[ARC5] Batteries That Do Not Corrode?

Sun Jun 10 13:25:49 EDT 2018

I think leakage problems have less to do with the actual brands and more to
do with batch-to-batch quality control of the seals.  Every brand has let
me down at one time or the other.  Other times the experience has been
good.  Some brands seem to have more quality control problems than others.
Duracell and its private labels come to mind.  I too was a victim of the
Costco Kirklands when these puppies corroded while still in the blister
pack after just 6 mo.

As to which battery chemistry is worse, I can only say that given leakage
has taken place the acid types (i.e. zinc chloride) seem to cause more
corrosive damage to the equipment than the alkaline chemistry.  I have not
experience leakage from primary Li cells (Energizer) and I have used quite
a few.

Denny

On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 5:20 AM, John Watkins <jpwatkins9 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I used to use Duracells until about 5 or 6 years ago when I found that
> they were not reliable.  Mainly corrosion problems.  Tried contacting them
> about replacing a battery pack for a PRC-127.  Found that Proctor and
> Gamble had bought them out.  They had about a 21 page legal notice in 1/2
> font to read about what you had to do to get to talk to someone.  Gave up
> on that.  I haven’t bought a Duracell since.  I did just get 2 of their new
> AA cells in a child’s toy (for Grand Daughter) and they seem to be good
> batteries, but early days on using them.  I now pull batteries when I am
> done using the radio, telescope, toy, Etc.  I have found that Kirkland
> (COSCO) batteries are good, as are Energizer batteries, no problems with
> them yet.
>
> John WD5ENU
>
> On Sat, Jun 9, 2018 at 10:28 PM Tom Lee <tomlee at ee.stanford.edu> wrote:
>
>> The notion of a "depolarizer" has a curious history. Manganese dioxide is
>> a strong oxidizing agent and was originally added to the electrolyte in
>> carbon-zinc batteries to scavenge the hydrogen liberated during normal
>> operation. Hydrogen increases the cell resistance, so getting rid of it is
>> important. Until it is removed, the cell will have less available energy,
>> explaining why, after a heavy discharge, a carbon-zinc cell takes time to
>> recover. This recovery time would be much longer were it not for manganese
>> dioxide. It took an embarrassing number of years to realize that any
>> chemical strong enough to oxidize hydrogen was itself acting as the
>> cathode. The carbon rod is actually just a conductive terminal; it does not
>> participate in the energy-releasing reactions. I fully expect Madison
>> Avenue someday to relabel these old batteries as "manganese-chloride" cells
>> to induce consumers to buy them.
>>
>> Adding mercury to carbon-zinc batteries was occasioned mainly by a desire
>> to reduce the rate of dissolution of the zinc can. I don't know what
>> substitutes are now being used to provide corrosion resistance in mercury's
>> stead.
>>
>> --Tom
>>
>> --
>> Prof. Thomas H. Lee
>> Allen Bldg., CIS-205
>> 420 Via Palou Mall
>> Stanford University
>> Stanford, CA 94305-4070http://www-smirc.stanford.edu
>> 650-725-3383 (public fax; no confidential information, please)
>>
>> On 6/9/2018 7:38 PM, Brooke Clarke wrote:
>>
>> Hi Wayne:
>>
>> Not quite.  Modern batteries, like Ever Ready/Energizer, are much better
>> than prior designs.
>> In 1991 the EU banned Mercury in products.  This immediately showed up as
>> a ban of Mercury batteries ( all the military batteries with model numbers
>> of BA-1000 to BA-1999) plus civilian Mercury batteries.
>> http://www.prc68.com/I/TS183.shtml#Hg
>> But . . . Mercury was also used on the carbon rod of the Carbon-Zonc
>> battery as a depolarizer and it took a lot of work to replace that.
>> Modern batteries have much lower internal resistance, i.e. they can
>> supply much higher currents (Flash Amps) than the older chemistries.
>> http://www.prc68.com/I/No6.shtml#FA
>>
>> There's a YouTube video showing that if you connect a series string of AA
>> cells (maybe 10 of them?) and put that in parallel with a dead car battery
>> for a few minutes, you can start the car.
>>
>> --
>> Have Fun,
>>
>> Brooke Clarkehttp://www.PRC68.comhttp://www.end2partygovernment.com/2012Issues.html
>>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>>
>> What's old is made to seem new. Yet again.
>>
>> Wayne
>> WB4OGM
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Bill Cromwell <wrcromwell at gmail.com> <wrcromwell at gmail.com>
>> To: arc5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net> <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Sat, Jun 9, 2018 6:39 pm
>> Subject: Re: [ARC5] Batteries That Do Not Corrode?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> So it's all hype and slight of hand from Madison Avenue.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Bill KU8H
>>
>> On 06/09/2018 08:00 PM, Tom Lee wrote:
>> > Yes, that's correct. Ammonium chloride ("sal ammoniac" in oldspeak) is
>> > the electrolyte in carbon-zinc batteries.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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