larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Wife needed some new batteries for a TV remote and look what she found in a bubble pack. Check the dates. Never used. Link to comment
larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 11 minutes ago, kclenden said: Well it is 2020... Yep, a whole year old. Link to comment
Brian H Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Maybe they where counterfeit goods. I have had some Panasonic batteries do similar things. I have Ravovac batteries that still had years on the date. Go bad as dead or leaking in the blister pack. Those where written off as toss them and don't trust that brand again. Though I suppose they could have also been counterfeit from who knows where. Link to comment
larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 49 minutes ago, Brian H said: Maybe they where counterfeit goods. I have had some Panasonic batteries do similar things. I have Ravovac batteries that still had years on the date. Go bad as dead or leaking in the blister pack. Those where written off as toss them and don't trust that brand again. Though I suppose they could have also been counterfeit from who knows where. I haven't looked in other stores but Costco started selling these cheaper Duracell batteries at the same time Duracell announced a new and improved version. Likely the same old one but launched a cheaper line. I have never had problems with Ray-o-Vac yet but then Duracell was the best at one time too. Right now I am stocked up on the Kirkland brand at about half the price. Since Costco only has Duracell 9v. I am testing out Walmart's generic brand on them. No complaints yet but I date them all the last few years. I have tried a few Lithium 9v brands now and they don't last any longer in MS Is so they 4 x price is not warranted either. One brand ran 11.5v and damaged a MS I already. Link to comment
Teken Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 34 minutes ago, larryllix said: I haven't looked in other stores but Costco started selling these cheaper Duracell batteries at the same time Duracell announced a new and improved version. Likely the same old one but launched a cheaper line. I have never had problems with Ray-o-Vac yet but then Duracell was the best at one time too. Right now I am stocked up on the Kirkland brand at about half the price. Since Costco only has Duracell 9v. I am testing out Walmart's generic brand on them. No complaints yet but I date them all the last few years. I have tried a few Lithium 9v brands now and they don't last any longer in MS Is so they 4 x price is not warranted either. One brand ran 11.5v and damaged a MS I already. I have been using Duracell for more than 35 years and in a lot of the facilities where I managed this brand was spec'd. Fast forward to 2020 I have personally moved away from Duracell and started using Energizer as the battery of choice. Haven't used the standard Energizer primary cells for decades so don't have any factual long term experience to say if they will leak. The lithium type from Energizer however has provided great long term (low temperature) performance in many items I use without issues. If the costs weren't so high I would probably be using them in every device I own. I have started to use the Walmart branded *blue label* 9 VDC batteries but have found them to be so so. Plugged them in to a few older Insteon M.S. and it didn't even last a couple of months vs more than a year plus using Duracell, Energizer, Insteon brand *Gold*? For those who have seen this issue with Duracell primary batteries I can say their service after the sale is pretty solid. The only problem you may run into is being able to provide them the sales receipt, UPC code, etc. This is why I always take a picture of the receipt, packaging, and batteries. Before tossing things around and leaving yourself open to a *Ah sh^t* moment of I should have saved that! Duracell has truly gone into the sh^tter over the years and the worst part is people can't say this is because it's made in China! All of the batteries from Costco are made in the USA / Canada. Link to comment
larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 11 minutes ago, Teken said: I have been using Duracell for more than 35 years and in a lot of the facilities where I managed this brand was spec'd. Fast forward to 2020 I have personally moved away from Duracell and started using Energizer as the battery of choice. Haven't used the standard Energizer primary cells for decades so don't have any factual long term experience to say if they will leak. The lithium type from Energizer however has provided great long term (low temperature) performance in many items I use without issues. If the costs weren't so high I would probably be using them in every device I own. I have started to use the Walmart branded *blue label* 9 VDC batteries but have found them to be so so. Plugged them in to a few older Insteon M.S. and it didn't even last a couple of months vs more than a year plus using Duracell, Energizer, Insteon brand *Gold*? For those who have seen this issue with Duracell primary batteries I can say their service after the sale is pretty solid. The only problem you may run into is being able to provide them the sales receipt, UPC code, etc. This is why I always take a picture of the receipt, packaging, and batteries. Before tossing things around and leaving yourself open to a *Ah sh^t* moment of I should have saved that! Duracell has truly gone into the sh^tter over the years and the worst part is people can't say this is because it's made in China! All of the batteries from Costco are made in the USA / Canada. I would be fairly sure they won't cover the equipment the leakage ruined though. Years back, any warrantees I ever remember, stated it was limited to the cost of the batteries only. From what I remember those hieroglyphics aren't French and the CORRODID-19 is another clue. Link to comment
Teken Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Just now, larryllix said: I would be fairly sure they won't cover the equipment the leakage ruined though. Years back, any warrantees I ever remember, stated it was limited to the cost of the batteries only. Can't say if their warranty covers the hardware as it's been awhile since reading the advert. But, can say they are pretty good about the warranty for the batteries but should be aware. They will send you a super large FedEx white baggy to return the batteries. They will also send you an *American* coupon for said batteries and it may not actually cover the costs for the replacement. I ran into that for their rechargeable batteries purchased at Costco more than five years ago. Purchased twenty something of those multi-packs as they were blowing them out the door at crazy prices normally $23-25.00 for the set. But was going out the door for that week for $18.XX for whatever reason so decided to stock up! Anyways brought them home put them on the charger and a couple of the chargers started to blink?!? Grabbed another six sets and some of the batteries simply would not take a charge probably had like 18 AA cells that were sub par. Fired off an email to Duracell and within 72 hours received an auto reply asking for receipt, UPC, and photo of the charger ID. Another 