Batteries are one of the most widely used sources of energy in portable electronic devices. Those batteries can leak when they’re left to devices for too long or disposed of improperly. Battery leakage is annoying and usually damages your equipment. Here Duraleak strike again…
Why do batteries leak?
Leakage happens often when a battery is left in a device for too long, especially when it’s not used. Many modern devices still when device is left unused, it still periodically ‘checks’ for the remaining power. It can take years for this to happen or just a few months, depending on the quality of the battery and how much parasitic draw (the power a device uses while it’s turned off) the item has. This is why it’s always important to remove the batteries before you stow away gadgets. Just don’t leave batteries in any device you care about when not in use.
Can you save a device that has leaked battery inside?
If you’ve come across an old, beloved gadget that’s now covered in this beautiful battery vomit, it doesn’t take much to clean it up. You probably already have everything you need around the house.
Once battery starts to leak inside a device, it oxidizes and starts to corrode any components with which it comes in contact. Depending on the battery type the battery contains either acid (old carbon cells) or caustic chemicals (many modern cells).
If the leak isn’t too bad, the device might be often salvageable with some cleaning. If the chemicals from battery have leaked onto critical components and been there long enough, though, it might have caused permanent damage. Not all devices can be saved.
A contact cleaner (like DeoxIt), vinegar or lemon juice both work just as well. Isopropyl alcohol (70-91%) is handy to clean off the vinegar or lemon juice and leave the circuitry squeaky clean. With Q-tips you can easily clean the battery contacts and circuitry. A toothbrush comes in handy for larger acid spills that make their way to circuit boards or other areas of a device. Paper towels or rags are useful to clean up any messes or to protect other areas. You also often need tools to take the device apart to gain full access to the battery leak.
EASILY Clean Battery Leak Damage(Corrosion) In Electronics
EEVblog #1349 – Energizer Battery Leakage – MADE IN USA!
What to do with the leaking batteries?
Leaking batteries are not safe to use, but you don’t want to throw them out. Too many batteries end up in landfills, where they leak their contents into the environment. Put the leaky batteries in a plastic bag and drop them off at a recycling facility together with out other used batteries.
Sources:
https://survivalfreedom.com/why-do-batteries-leak-and-how-to-keep-them-from-leaking/
https://www.betterbattery.co/blogs/blog/how-to-clean-and-dispose-of-corroded-batteries
https://www.reviewgeek.com/32730/how-to-clean-battery-acid-off-your-gadgets/amp/
https://www.energizer.com/about-batteries/what-is-battery-acid
https://www.panasonic-batteries.com/en/news/battery-leakage-causes-and-prevention
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VintageElectronicTestEquipment/permalink/5488658224584658/
10 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://proakku.fi/2020/08/02/ladattavat-vs-tavalliset-paristot/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Crusty Leaking Cells Kill Your Tech. Just What’s Going On?
https://hackaday.com/2022/10/19/crusty-leaking-cells-kill-your-tech-just-whats-going-on/
What’s The Leaky Stuff?
Non-rechargeable cells come in a variety of chemistries, but the commercial ones we’re most familiar with are zinc-carbon “dry cells”, and “Alkaline” zinc-manganese dioxide cells. The zinc-carbon variety are becoming less common here in 2022 and have an acidic zinc chloride or ammonium chloride electrolyte, while the alkaline cells have a higher capacity and a basic potassium hydroxide electrolyte. They both have different failure modes that result in the leaky cells, so it’s worth taking a look at each one.
The failure mode of a zinc-carbon cell is a chemical one, the acidic electrolyte reacts with the zinc can anode, and eventually eats through it. The leaking electrolyte then attacks the surrounding circuitry and battery clips. It’s hardly a concentrated acid, but it’s enough to do plenty of damage over the years.
Meanwhile an alkaline cell has a build-up of hydrogen as it degrades. It incorporates a vent which allows the hydrogen to escape, however the hydrogen pressure can instead force the electrolyte out through this vent. The electrolyte will then corrode the battery terminals and any other electronics it touches. A feature of alkaline cell leakage is a white crust, this is potassium carbonate formed from the reaction between the potassium hydroxide electrolyte and carbon dioxide in the air.
How much damage has been done is usually a function of how long the leaking batteries have been in the device. Sometimes one is lucky and the battery contacts are salvageable, otherwise they are too far gone and a replacement has to be found. A
A quick AliExpress search on terms such as “AA battery spring” will return numerous options, and it’s simply a case then of paging through to find the one you need on the terms you like.
