaked. About 6 to 8 years ago ALL Duracells I purchased leaked badly after a year or two. I switched to the cheapist Ray O Vac at Walmart & never again had a problem. I now use Energizer Lithium & have no problems.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I don't use alkaline batteries at all, any more, with the exception of 9V and the little coin cell/button batteries.

Yep. Considering lithium batteries are only about $1 more apiece, it's well worth the small extra cost to avoid having to deal with leaks.

Lithium batteries can also be stored for longer without self-discharging.

Win-win.

I’ve had unused Duracell batteries leak in the package before their expiration date.

They USED to be good.

At the recent Sig 365EDC event I spoke to the owner of Targets USA who modifies CED shot timers to work with Praxctiscore on Tablets. He will not recommend or use Duracell batteries. The problems of them leaking became too widespread. I've had several leak over a period of time. Lithium is used in everything these days. I buy them in bulk.

They're junk.

3 days ago I phoned Duracell because they ruined one of my Pulse OXs.

The batterires were put in about 2 months ago and are dated with good through March 2027. They leaked and ruined it.

They're sending me a check for $19.00 to buy a new pulse ox.

I should have thrown out all of my Duracell batteries. I had these and figured I'd leave them in for a few months then replace them.

I've been buying the Everready Energizer Lithiums in AA & AAA, they can't leak, they claim, because they are a different chemistry entirely.

It's just sick how many things have been ruined because of Duracell crappy batteries. Remotes, flashlights, whatever. They suck.
.

I was replacing the corroded AAs with some relatively new (Exp date 2029) Duracells that were still in the package. One of them was badly corroded on the negative end. They were purchased a year or two ago.

I switched most everything to Eneloop's a few years ago. The couple things that I use alkaline's in don't have batteries in them unless I'm using them (multimeter, studfinder, etc.) Even with those I've bought Energizer because Duraleaks seem to leak all the time for me.

Agree. Duracells were once very good, but not so much now. I have had several pieces of gear that had them installed and all were damaged by leakage. I use Energizer now.

Energizer>Duracell. Duracell's leak much more often in my experience.

Duracells have ruined some of my stuff by leakage. I don’t buy them anymore. Energizer Lithium at Sam’s Club only in my precious electronics.

Echoing the other replies. We're using lithium primaries or Eneloop rechargables. They don't call alkalines "alkaleaks" for nothing.

We had a huge problem with Duracells when living in Hawaii, including ruining remotes and a flash unit.
Now use Energizers, so far have not had a leak.
For critical uses (e.g. photo equipment) use Energizer lithium batteries.
My wife just now found a Duracell leaking in an electric candle. Expiration date 3/2027.
I told her she must not buy more Duracells at Costco no matter how cheap.

I'm always bitching about unreliable Chinese products, so it was disappointing to see they are "Assembled in USA", whatever that means.

I've lost so many things due to duracell batteries leaking, I will no longer use them.

I’ve read several threads similar to this one. They bemuse me.

I use many Duracell alkaline batteries. Lots of AA, several D, one 9V (for my Fluke multimeter). I don’t recall any leaks. A couple of years ago I did switch to Duracell Procell AA batteries because they seemed to last longer.

I replace all of my batteries with fresh ones every two years, even if they’ve had little use. And I keep my stock of unused batteries in my refrigerator. I’m not married.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I’ve had unused Duracell batteries leak in the package before their expiration date.

They USED to be good.

I've had this same experience and have written off Duracell alkalines. I've had better luck w/ generic alkalines from Harbor Freight and Dollar Tree than w/ Duracells.