[Milsurplus] Duracell Coppertop battries

[KD7JYK DM09]

"I've never seen one explode even when hugely mistreated, so that seems 
an odd reason."

I sure have!

I was using a 9V in the shop one evening, and it started getting warm. 
I set it on the floor in the middle of the shop to cool off, and about 
ten minutes later, it went off like a shotgun cartridge, bouncing around 
the shop like a ground bloom flower firework, bouncing off the door, and 
spewing smoldering crap all over the place.

There was a night light in my daughters room, and one night I was 
checking on her, and heard a hissing sound.  A AA battery was hissing, 
sputtering, and spewing liquid.  The light was off, and had been for a 
day or two, the battery just decided to go critical.

I found a couple more AA that were warm, and leaking.  I set them 
outside in the dirt to do whatever they thought they needed to do.  A 
couple days later I checked on them, and they had expanded to about 150% 
from one end, splitting the case about half-way down the side.

I had some more AA problems, again, warm/leaking, so set them out. 
These didn't split, but when I checked them a few days later, they were 
incinerated about half way down, looking like a cigarette someone lit, 
then set down, and went out half way to the filter.  Half the battery 
was OK, the other half, charred, even the metal buggered up.

All of the above were Duracell.

Kurt