Here in 2022 we’re more likely to have lithium polymer cells in our consumer devices and so the need to keep a pile of Duracells at hand is reduced. But the thought of today’s equivalent of a Super 8 camera lying forgotten in a drawer for decades with a cheap li-po pouch cell inside it is far more frightening than something with some crusty manganese cells. Have we just found the root cause of house fires in the 2040s?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.batteryproducts.com/maintenanceTips/AlkalineBatteries
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.greenmatters.com/p/why-cant-you-throw-away-batteries
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exploding battery
https://youtu.be/ZDq8jGXl78k
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s common knowledge that a Duracell battery run on nasty white stuff, that’s why it stops working when that alkaline battery womin escapes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s common knowledge that electronics runs on smoke, that’s why it stops working when the smoke escapes
Tomi Engdahl says:
Käyttämättömistä paristoista ja akuista johtuvasta tulipalosta voi joutua itse vastuuseen
https://yle.fi/a/74-20010581
Pelkästään syksyn aikana on sattunut useita tulipaloja, jotka ilmeisesti syttyivät väärin käsitellyistä paristoista tai akuista.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kuluttaja-lehti testasi: Hinta tai arvostettu merkki ei takaa hyvää paristoa – Lidlin patteri oli sekä halvin että paras
https://www.kaleva.fi/kuluttaja-lehti-testasi-hinta-tai-arvostettu-merkk/1940107
Kalliimpi hinta ja tunnettu merkki eivät tarkoita paristojen kohdalla parempaa laatua ja kestoa, kertoo tuoreen Kuluttaja-lehden tekemä paristotesti. Lehti testasi 19 pikkuparistoa eli AAA-koon tuotetta.
Lehti testasi 19 pikkuparistoa eli AAA-koon tuotetta. Niiden käyttöaikaa testattiin taskulampussa ja langattomassa hiiressä. Lampputesti tehtiin huoneenlämmössä ja nollassa celsiusasteessa.
Lidlin Aerocell-niminen paristo vei koko testin voiton ollen sekä halvin että testeissä kokonaistulokseltaan paras.
Myös Ikean, Bilteman, Clas Ohlsonin ja S-ryhmän Rainbow-merkin “halpispatterit” saivat kelpo arvosanat hintaan nähden.
Esimerkiksi tunnetut nimet Varta, Panasonic, GP ja Sony jäivät takamatkalle testin kärkituotteisiin nähden. Toisaalta testin perusteella yksikään mukana olleista pattereista ei ole täysin surkea ostos.
Tunnetuista ja kalliimmista merkeistä Duracell antoi parhaiten vastinetta isommalle hinnalle, sillä sen Ultra Power-patteri jaksoi huoneenlämmössä tehdyssä kestotestissä parhaiten.
Paristoilla oli huimat kappalehintaerot: testivoittajan eli Lidlin yksi paristo maksoi 28 senttiä, kun kallein Energizer Eco Advanced-patteri kustansi 1,12 euroa kappaleelta.
Lidlin Aerocell-paristoilla lamppu palaa eurolla 1057 minuuttia eli lähes 18 tuntia, kalliilla Energizerilla vain 261 minuuttia eli reilut neljä tuntia.
Kylmät olosuhteet purivat kaikkien paristojen tehoon, mutta tässäkin jyvät erottuivat akanoista. Kylmissä olosuhteissa parhaiten jaksoi lelukauppojen merkki Power, heikoimmin vain Gigantissa myytävä Logik-paristo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Onko kalliimpi paristo sitkeämpi?
https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2006/02/23/onko-kalliimpi-paristo-sitkeampi
Edullisimmalla ja kalleimmalla paristopaketilla voi olla jopa kolminkertainen hintaero. Edes asiantuntija ei osaa vastata pakkausmerkintöjen perusteella, kuinka paljon lisätehoa lisähinnalla saisi.
- Kalliimpi kestää ehkä pitempään, mutta ei ehkä niin paljon pitempään kuin hintaeroa on, pohtii Anton Sjöholm.
- Nopeasti katsottuna se tuntui erittäin vaikealta. Jossain on mainittu, millainen kemia pariston takana on, sanoo professori Kyösti Kontturi Teknillisestä korkeakoulusta.
- Mutta ei maallikko paremmuudesta ainakaan kovin nopeasti pysty ottamaan selvää, hän jatkaa.
Sähkövarauksen määrälle olisi olemassa mittayksikkö, ampeeritunti. Ainakaan kertakäyttöpattereihin valmistajat eivät kyisestä lukemaa yleensä merkitse.
Mutta todellinen paristosta saatava teho on aivan muuta kulloisessakin käytössä: esimerkiksi radiolla ja digi-kameralla voidaan samasta paristosta saada irti aivan erilaiset ampeeritunnit.
- Jos lähdetään ilmoittamaan paristojen pakkauksissa ampeerituntimäärä, tulisi lukeman olla
yhteismitallinen. Toisin sanoen tulisi määritellä, miten ampeeritunnit mitataan, vastaa markkinointipäällikkö Kari Niemenmaa Airamista.
Kalliimman hintaluokan paristot (yli 3 euroa / kpl paketti) pyörittivät myllyjä keskimäärin pitempään kuin halvemman (alle 2.5 €). Mutta kun laskimme hinnan käyttötunnille, paljastui, että useimmat kalliimman hintaluokan paristot tulivat käytössä kalliimmiksi kuin halvemmat patterit.