Wonder why they never figured out a way to encase them so even when they leak it will be contained. Same like the 9V batteries which are 8xAAAA cells inside but when is the last time you saw a leaking 9V battery. I have never seen one.
I had a couple of unused Voniko 9V Batteries leak after 5 or 6 years but it was just a tiny amount of white powder, I didn’t open them up.
They used to be “leakproof” as a selling point against C-Zn cells.
Alkies were more caustic, so they doubled up on the steel walls vs the Zn shell that’d develop pinholes as it was consumed.
But then came the race to the bottom as everyone and his grandmother switched (often not by choice) to alkies, and they made the walls as thin as possible and then some.
Alkies work fine if you go through them fast eg, heavily used flashlights or radios. But they’re absolutely not meant to be stored for any length of time, nor in low drain devices like clocks or remotes where they can sit and fester for about as long.
That’s when they crap the bed and destroy everything around them.
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Out of every alkaline battery brand I’ve tried, Duracells leaked the most. The best ones I’ve had were cheap no-name generics which shipped with various devices.
But I don’t use alkaline batteries unless I have no other choice. Or any other single-use cells. Rechargeables are really, really good these days, so I got some Eneloops and li-ion cells which can be used over and over for decades. Many of mine are 15 years old now, and still working great.
It depends on exactly what you’re going to use them for, but in most cases… just get a pack of Eneloops and then never worry about batteries again.
Or if a device accepts li-ion cells, those are frequently even better. Most nice flashlights, for example, accept cells like a li-ion 18650. One of those holds as much energy as 5 Eneloops, while being only about 30% wider and longer. Just maybe don’t shop for li-ion batteries on Amazon, since most of the batteries there are scams. Like “9900 mAh” cells which are actually only like 500 mAh. Typically, those are literally recycled old junk batteries with a new wrapper.
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Leaking would not be so bad if the equipment did not get damaged. A 20 cent battery can destroy multi hundred dollar equipment.
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I didn’t get a pic of the batch of AA cells of the same vintage that did the same thing… as I got rid of them some time ago. Meaning I had to discard over 100 Kirkland cells without ever getting to use them.
The pack of AAs looked quite similar. All puking white corrosive stuff.
Based on these experiences, I have not purchased more of the Kirkland brand cells. Perhaps they changed manufacturers, but from my experience, I would not recommend anyone purchasing Kirkland cells. But I have had the same issues with Duracell cells. So the best advice I can give is to avoid Alkaline cells completely if at all possible.
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I got tired of opening up a holiday “chotsky” 3AAA puck light, 3aaa mini blow mold decoration, etc. and regularly seeing leakage of the alkaline cells and often damage to the “chotsky”. I just bought 48 AZ Basics NiMH and have vowed no more alkalines, name brand or no-namers. Will pay in the long run and won’t have to load/unload cells as often.
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