I’ve had many things ruined by leaking alkaline batteries the same as many have on here.
I’ve even had then leak whilst still in the packets and years from the expiry date.
What I have found though, is I have come across things with alkaline batteries in them (ever ready, rayovac and other brands ) they must have been 20+ years old, but they had no signs of leakage and a few of them still had power in them ?
Has something changed about how alkaline batteries are made that makes the modern ones leak so easily ?
Seem to remember someone said there is a reason they now leak so easily or is it just one of those urban myths
Dw911,
That is a good question. During many years of using flashlights I have only had one ruined no more than three times, in over 8 decades. In those cases the lights were seldom used and the batteries were well outdated. In fact I do not remember that the exp date was even on the batteries.
I realize leakage can and does occur, but I am persuaded that alkaline batteries are getting a worse rap than deserved.
There are applications that are better accomplished with alkalines than nimh. For example, if one were to go on a week long hiking or longer hiking or camping trip I would much prefer alkalines over eneloops. I personally would not take any lion light. A light using AA batteries would do everything I would need to do.
There have been some discussions here about that subject, and some would even carry a solar recharger. When you carry everything you need on your back such stuff is just a burden, ounces turn into pounds.
I have found that cheap AA alkalines on high mode will burn for as long as 10 – 12 hours. Obviously, run time would be greatly increased in lower modes. Eneloops cannot approach such run times. That would reduce the number of batteries needed, and probably one extra battery would be more than enough for a long trip.
I have never had a remote or BP machine or something similar ruined by alkaline batteries. I concede that I now mostly use nimh batteries, not for fear that alkalines will ruin the app, but it is no trouble to recharge the batteries here at home. I did decide to replace batteries in one remote with alkalines as the nimh batteries need recharging more often than I wanted to bother with.
So it is a reasonable question to ask if there are changes that cause more leakage than in the past.
I will be watching for a reply from those who I acknowledge have much more knowledge than I do on the subject.
Regards,
Jerry
The only way alkalines are going to outlast Eneloops is if the flashlight spends most of its runtime in moonlight mode — alkalines have higher capacity than Eneloops only at the very lowest of currents or in very intermittent (a few minutes per hour) usage at low to medium currents.
Rayovac’s own datasheet says their alkaline AAs have a capacity of 2535 mAh — at 28 mA or 0.011C! At 300 mA continuous, they are down less than 1800 mAh, or less than the minimum capacity of a regular Eneloop AA….
The Energizer E91 datasheet shows pretty much the same thing, though as a bar graph which is harder to read — at 25mA draw, it’s a little over 2500 mAh, but by 250mA draw, the capacity is less than that of an Eneloop.
Hi ralf,
You have not done run time tests with both eneloops vs alkalines. I have and there is no comparison. The alkalines outlast the eneloops by a wide margin with very usable light. Here are some run times. Sorry, I cannot get the post to be easy to read. Not sure why it does not “SAVE” like I typed it??
The less current the cell puts out, the longer it will last. It is only in regulation that you would see the longer run time of the higher drain cell directly, or if you use the modes to regulate it yourself.
I do like the current to die out gradually, for some purposes, especially in a one mode light. Even very dim or intermittent light is a lot better than total darkness. Old acid dry cell lights could be used in flash mode for a long time after the battery was too far gone for continuous operation. Apparently the earliest flashlights could be used only in flash mode, even with a new battery, but that is before even my time. That is why old flashlights had intermittent operation. I think sending Morse code was thought up later as a sales gimmick, unfortunately surviving as the SOS mode in most 5 mode lights. (I did think up a possible use for SOS mode.)
Hi Fritz,
Thanks for the reply, and it helps explain why some combinations of alkys and lights run longer than expected. For example, in a Fenix E11 on high I am running a Sunbeam that has already lasted for 8 hrs 33 min. When I shut it down last night the battery was 0.96 volts. This morning it was 1.22 V and is running again. I had a Duracell run 24 hrs 8 min. The Eneloop ran 3hr 4min, but in an earlier test it only ran for 1hr 52min which was in line with other NIMH batteries. Tenergy Premium ran 2hrs 52min.
I may be incorrect, but I have the impression that NIMH batteries do not recover after use as well as alkalines. Any data or thoughts on this?
These results make convince me that for long burn times, such as hiking trips or camping,etc, the alkaline batteries in AA and AAA are far superior to NIMH batteries. You can simple deplete them and when convenient throw them away. On the other hand rechargeable batteries will deplete faster and then you have to keep them to recharge. You would also need to carry a larger supply.
I keep a fairly large inventory of alkaline batteries. When I gift a light an Eneloop would be a waste. I only know one person who uses rechargeables.