Batteries FYI

[TroubleShooter]

Just a FYI, I opened a 16 pak of AA batteries with still two years left on the date....Dead in the water, the engerizer bunny must have smothered....I remember buying them because they were on sell at walmart for 8 dollars, I normally buy Duracells but the kids keep bugging me for batteries, so I would just give them the engerizers instead of my Duracell stash........If you measure the voltage it is good, but in a high draw toy they fail, they will work in remotes or clocks but will not work in a led headlamp, flashlight or PS3 game controller......

[ak474u]

I've had that happen before, not much but it does happen. It's amazing to me that something so cheap to buy and obviously so cheap to make for the manufacturer has the quality that it does to start with. I've always bought the batteries we go thru quickly at the .99 cent store here in town, usually rayovac brand or Sony, but they never sit for more than 6 months except when they are in a BOB or GHB. We go thru lots of batteries with a 2 year old running around, so those work in unimportant household items, but I've always bought Lithiums for the things that our lives may depend on. We use a stupid amount of batteries between the kid's toys, and my work that requires a flashlight all day every day, so rotation hasn't been an issue up to now. Also, it's a great idea to write the purchase date on a pack of batts for your own rotation schedule. I have to do that cause they all look alike.

[Gunfixr]

Energizer bunny notwithstanding, Duracells are better.
There are actually different grades of batteries. There is a letter code on the battery that tells what grade it is, and amperage varies with grade.

[Stormfeather]

Energizer bunny notwithstanding, Duracells are better.
There are actually different grades of batteries. There is a letter code on the battery that tells what grade it is, and amperage varies with grade.

Really? any chance you can expound on this for us?

Ive taken to buying nothing but rechargeable batteries. This is much more efficient for me and my family, and I think it saves us money in the long term.

[helomech]

Really? any chance you can expound on this for us?

Ive taken to buying nothing but rechargeable batteries. This is much more efficient for me and my family, and I think it saves us money in the long term.

Rechargable work fine in some things, but are horrible in others.

[Stormfeather]

What items would you say they work bad in?

My primary uses for them are remote controls, game console controllers, small talkabout style radios, ect ect.

[helomech]

What items would you say they work bad in?

My primary uses for them are remote controls, game console controllers, small talkabout style radios, ect ect.



They don't last long in my game camera's, or flashlights, most high drain items. Remotes and such they work fine.

[bacpacker]

I was ust thinking anything that pulls a heavy current draw. Rechargeables don't work well in that enviroment. Camera Flash unit, flashlights, HT radio's with heavy transmit use. They just cant stand the fast draw.

[AlphaTea]

Energizer bunny notwithstanding, Duracells are better.
There are actually different grades of batteries. There is a letter code on the battery that tells what grade it is, and amperage varies with grade.

Wow, thats news to me! What kind of batteries are you speaking of? Mine all have only a lot number and a 'best by' date. I think you mean the mAh.

The mAh (mili-Amp-hours) will vary between brands and between batteries in the same lot.
The old Carbon Zinc batteries were about 1500mAh for a AA battery. You dont see a lot of those any more
A Lithium AA will have about 2900-3000mAh capacity
A typical AA (Alkaline) will have from 2500-2700mAh capacity.
A typical AA (Ni-MH) rechargeable will have about 2000-2300mAh capacity

Rechargeables dont have the capacity, but they can be reused.
Lithiums have a slightly higher capacity and can handle a higher current draw, they are much lighter and cost a lot more, but also have other problems. Some can go into a runaway current overload and actually melt down or catch on fire. They can also explode if short-circuited. If you drive a nail or other metal object thru one you have in a sense made a very short (instantaneous) fused grenade. Please do not test or experiment with that statement for yourself, you should take my word for it. There is a reason you dont see C or D cell lithium batteries. I still prefer Lithiums for long term storage. Most of my flashlights use 123A batteries.
Lithiums will have a pretty much constant voltage output while being used and suddenly just drop off exhausted.
An alkaline will go down in voltage the whole time it is being used.
All batteries (except capacitor bank batteries) use a chemical reaction for electrical generation. From the day they are manufactured they are self discharging, hence the shelf life. Rechargeable batteries have the ability to reverse the chemical process by pushing a higher voltage into them than they are able to produce.
Yea, I know a little about batteries...

