Think twice before you buy Duracell batteries

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... and the batteries that don't leak explode when shorted:

I've bought Duracell AA alkalines that leaked withing a week or three after installation. No leaks in the package seen, although I'm not surprised.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Don't short them, then. :) How did the short happen? An experiment?

Reply to
JW

IME: They're no less likely to leak than cheap brands if left in equipment for a long time.

The real disappointment is they don't last significantly longer than the

Reply to
Benderthe.evilrobot

Too lazy to read the link but I know for a fact that name brand batteries (Duracell and Energizer specifically) are known to be counterfeited. Not saying that has anything to do with the link but just throwing that out there.

Reply to
ohger1s

Jeff-

My experience over the years is that any Alkaline cell can leak and ruin whatever it is in.

I have switched to "Energizer Ultimate Lithium" AA and AAA cells. They claim to have more capacity to justify higher cost. Perhaps they do, but my main concern is leakage. So far, I have not had any leak. Do you have an opinion?

Fred

Reply to
Fred McKenzie

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A quick check shows there is no evidence whatsoever in the OP link to suggest that these batteries are indeed Duracell in genuine packaging.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

We used to buy them all the time and they never leaked when fully discharged but nowadays they do. Caused me lots of problems with various bits of kit. they must have changed the construction or suppliers.

Reply to
Rheilly Phoull

Is that to say you concur that they are counterfeit ?

We have had counterfeit semiconductors, and mostly they are not just an emp ty package, there is a transistor in there just it is inferior to the JANX or JEDEC or whatever makes the numbers standardized.

So say you own a battery company making an inferior part what do you do to make more money ? Just change the label, right ? Well that is how business is now. It's like they might take a 2N3055 and relabel it MJ15024. So they get six bucks instead of three bucks.

Before they did that they talked with the lawyers and the accountants and f igured out what the gamble was, how much would it cost the in lawsuits in t he worst case scenario and what are the chances of that happening ? Believe it or not I am about to get involved in exactly that about some amplifiers that need a physical modification because the bias regulators are not held to the heat sink. You know that is going to fry out. At this time, they ha ve been lazy and uncooperative so I will put it to them - "Just sell them, and call them refurbs and give a very short warranty, you hurt your company name but we get these things the hell outta here". Actually I want a diffe rent job, these people are too "corporate" for me.

They give lip service but that's it. They come bitching about how stuff is piled up and I say "Buy some shelves, even those elcheapo plastic ones woul d work from the DIY that you stick together with the tubing". It has been t hree weeks. No shelves.

So they get from me what I get from them. I am just going to fix the obviou s problem and ship them. Then they can refund all that money. It is not my problem.

Reply to
jurb6006

Is that to say you concur that they are counterfeit ?

Look, I haven't the time or inclination to wade through your pages of waffle, but yes, Counterfeit is a definite probability.

As is trolling. i.e. trying to discredit something or other via a newsgroup.

Don't buy it.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

The pictures were supplied by a friend. His desk is a mountain of junk, some of it conductive. Brand new battery got tossed onto the pile, where the exposed leads were shorted by something. Some time later (delay unknown), there was a loud bang. It took him some time to find the culprit, which was then photographed.

Unfortunately, he tossed the batteries before I could get my hands on them to determine if they were real or counterfeit. I can't tell from the photos. I bought an identical battery from a local retailer, shorted the terminals with a #12 solid copper wire, and waited for the explosion. Nothing but some noises from venting gasses, some smoke, and plenty of heat. No bang. So, it might have been one cell with a blocked vent plug, or possibly a counterfeit battery.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Agreed. I have a fair collection of flashlights that were ruined by junk batteries. However, I don't keep records and have no data on which cells are the culprits, or how long one can expect them to last before leaking. Mostly, I use Costco Kirkland brand, which seems better than most, but still eventually leaks.

They're very good batteries, but also rather expensive. In AA, these are $2/ea versus about $0.40/ea for Kirkland AA alkaline.

