Alkaline Battery Cleanup

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@cable.mendelson.com:

I've been buying Radio Shack batteries for a while, but I think I won't bother in the future. I've even had them leak in the package. They have great prices, especially on sale, but the money saved won't pay for a single item that gets ruined when the things leak.

I've also had problems with Duracells. Only a few Eveready's have leaked that I can recall, but I'm guessing they are now all made in China, and the brand differences are both smaller and time varying.

Doug White

And an egg shouldn't break when you drop it...

Back when I was in junior high school (late 1960's) Radio Shack battery cards were a prized item. I had several, and the free batteries they provided were well worth the trip, and buying other things to keep the salesmen happy.

That was a long time ago.

Geoff.

I later tested a real Duracell Procell 9v battery. It did NOT explode when shorted. My guess(tm) is that the counterfeit battery lacked over-pressure vents in the cells.

When I was an aspiring juvenile delinquent, my parents loaned me to relatives for a summer on their chicken ranch. I managed to learn the basics of egg production, which included basic wisdom like "don't drop the eggs" and "chickens are really dumb". I soon learned that there was a science to egg dropping. The amount of calcium in the chicken's diet was regulated to control the shell thickness. Too little, and the shells would break. Too much, and you needed a hammer to make an omlette. Today, the shell thickness is measured on the production line with ultrasonic or RF measurement devices. Back then, it was the drop test. As the eggs rolled through the machinery, and were seperated by weight, there was a drop which tested for thin shells. Thick shells were sampled manually. There should be something online about it... yep: Batteries shouldn't explode and egg shells shouldn't break, but it's always best to test such assumptions.

Made in China. The Home Depot battery has a label with an American flag and "Made in America" on it, but when peeled back, discloses the "Made in China":

The battery cards lasted a long time, I think into the eighties.

I know I got one in the early seventies when Radio Shack started setting up in Canada, but I never used it more than the first time. A single battery isn't very useful, and they were just carbon zinc batteries. Radio Shack even seemed to have more than one level of carbon zinc, but the ones they gave away where the cheapest.

A more useful routine was when the local Radio Shacks offered to fill something up every Wednesday in the summer, 75 or 76. A friend had lots of stuff, so he'd organize us to visit various stores, filling up his cheap radio controlled boat, his Radio Shack 5w CB walkie talkie, his flashlight that took about 4 D cells. And it worked a bit, then one store owner didn't like us kids going in in such an organized fashion, and bascially through us out.

But, at least with this scheme one could actually use the batteries, instead of waiting six months to have enough D cells for the remote controlled boat.

Those too were the cheapest batteries they carried.

Michael

The ones I like best are the ones that mostly replicate the Duracell packaging, so initially you think they are Duracell at a great price. Only when you look at the actual brand do you see it's something else.

No, I've never bought them, but if you're going to do knockoffs, that's the way to do it.

Michael

When it comes to cheap AAs, I buy Costco (which are Maxell (Hitachi), I believe). Consumer Reports has consistently top-rated them for capacity and cheapness, and I've never had reason to complain.

Those were featured in the video I previously posted: However, I just went searching for such counterfeit batteries on eBay, and couldn't find any. Looks like eBay has done some enforcing.

Would you buy a "Volcano" brand AA battery? My personal favorites are the variations of the word "fire" found in

I won't mention eBay battery chargers that appear to be designed to intentionally kill batteries.

I've bought counterfeits at flea markets and hamfests when I'm not paying attention. When sold by the white box, I don't think it's possible to tell the difference just looking at the case markings. I have the same problem with counterfeit cell phone batteries. Oddly, I haven't seen any counterfeit laptop batteries.

Comparison of battery capacity for various AA alkaline cells: Looks like Radio Shack batteries are better than most. I've done similar tests using my West Mtn Radio CBA-II battery analyzer and found Costco Kirkland AA batteries to be the best compromise between price and capacity.

That's interesting: It would explain why I have a drawer full of new lookin g Maglite torches which I had been hoarding in the hope of interchanging pa rts one day and getting a w0rking light. Never been able to manage it desp ite their all looking so shiny and new, some of them even being in the orig inal box! Is this Maglite (the AA as well as the AAA version) really such a POS unit?

BeeJ laid this down on his screen :

Tried white vinegar soaked overnight. Not a bit of battery crud was loosened.

Tried CLR soaked overnight. Not a bit of battery crud was loosened.

So, any other better solvents? I do not have any hydrofluoric around. I do have pool HCl.

I cannot identify the battery brand.

May have to take a large drill bit to it and try to extract.

Suggestions please.

This may be a double post. First PC may or may not have sent it.

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Question is, what is the crud. Might try phosphoric acid from auto paint dept or aluminum jelly.

Greg

Screw a long course thread drywall or deck screw into the end of the battery and use it to extract the cell(s).

Use an alkaline solvent. Household ammonia should work fine.

Make sure to remove all acids before mixing in ammonias. You could end up being a star in a "Space 1999" episode.