Household Batteries

[jaydee325]

This is about AAA, AA, C, and D household batteries.

I've got a LED flashlight in the shop. Obviously, the AA batteries last a looong time. Couldn't remember when the last time was I changed the batteries. Still bright light. Upon checking them, I saw they were starting to leak. Fortunately, I caught it in time before any damage was done.

I've checked the rest of my LED lights with replaceable batteries and all was well. I'll be checking LED lights with replaceable batteries more frequently from now on!

YMMV!

 

[tibadoe]

Always a good plan to keep an eye on your battery stock. If you forget to, the nasty corrosion surprise can do some damage or destroy the item completely. I have lost a few items by forgetting to do so. The el'cheapo batteries for me seem to not last as long and leak more often. Unfortunately, the price $$$$ of name brand batteries has gottion on up there.

 

[Deere Dude]

I had nightmares' using eicheapo batteries ruining equipment by leaking acid quicker than normal. DURACELLs only for me now.

 

[Alan W.]

Ive had terrible luck with duracells.
I went to rechargeables and have never had one leak.
Going through some old infant toys of my son for the Salvation Army the other day. Found some that still had the rechargeable batteries in them. No problems. My son turns 21 this year so they have been in there awhile.

 

[LittleBill21]

go eneloop and never look back, i prolly have close to a 100

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[grsthegreat]

Try lithium batteries. No leaks

 

[TractorGuy]

Been using harbor freight batteries for a while. Not had any of them leak.

On tools I don't often use I store them with the batteries removed.

 

[ray66v]

I have found the Ray-O-Vac alkaline batteries to be hard to beat for the money, especially when HD has them on sale.

White vinegar and a Q tip is effective for removal of the potassium hydroxide "leakage" in battery powered devices.

Wet it down a few times, and it will slowly dissolve it.

If the chemical hasn't damaged the metal contacts, it will be as good as new.

 

[RalphVa]

One of the reasons to use rechargable batteries: no leakage. That's all I use.

 

[mark in portugal]

We're used to changing the batteries when the light gets dim; LEDs keep on working as the voltage drops; and that when batteries tend to leak.
I had it happen too.

 

[cqaigy2]

One of the reasons to use rechargable batteries: no leakage. That's all I use.

That's been my experience as well.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

I think about 75% of the Duracell and Costco batteries we've had over the past 10-15 years have leaked to some degree and caused damage. A few years ago we started only buying Energizer and I can't recall a single battery that has leaked since.

 

[Oaktree]

One of the reasons to use rechargable batteries: no leakage. That's all I use.

I have not had good experiences with rechargeables. They seem to go flat quickly, and never seem to take very many charges before they lose almost all capacity. I'm talking AAs here...never tried any other sizes.

Try lithium batteries. No leaks

I've been going in that direction too. Cost a bit more, but last and last and last.
That's all I'll use in my camera. Alkaline's are good for maybe 10 shots, then pfffft.

I have found the Ray-O-Vac alkaline batteries to be hard to beat for the money, especially when HD has them on sale.

I've had mixed results with them. They are a bit cheaper than Duracells or Energizers but don't seem to last as long either. Also seem more prone to leaks.

Been using harbor freight batteries for a while. Not had any of them leak.

Has anyone tried their new-ish line of batteries? Any good? The old Thunderbolts were OK for remotes or LED flashlights but that's about it. Didn't get very good service in clocks with them, and you'd think anything would work there.

 

[5030]

Been using harbor freight batteries for a while. Not had any of them leak.

On tools I don't often use I store them with the batteries removed.

I'm with you or at least my wife is. If they are running an Inside Track special on Batteries, my wife is on it. Never had a leaker yet.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

I once bought a bunch of BJ's (food warehouse) branded batteries. Some leaked after they'd been on the shelf for a while, but in some packages all of them would lose voltage in a pretty short time. (Like a whole package of 9V batteries, all useless). That should not happen with alkaline batteries.

So I vowed never to buy the BJ's branded batteries again, and paid the higher amount for packs of Duracell batteries (40+ cents per AA with coupon), thinking "brand name, never had trouble with them before"). But... the duracell batteries don't like something about my cool basment, where I store them. (You'd think cool would be good, no?) So most of the pack started leaking shortly after they'd been in the basement. These batteries have a "use-by" date of 2028. I tried to get BJ's to take the Duracells back, but they said they couldn't accept them... "because of the pandemic". What utter BS.

Anyway, guess I'll try Ray-o-vac next, which I've had a lot of sitting on the shelf, but not long enough to be conclusive. But I also look for value, some of these batteries are really expensive at HD and other sources.

On your LED flashlight, yeah, they're great. They _do_ get dim as the batteries lose voltage, sometimes so slowly that you don't notice until one night you'll be wondering why you can't see anything in the light.

On top of the advice of using a little vinegar to remove the alkaline battery leak stuff, I use a sandpaper roll on my Dremel (or cheaper equivalent) tool and just shine up the battery contacts in the device if they've had some battery acid on them. It has to be a pretty nasty leak in a hard to reach spot for me to give up on my devices.

 

[TractorGuy]

Has anyone tried their new-ish line of batteries? Any good? The old Thunderbolts were OK for remotes or LED flashlights but that's about it. Didn't get very good service in clocks with them, and you'd think anything would work there.

Since they did away with the 20% off and other coupons they seem to have offered better pricing on their "better" Thunderbolt Edge batteries. I haven't really noticed if they are better since I no longer have a camera that uses AA. My wife uses them up mostly in her little fake candles.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I've tried them all but you can't beat these

 

[Oaktree]

I've tried them all but you can't beat these

Laugh if you want, but I've actually gotten pretty good life out of those no-name Chinese batteries that come with gadgets that have remotes or the ones in HF flashlights. Granted, these are light-duty devices but they do seem to work for a long time, and aren't any more leak-prone than the name brands.

 

[ray66v]

I've had mixed results with them, [Ray-O-Vac]. They are a bit cheaper than Duracells or Energizers but don't seem to last as long either. Also seem more prone to leaks.

Not been my experience. I have a battery powered blender bottle I have to use every morning, to mix a medication. It takes 6 AAA batteries. The Ray-O-Vacs last just as long as the two top brands in this application, which is about 6 weeks. I am currently testing the "Ultimate" ones to see if they pan out.
I've never had a problem with them leaking. But, I know any brand will, if you leave them in a device during long term, until well after they are dead.

 

[Tinhack]

The worst batteries for leakage in my experience has been the Duracell. I quit buying them. I've never had the Energizers or the HF Premiums leak. I've pretty much bought Energizers (Alkaline and Lithium) for the past 6-7 years because I get them delivered via Amazon cheaper than at the local stores.

If your device sits unused for long periods, use Lithium batteries. All my flashlights have Lithium batteries. The one's in vehicles go for years unused and last.

I've tried Amazon's brand of AA and AAA Alkaline batteries but found they don't last very long. A few in the boxes even seemed to be DOA.