Where possible, I prefer to sustitute rechargeable NiCd or NiMH batteries for alkaline, or purchase something that runs on LiIon. So far, the Eneloop NiMH cells, which have a very low self discharge rate, seem the best compromise between performance, life, self discharge, and cost at about $2/ea.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

IN addition to posting the source URL link, you should also write a summary so that we don't need to waste time to read the long chat log...

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Reply to
Mr. Man-wai Chang

A somewhat longer check found some interesting items about Duracell batteries. Draw your own conclusions from the anecdotal evidence:

"Duracell Batteries Leak In Normal Use, Class Action Claims"

Leaking Duracell battery video:

Quite a few consumer complaints about leaking batteries:

Photos of another Duracell battery leaks while still in the package:

Exploding AA Duracell:

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

A somewhat longer check found some interesting items about Duracell batteries. Draw your own conclusions from the anecdotal evidence:

"Duracell Batteries Leak In Normal Use, Class Action Claims"

Jeff, I think you will find that the OP posted photos of packaged unused batteries that had leaked before use.

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

Draw your own conclusions from the anecdotal evidence:

Jeff Liebermann snipped-for-privacy@cruzio.com

150 Felker St #D
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Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Anecdotal evidence" is a bit of an Oxymoron, surely?

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth Magennis

Not really, unless you prefer the quantity of evidence over the quality of evidence. The only problem with anecdotal evidence is the lack of a sufficiently large sample for the observations to be considered statistically relevant. However, that happens in a court of law all the time. For example, all you need is one witness and a corroborating witness to send someone to jail. That's no larger a sample size of the possible observations than the leaking Duracell in it's customer proof plastic packaging. Similarly, in civil trials, it's the preponderance of evidence that decides the outcome, which is nothing more than what each side can produce as anecdotal evidence. Much as I would like to have peer reviewed, authoritative, and properly documented evidence, with copious footnotes and sources, it's unlikely to happen on the internet. If you don't like my anecdotes, you can always get your own.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

If you don't like my anecdotes, you can always get your own.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Reply to
Gareth Magennis

Is that an invitation to exchange insults? Gosh, I haven't done that in maybe 10 years. I'm not sure I remember how to be abusive, abrasive, and obnoxious. However, I'll give it my best effort while attempting to stay on topic. Let's see... leaking Duracell batteries.

Kinda sounds like your ability to scribble something worth reading is running down. Since you're obviously running on Duracell batteries, I suggest you upgrade to something rechargeable, which should provide the necessary brain boost.

How am I doing? Your turn.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Better'n him. People forget. I know you are a Jew, but you are a USian Jew. That means that you got all the arrogance we got plus about 14 % more. See all the business owners you've run across in your life ? Well they are bus iness owners because they were too arrogant to work for anyone else.

That is one of the reasons jobs are never coming back to the US. They wat l ittle lambs, sheep, cattle to herd and work their money making machine. Rea d Sloman, to him if the government didn't say it it is not true. And the Na zis killed 6,000,000 Jews. Not 6,000,001 or 5,999,999, Ed Zachary six milli on. And note, even if is was more like three million which is a more realis tic estime, that doesn't make it right.

Like the WTC, anyone who questions the bullshit nd sketchy information pabl um put out to the public and has questions is a conspiracy theorist and wea rs a tinfoil hat.

I think people like that would be called authoritarinists. Never question a nything - as long as it is said by certain people. And whatever other peopl e say is utter bullshit.

It is common in the UK ad related places, and possibly North Korea. It is u tterly sickening.

I can tell that you got at least half of your knowledge by questioning ever ything. Here comes this sheep who says he doesn't want your help, as if Web ster is going to post an answer to this questions. Or General Electric engi neers or something.

BNrainwashed people like that detract from the value of Usenet and the inte rnet in general. But don't killfile them. They can be entertaining at ties, especially if we help.

Reply to
jurb6006

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