I’ve had pretty good luck with Rayovac alkalines, personally. Better than the other two major brands.
I missed that but arguably NiMH is still the best answer as leaks from alkaline/carbon batteries often destroys the device they are installed in.
I have NiMH in my car for over 5 years that sees –30ºC to +60ºC (–22F to 140F). Still doing great, i recharge them once a year during which time they have not even drained much unless i used the light (which i tend not to).
Sadly only two choices .. Neither of which are on the list .
- Lithium primary AAA,AA or cr123 20 + years
or
- Low self discharge NIMH and charge it once a year
There are no good cheap alternatives and having junk batteries leak will cost you the price of the light
ok so this was a poll, not a teach and preach
no one knows, no one cares
0 response votes so far
lets keep the streak going
What do you mean “0 response votes so far” I see votes; 5 in total.
One does have to vote to see the totals, or not be logged in at all I believe.
oh
i see now
i voted
alkaline seems to be the choice
but they are derided and assailed - “alkaleaks”
no one talks about “carbo-leaks”
i would have thought heavy dutys would be the unleakiest of the cheapiest
In my experience alkalines have about a 25% chance of leakage over their lifetime.
I don’t use carbon-zinc batteries so cannot offer data on them.
If you have an Ikea nearby buy a package of cheap NiMH. More expensive than alkaline but much safer from leaking.
No. The HD part is marketing hype. Carbon zinc are junk.
Yes, some people use the term alkaleaks, because alkalines sometimes do.
Over many decades I have had many leaking alkalines. Most often in items that were not used often. Many times found a non-working light after it had sat in a drawer or some other storage for a time. Battery operated Xmas deco lights are bad for leaving alkies in one year to the next
Maybe because [we] can’t answer the poll, … why?
==> no choice in the poll fits as a correct answer to the question.
The “least worse” might be Alkaline though.
PS, you will find a lot of inforation in previous threads, for example where you wrote this:
That seems to fit the use case you laid out in your early response above.
right
i don’t want to buy more cr123a lights for this
i know what i am asking
Well, I suggest the experiment —- buy three sub-$2 cheapie light, load with the three kinds of cheap cells you asked about, put them in your car’s glove compartment, and check back in a couple of years. I’d guess the answer to your poll will turn out to be “None of the above”
But in line with our host’s rule about avoiding divisive subjects, that’s enough from me. Bless your heart, I hope you find the answer you’re looking for.
yeah i don;t want the BEST answer, i already know that
i want the NEXT BEST answer, lalso - if anyone knows
wle
Get alkalines as they are the best out of the three battery types you initially asked about. They can still leak, but will perform much better than the other two.
To me, it is now a no-brainer that alkies are the best of the three choices given.
My first transistor radio, circa 1956, was ruined the year after I got it because the zinc cased cells that share the same chemistry as todays carbon-zinc cells leaked crap inside. I had left it at home with batteries inside over a summer 2 month absence. I was very upset.
That leak and damage was repeated with many assorted devices until I got smarter and switched to using alkalines. But even then I encountered a leak here, a leak there. Usually, the leaks and damage occurred with devices that were left sitting in a drawer or on a shelf and not used. Sometimes I could scrape and clean and salvage the item. Not always. Over the years I do believe alkalines have improved.
About 10 years ago I decided that I would use nothing but Energizer primary lithium AA and AAA cells unless I was using an Eneloop rechargable. That got an extra nudge because of the cold weather increase in performance. I have not had any of those cells leak.
We have two old wall clocks that don’t like eneloops for some reason. I use the primary energizer in them.
My anecdotal evidence would suggest strongly that primary lithium are best for disposable and that the next best would be alkalines. But they are still only next best.
I even switched the few workshop tools that run off a 9 volt battery to using the primary lithium versions after a timber moisture meter came close to being ruined by a alky 9 volt.
I should correct myself. It appears that the cells sold as Heavy-duty are actually different than the other NON-HD types. They both use a zinc case but the chemicals in the HD last longer and provide a more stable voltage according to Wiki. But Wiki also states they leak because the chenical reaction uses up the zinc, thins the zinc case.
that seems like the best answer:
alkaline - unleakiest of the 2
heavy duty
regular duty - leakiest
Carbon cinc cells regenerate their charge/energy when not used. For this reason, they can provide way longer service life if used from time to time, particularly if drained faster than at slow pace. For this reason I remember obtaining better service time per money unit out of carbon-cinc cells when I had my old gameboy. This was also due to the fact that alkalines were noticeably more expensive than carbon-cinc cells long ago (90's).
If you care about leakage problems, it could be a good idea to wrap any carbon-cinc or alkaline batteries in heat shrinkable tube, like li-ion cells. May be of some help.
I use Energizer L91/L92 (aa/aaa) cells for lights that need to be ready to go but in long term storage. I also use these in other gear such as my DMM. Great cells and bear storage well when a CR123 isn’t the choice.
Honestly speaking, non-rechargeable cells are not designed for any significative amount of power delivery or discharge rate. This means they are not the best option for flashlight usage, and although they can be 0K it is best to minimize the use of high mode. I am, for example, speaking of the popular BLF/Sofirn C01S and many other flashlights in this market sector like the Skilhunt E3A, Astrolux A01 and etc.
You may want to try NiZn batteries (example). Some electronic equipment can be picky about voltage, like my kitchen balance which cuts-off at ≈2.5V, but accepts voltages waaay above 3V without problems (can power it up with a li-ion cell, LoL). This means these equipment cannot use the full energy of alkalines or NiMH cells, but will work much better with NiZn.