[ARC5] Batteries That Do Not Corrode?

[Robert Downs]

I learned the hard way not to trust Duracell’s advertising and published specs.  I ran the Engineering department for a pipeline inspection company (instrumented pigs).  Around 1985 or maybe a little later, we had decided to switch our battery packs for 20” and larger tools from Silver-Zinc secondary to Alkaline primary cells, specifically using multiple 6 volt Duracell Lantern Batteries.  All went well until one day our Calgary office reported a run failure apparently due to the battery pack not lasting as long as it should.  The Lantern Battery has always been supposed to be made from four D-cells in series.  Investigation soon revealed that without warning anyone, the batteries being bought in Canada contained four C-cells and a cardboard spacer.  It was apparently done in order to be able to claim that the Duracell Lantern Batteries contained less mercury than the competition.  The new batteries were easily identified by weight.  Our entire stockpile of Lantern Batteries in Calgary and part of our stockpile in Houston proved to be these bogus batteries.  And we had paid the same price we had been paying for the D-cell version.  That fiasco took quite a while to sort out.

 

Robert Downs

 

From: arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of jbrannig
Sent: Thursday, June 7, 2018 7:21 PM
To: arc5 at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [ARC5] ARC5 Digest, Vol 173, Issue 5

 

I agree, Duracell seem to be the worst.

Some years ago they replaced a 3 D cell Maglight ruined by battery corrosion.

 

Jim

 

 

 

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