Duracell Battery

[Highpower]

I put new batteries in a Mini-Mag LED PRO AA flashlight 2 months ago and went to use it yesterday, and it didn't work. First things first - check the batteries. The end cap won't unscrew from the flashlight body.  

After finally forcing it to break loose, sure enough one of the batteries had leaked and eaten away the internals of the aluminum end cap and main body of the flashlight. "Freshness date" on the batteries - March 2026.

Duracell customer service was a complete waste of time of course. So it looks like it's on me to eat the cost of a new flashlight myself. (Surprise, surprise.) I cleaned it up best I could but the 'ring' that holds the contact spring in place is half gone. And the corrosion inside the tube has eaten 2/3 of the way through it. With the anodizing gone it won't be long before oxidation of the bare aluminum finishes the job. Never buying another Duracell battery again.

   

   

[EdK]

That sure is disappointing. Could they be fake Duracell batteries?

Ed

[Dr Stan]

I have purchased nothing but Eveready batteries for years. I had a lantern made by them which gave up the ghost. It was well out of warranty and they still replaced it free of charge. They made me a customer for life.

[arvidj]

I've become a fan of the Energizer Lithium batteries. Not inexpensive but they seem to last forever, especially in flashlights and stuff that is not used very often.

Example: I bought a Snap-on electric torque wrench more than 10 years ago. It uses 3 AA batteries. I take the batteries out of the wrench after using it (i.e. don't store the batteries in the wrench) but leave the batteries in the case. Have never replaced the batteries.

Example: Harbor Freight use to give away the ubiquitous blue LED flashlights. When the batteries that comes with them die I replace them with Energizer Lithium. Yes, I know I'm putting 3 dollars worth of batteries in a 10 cent flashlight. But the damn thing are much brighter after the change and seem to always work after sitting in the drawer for months ar a time.

[Highpower]

(06-30-2021, 09:10 PM)EdK Wrote: That sure is disappointing. Could they be fake Duracell batteries?  

Ed

Doubtful, but never say never right? We go through so many batteries here at home that I buy them from Amazon by the case (gross). Six boxes of 4 batteries each inside a larger brick (24 batteries total) and there are 6 of the bricks inside the factory cardboard case (shipping box.) The only difference is all the boxes are printed with "Not for retail trade" because they are not intended to be broken up and sold as individual packages. I'm not buying the old loose batteries thrown into a bag that a lot of 3rd party sellers are trying to unload.

I've heard for years that Duracell alkaline batteries are notorious for leaking. I guess I've just been lucky until now. I swore off of Ray-O-Vac batteries decades ago because of leakage issues. Looks like I'll be paying the premium for Energizers from now on though.

[Highpower]

(07-01-2021, 06:05 AM)arvidj Wrote: I've become a fan of the Energizer Lithium batteries. Not inexpensive but they seem to last forever, especially in flashlights and stuff that is not used very often.

Example: I bought a Snap-on electric torque wrench more than 10 years ago. It uses 3 AA batteries. I take the batteries out of the wrench after using it (i.e. don't store the batteries in the wrench) but leave the batteries in the case. Have never replaced the batteries.

Example: Harbor Freight use to give away the ubiquitous blue LED flashlights. When the batteries that comes with them die I replace them with Energizer Lithium. Yes, I know I'm putting 3 dollars worth of batteries in a 10 cent flashlight. But the damn thing are much brighter after the change and seem to always work after sitting in the drawer for months at a time.

The Energizer Lithium are great except for one drawback. They don't give any warning when they are about to die. They don't fade out, they just shut down instantly. At least when an alkaline gets weak you'll get a chance to catch it (hopefully) before it bites the dust.

That said, I use the Lithium batteries for my outdoor equipment (motion sensors and camera) because they stand up to temperature extremes MUCH better than the alkaline batteries. I tried using the Energizer Lithium in our smoke/CO2 detectors at home but found they don't last any longer than alkaline batteries in that application. So for 1/3 of the cost I went back to alkaline. I also had one occasion when the Lithium batteries died and never set off the "battery-low chirp" on the smoke detector, so I don't know how long they had actually been dead. Luckily I found it during a random battery check. I remove the batteries from all my equipment that sits unused for extended periods. Especially expensive stuff like my FLIR cameras.

I do have a couple of lights that I keep batteries in all the time (for things that go bump in the night) and don't want to be fiddling with batteries at 2AM when I'm half asleep. But I do check on them at least bi-monthly. All of my 'free' Harbor Freight LED lights are now loaded with rechargeable NiMH batteries. Yeah, the charge doesn't last a long time but disposable AAA batteries are getting too dang expensive to be throwing away.  

[Vinny]

You guys have some good luck with those HF flashlites. I usually end up dropping them within a week and they're done.

[Highpower]

(07-07-2021, 05:24 PM)Vinny Wrote: You guys have some good luck with those HF flashlites.

Most of the time I pick one up it doesn't work. Have to loosen up the tail cap and then tighten it down again before it will work. I'm to the point now where I automatically do that before I even try clicking them on.