[rentprop1]

, HT radio's with heavy transmit use. They just cant stand the fast draw.

can you provide further info to back this up, almost every person I know in AM radio uses rechargeables in HT's

[Gunfixr]

Rechargeables don't last as long per charge on high drain items as non-rechargeable batteries do. They are recommended for high drain items because of the fact that they end up cheaper, because you can reuse them, instead of constantly buying more. In the long run it's a better investment, however, if you might go through two sets of say, alkaline or lithium batteries, you might want 3 sets of rechargeables on hand.

I went to research the info I had posted earlier. A friend of mine had originally told me about the codes, and he is quite knowledgeable about such things. It was in a book he has, and I acquired my own copy. He was researching lantern sized batteries, and apparently most of this was related to those. All of the info I could find did not show much difference in the ratings of the smaller sized batteries.
I also researched testing of actual batteries, which did in fact show that the Duracell batteries rather smartly beat Energizer batteries in most sizes. In AAA and AA sizes, both were almost equal, while in the C, D, and 9v sizes the Duracells were higher in actual mAH scores. However, all of this testing was at least 5yrs old. My reference book was printed 3 1/2yrs ago. With the constant evolution in battery chemistry, my info needs updating. Tests today could show the same thing, or something different. Unfortunately, I cannot find any tests done recently.
Testing did show that bulk-packed batteries scored lower than regular packed batteries of the same brand compared against each other, which was kind of interesting.
As batteries have changed, less info is now put on them, and more is on the package.
Sorry for what may have been any misleading info.

[AlphaTea]

I agree with everything you said there Gunfixr.
I thought everyone knew the bit about rechargeables, they have their place. No one battery is good for all uses.
In my previous job we went through about 2500 AA batteries a month, a couple of hundred 'C' and 9V's. Finally started buying by the pallet to get a decent discount.
We would use the batteries to about 20% capacity and replace them and nothing went into the field with less than 80% capacity. I ran the Radiation Protection Instrument Calibration and repair facility at a Nuclear Plant. all of the handheld instruments and alarming dosimeters were battery powered.
You learn quickly what works and what doesn't.
Made the mistake of giving a Tadiran 3.6V AA to someone to put in a pager once. In only worked once. I think the vibrator motor had a stroke. Smelled funny too

[digdug18]

Wow you guys are really interested in batteries. I'll stick with my hand crank flashlights and gensets.

[TroubleShooter]

Another issue................This sucks, Change of season I switch out batteries on most items and give them to kids for TV remotes and stuff....Two of my led headlamps packed away in my packs had corroded batteries (once again, the bunny smothered) , I installed these batteries in Spring, verifed they turned on the light.....Then stored in house until this weekend, destroyed one light , the other is fine...

[Taz Baby]

We never store the batteries in anything, just tape them to what ever it is that needs them. That way they don't corrde. We did buy a case of AA and had them in a junk drawer inside. after about a month I needed them for my camera and they were all rusted. I took them out sanded the rust off with fine sand paper, wiped down with olive oil, let set for a day and they were good as new.

[greyfox]

I have recently noticed some of the batteries are coming out with a 10 year shelflife. Dont know what they have done different but it is definely prepper friendly if it is true.

[Katrina]

Greyfox
Do you recall what brand if I may ask? Haven't seen any around here, prolly on 'net though.

[TroubleShooter]

All batteries gradually self-discharge (whether installed in a device or not) and dead batteries will eventually leak. Extremely high temperatures can also cause batteries to rupture and leak (such as in a car during summer).

The reason for leaks is that as batteries discharge — either through usage or gradual self-discharge — the chemistry of the cells changes and some hydrogen gas is generated. This out-gassing increases pressure in the battery. Eventually, the excess pressure either ruptures the insulating seals at the end of the battery, or the outer metal canister, or both. In addition, as the battery ages, its steel outer canister may gradually corrode or rust, which can further contribute to containment failure.

Once a leak has formed due to corrosion of the outer steel shell, potassium hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide from the air to form a feathery crystalline structure of potassium carbonate that grows and spreads out from the battery over time, following along metal electrodes to circuit boards where it commences oxidation of copper tracks and other components, leading to permanent circuitry damage.

So once again ......The Bunny smothers, remember I had dead bunnies from an unopened pak of batteries. This time I had installed a set of bunnies in devices which eventually leaked......