9v Batteries

The best brands are those that guarantee both their products and the device s they go into.

I once had a Civil-Defense surplus Geiger counter that I purchased for $10 at a surplus auction. It took two (2) D-size batteries, which I duly insert ed. My wife collected Fiesta-Ware at the time, and those pieces that were r adioactive would not be used for food purposes. Most of the time, the thing sat in a closet, until one day I took it out and checked it - to find out that the two Eveready Alkaline batteries had leaked all over the innards.

Off it went to Eveready. Ten (10) days later, I received a check for $368.9

7 + the original postage, and a polite note stating that the cost offered w as the original contract price to The Civil Defense people in 1963, and the postage - along with the admonition that I should not leave batteries in v aluable idle equipment. Point taken.

Some time later, a 4-cell Maglite with Duracell batteries went off to Durac ell. Took a bit longer, two (2) weeks. Back comes a new Maglite, and the ol d one fully cleaned and operating, together with fresh batteries.

Do you think that we will ever use anything other than these brands?

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

I was shocked to see the Kirkland leakage. I thought Costco chose better.

You might want to skip Maxell too -- every single one I've used has leaked, including when it was still in the package.

I also bought some of the Duracell 'Eneloop-like' batteries, which do NOT hold a charge for almost a year like they're supposed to; maybe a few weeks or months -- I use my camera infrequently now so I can't be accurate.

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Cheers, Bev 
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Depends on your application.

3 years ago I switched to EBL rechargeable lithium 9V batteries. I use 'em in low drain devices like multimeters. Haven't had to charge any of 'em yet. They're rated at 600mAh, but I don't have any experience with high drain usage. Downside is that your device has to work down to 7V or so. More expensive initially, but can have lower cost over the long haul.

Back in the day, I tried rechargeable 7.2V NiCds. Mostly useless. The 8.4V 7-cell NiMH were better, but self discharge was an issue.

Try Dollar Tree, fifty cents each. For best battery results, ANY brand, store in refrigerator crisper. Like new 1 yr later..

I did exactly the same thing. Most of mine live in small instruments, digital clocks, and portable radios now use EBL 9V LiIon batteries. However, I have seen a few problems:

1. Some bulge when recharged. If there's expansion room in the battery compartment, no problem. Otherwise, it might jam the battery in the battery compartment.
2. I bought 10 of these batteries for about . I've only used 6 of these so far. 1 has failed the first time I tried to charge it. The other 5 have survived about 3 recharges each without incident. Reliability and quality seem to be an issue with EBL batteries:
3. Discharge test shows a bit low at 550 ma-hrs.
4. One of my cheap DVM's (Harbor Freight) quits before the battery hits minimum voltage (about 6.8V).

EBL seems to be the least disgusting of the various 9V LiIon batteries: "#45 - 9V Li-ion batteries: capacity testing"

The good news is that I no longer trash instruments and equipment with leaky alkaline batteries:

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
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Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

I did have a problem with the first two I bought. EBL sent me two more, no questions asked. No problem with those.

I took the bad one apart. Turned out to be a balance problem and the battery management shut it down. Balanced the cells and now it has been working fine since.

I didn't buy the charger. I just charged 'em at low current to 8.2V.

Any battery leaks due to a spurious // resistor. When in use, there also is a spurious series resistor.

On equipment where the 9V battery is attached with a snap on connector with wire leads, I put the battery in a small zip-lock bag. Of course it can't be done in units where the battery connections are fixed to the case.

Regards, Tim

Never had a serious problem with 9V batteries.

It is the AA and AAA DURACELL and KIRKLAND batteries that leak big time.

Still looking for reliable AA and AAA.

Talking about 9V batteries is not helping !

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Want less expensive but reliable 9V, AA and AAA batteries.

Cannot use so called "9V" Li batteries.

In some cases where it will work (physical fit-wise), I use a AA battery pack carrier with the 9V snaps and get very long life battery usage.

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OK - I will state the obvious again.

a) ALL batteries leak to some extent. Irrespective of brand or use. b) What is important is what are the options WHEN (not IF) they leak. c) A manufacturer which will stand behind their product and make the user whole is very nearly infinitely better than one that will not. d) Let that distinction be the driver of whatever brand is chosen.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

On a sunny day (Tue, 12 Feb 2019 09:34:22 -0800) it happened OGEE wrote in :

Same here, duracell leaked and destroyed my bike light, never used KIRKLAND.

I use Eneloop. No self-discharge. Even in this mouse... eneloop AA.

Where I need 2 AAA I use 3V lifepo4 AAA and a dummy (short) AAA battery, or 3V liion and short the other one.

The lifepo4 AAA already held out for more than a year in a wireless keyboard. Those do not catch fire, but be careful with 3V liion, when full it is a bit more volts than 2 x 1.5 (4.2 max), and those CAN catch fire. If the app has a bit bad caps....

I have had the odd one go bad. Usually left in something for too long.

At least in the UK I have found that Kodak's cheapest nastiest batteries survive in high current drain applications where Duracells have leaked on me. EveryReady & Panasonic also seem to be OK at least in the UK.

I won't use Duracell any more. I can't tell if it is a problem with high quality counterfeit or their actual genuine manufacture batteries. There was a time in the past when they were the copper topped gold standard!

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Regards, 
Martin Brown

Boom when shorted, probably because the gas vent plug was either defective or missing. I didn't do the test or take the photos, so I wasn't able to determine if they were real Duracell Procell or counterfeit.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

About the only sure method I have found to determine what is counterfeit and what is real, other than by very close examination of the 'fit and finish' is the weight.

Real batteries are typically significantly heavier than the fakes, even discernible between two AAA types. And if you have a 4, 6 or 10 pack to compare, it is even more obvious.

You would also find out when you send that damaged piece of equipment back to Duracell or Eveready and have them inform you whether the batteries are real or not.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Yeah, that worked for a while with LiIon 18650 cells. Then, I started getting cells that all weighed about 65 grams, which is rather high for an 18650. So, I cut one apart and found that it was topped off with sand and some hot melt glue to hold the sand in place. Foiled again.

In this case, the friend that sent me the photos had already thrown out the 9V battery. It didn't explode inside any equipment. I blew up on his incredibly messy desk/workbench when the exposed terminals were shorted by something conductive. If I had possession of the remains, I would have doing my own autopsy on the battery, instead of sending it to the manufacturer.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558