Lithium vs NiMH Battery for Storage in Remote Control?

Hello. I had AC remote control that was damaged due to 2 AAA alkaline batteries leakage in compartment. I thought maybe I should put 2 NiMH batteries with LSD and forget about remote? I use AC only in summer but might use this winter and regardless I need remote control to have batteries inside.

I later heard that in rare cases NiMH batteries can leak so I thought maybe I should put 2 AAA lithium batteries and won’t worry about remote control becoming damaged?

Never had a NiMh leak. Been using them for a very long time. The are good NiMh, and lots of poor ones. You should be fine with decent brand names, especially Made in Japan.
I’ve had any number of alkaline leak and some electronics destroyed. Try to avoid them if at all possible.
Not had a primary lithium leak, but don’t have a lot of experience with them. Pretty good reputation.

If the remote isn’t going to be used for a good while, pull the batteries, whatever you use.

Just use real Eneloops or Fujitsu AAs and be done with it.

Easy-peasy.

Chris

THIS is what Panasonic says.

My experience based on 25 plus years of use is that I have never had one leak. I probably have 200 plus NiMH batteries. I use them in flashlights, radios, clocks, remote controls…
in fact, I seldom use anything else. So, yeah, still a small sample size, but good enough for me to say that your remote for the AC will almost certainly be fine using NiMH cells.
Simply take them out and check/charge them periodically.

Worst case, they are way, way, less likely to leak than alkaline cells.

Lithium AA cells would likely be fine too. But, they are expensive and single use. They are also not recommended for some devices due to their higher initial voltage. Though I have not had any issues using them (so far). They are used for things that I stash (mostly flashlights) and tend to forget about, but really want to work when needed. They are also good for situations where temperatures are going to be very low ( –30 F).

I have heard of NiMH cells leaking, but from what I've read it's extremely rare, and it's not nearly as destructive as an alkaline leak.

I think it's best to just get high quality LSD cells like made-in-Japan Eneloops rather than dealing with expensive (non-rechargeable) Lithium cells.

I use Energizer lithium for remote controls. They last for ever.

For thermostats they last over five years.

Rechargeable should work well also.

I doubt you would see rechargeable batteries leak. Possible, yes, likely no.

Then again someone wone the $2B lottery and here we are talking about lithium batteries.

I agree with everyone…good NiMH low discharge cells and you should be fine. The only slight concern is if ambient temperatures are typically high then the cells may lose a little more of their charge over that long pause and they may start to “wear out” a little sooner, but you should still get lots of cycles and years of use even if that’s the case. The lithium metal cells are great and although I’ve seen some photos of them leaking, it’s possible those were fakes but there was no additional info on those. I’ve never had any of those leak and I’ve kept some in the car where summer temps often hit 60°C+ with the windows rolled up.

I have actually had some NiMH cells “leak” but it wasn’t anything like alkaline and there was no damage to contacts. Those were 15 years ago, maybe closer to 20, and some of the early crappy Energizer AAA that had been allowed to self discharge for a long time, were revived, and put into low drain use. I also had one early Duracell about that same time period that leaked but it was all contained under the wrapper. I was never sure what could have caused it other than some chemistry change from sitting discharged (and that Duracell was also often left on a dumb trickle charger for days on end….ugh).

Only downsides of NiMh are:

1) cells being ruined from being drained completely flat by low current devices.
2) (very) slightly lower voltage, meaning some devices don’t like them.

Are all alkalines like this or there are top-quality alkalines that are less likely to leak?

We have 32C - 37C and 75–80 humidity here in summer not far from coast. These were probably the main factors contributing t to internal circuit board and components oxidation in some areas inside the AC remote control.

60C+ where is this?

I still have these from early 2010s. Bought them for digital camera but was disappointed how they would self-discharge the next day being used or unused.

I'm sure that some alkalines are more likely to leak than others, but if you hate an electronic device, tell it that you hate it by installing some "alkaleak" batteries in them.

In other words, leaking is what all alkaline batteries are famously known for.

It's just a matter of time before any specific brand of alkaline batteries will eventually leak.

I never had NIMH leak. I have a case with NiCD batteries which get tiny amount of white oxide on negative pole but it isn’t destructive and it is easy for cleaning.
I have many cases and destroyed devices from alkaline leaks but I have never a case that Maxell batteries leaks, alkaline or zinc carbon.

That’s been asked. Unfortunately no ‘good/reliable’ answer. Brands that seemed solid 5-10 years ago may not be anymore.
There seems to be a consistent trend to cheapen a lot of products to the point that they start to fail. I call it engineering and manufacturing by stupidity+greed+world economic forces.

As you already found out, the Camelions are crap. Pretty much any NiMh that advertises capacity above 2500mAh are not good. Even the ‘good ones’ like Eneloop that have 2450mAh don’t last nearly as long as the 2000mAh cells. This is a known fact even Eneloop admits.

Fujitsu,made in Japan.

Yes, just put 2 Eneloops in and everything will be fine :slight_smile:

Yup, some remotes are picky and will not work with lower voltage cells, like partially discharged NiMH, which means you’ll end up having to recharge them sooner. It’s worth a try though.

I’m using the Tenavolts AA Li-Ion cells in my universal remote that gets the most usage in the household. They maintain steady 1.5V output throughout the entire discharge cycle. Alas, these are not cheap and require a proprietary charger. It may be cheaper for the OP to just buy some regular Lithium AA/AAA cells instead.

I’m also trying that out. Alas, the special deals that were on when these first came out has not been seen for well over a year. A couple other brands I’ve tried (USB charge), weren’t nearly as good.
When they ‘go’, they are……gone. 0 volts until charged.
For properly chosen applications, I like them, but, at the old cost. :wink:

I have had all of them that I have used leak. Duracell, Eveready, Rayovac, and maybe worst the Kirkland cells from Costco.
Just the other day I opened a box that had 16 Duracell AAAs n it. They had never been used and stored at right around 20 C. 15 to 25% humidity. In a dark area inside a dry cardboard box. Every darn one of them showed signs of leakage. EVERY ONE!
This after about 3 years… they are advertised to have a 10 year shelf life.
I don’t use any of them unless it is for an application where I will use a device that quickly drains them fully, then take them out.

Those are not Low Self Discharge (LSD) cells. Which is what you need for something like a remote. Eneloop claims they will hold 85% charge after a year or two.
If you go NiMH, make sure you get LSD cells. NON LSD cells often have higher capacity ratings, but they are basically charge and use immediately cells.

I have NiMH cells in a dozen remotes, they all work fine. Over the years I have used them in at least a dozen more. There may be exceptions, of course, but not enough that it is not worthwhile trying the Eneloops for the OP.