24-48 hours later a confirmation email stating a prepaid bag was coming along with the coupon. Received the coupon about 5~10 days in the snail mail . . . Found the coupon didn't even cover the price of one set properly because all the stores really jack the prices up! Returned all of the defective units to Costco and they gave me replacement without any hassles via refund and gift card to buy the same. Sent a reply back to Duracell about the coupon not being able to cover the costs of the replacement chargers and batteries (Didn't care because Costco took care of this) providing them a photo of Best Buy, Staples, Walmart, Circuit City, current prices. Never heard a word from them after that but than one day FedEx man comes ringing the door bell and what do I find?? Three full units of batteries and chargers!! The Costco units at the time could be purchased with either AAA vs AA but all of them came with the charger and eight batteries. So the three pack they sent ended up being three chargers, and 24 AA 2500 mA rechargeable batteries! I've working toward having at least 200 plus batteries on hand at any given moment with respect to rechargeable cells but am still a little short in this area! Link to comment
larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 LOL! Here is a link to Duracell's website where the neg count is becoming a majority of reviews, with the mostly shill looking 5 stars. https://www.duracell.com/en-us/product/coppertop-battery/?bvstate=pg:6%2Fct:r&bvroute=Review%2F152435605#! Click on the 1 star reviews to see dozens of leaking batteries pictures and leak complaints, some at 6 months of age. After ruining a few pieces of equipment I don't care what Duracell does. That brand name will not be purchased by me. I think the wife bought these ones because I have avoided Duracell since they became crap a few years ago, when they announced their OPTIMUM batteries, relabelled from the original units. Link to comment
Teken Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Reading the negative reviews you know 100% they are real! Regardless, of the primary cell in use I always apply a very thin coat to the battery contacts in all of the devices I own. This will reduce the incident of the leaking material damaging the coil spring / metal band. For good measure I also put a thin coating under the battery because it seems depending upon hardware maker the plastic isn't so robust and the acid can actually melt and eat the plastic housing. I have quite a super expansive DBX, Nakamichi, remotes that were semi melted because of that! Link to comment
larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 Then I found this. We are not alone. https://www.complaintsboard.com/duracell-leaking-batteries-c291176 Link to comment
lilyoyo1 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 That's why I stick with Energizer. I'm my letting, I've never had any issues... They last longer too Link to comment
asbril Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 15 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said: I stick with Energizer I like bunnies as well Link to comment
tmorse305 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I stopped using Duracell batteries years ago because the leaking. Flashlights, DVM, smoke detectors, etc wrecked from leaking batteries. These batteries were not past the use by dates either. I have used Energizer ever since. In fact when I get a new device with Duracell batteries included I pull them and toss them out. Not worth the risk. Most recently was an August Lock. When I went through the reviews online, there were people reporting that they received the lock with the batteries already leaking! Link to comment
gviliunas Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 re. August lock. I was using the Costco Duracell batteries and was replacing them ~ every 3 months. Not too bad BUT they failed in the lock with no warning. Usually I would see the warning as I looked at my phone wondering why the lock did not auto-unlock as I approached. Later I learned to gauge the battery level by the sound the lock makes as it locks. Okay, this appears to be a limitation of this lock. I've read that August does not recommend using rechargeable batteries as these may become depleted without warning. Hmmm can't be any worse than what I'm seeing now with the Duracell throw-away batteries. One problem with rechargeable AAs is that they are only 1.2V vs. 1.5V in the disposables. I was searching Amazon and came across 1.5V rechargeable AAs. These have micro USB ports in the tops of the batteries. They are expensive but have been running 2 months so far without "the sound of low battery" or any indication on the app. We'll see if these are as-good or better (wishful thinking) in a few months. Link to comment
tmorse305 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 17 minutes ago, gviliunas said: re. August lock. I was using the Costco Duracell batteries and was replacing them ~ every 3 months. Not too bad BUT they failed in the lock with no warning. Usually I would see the warning as I looked at my phone wondering why the lock did not auto-unlock as I approached. Later I learned to gauge the battery level by the sound the lock makes as it locks. Okay, this appears to be a limitation of this lock. I've read that August does not recommend using rechargeable batteries as these may become depleted without warning. Hmmm can't be any worse than what I'm seeing now with the Duracell throw-away batteries. One problem with rechargeable AAs is that they are only 1.2V vs. 1.5V in the disposables. I was searching Amazon and came across 1.5V rechargeable AAs. These have micro USB ports in the tops of the batteries. They are expensive but have been running 2 months so far without "the sound of low battery" or any indication on the app. We'll see if these are as-good or better (wishful thinking) in a few months. I am using the Li-AA rechargeables also but not in my lock. I'm having good luck with them, the amp hour rating is a little bit low given some the battery volume is used up by the the USB port and the electronics. But they just need charging a little more often. I read the August Lock low battery indication is designed for Alkaline battery chemistry. My lock also died without warning but I figured it was because I was using Li batteries in it. From your experience it sounds like it doesn't work with Alkaline chemistry either. Link to comment
Mustang65 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Such a waste of money. Here is a picture of my dead batteries for about the last 18 months. The off brands that come with things we buy go directly to the box. Link to comment
larryllix Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 Some of those "off-name brands" last longer than the big name brand batteries now. I have never had an "off-brand" battery leak on me yet. I usually figure they will last a few weeks when the new equipment comes, even though carbon-zinc but find some still working 5-6 years later. It has to be done on purpose making cheap, short lived or easy leak batteries. Link to comment
Mustang65 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 All of these batteries get replaced annually whether they need it or not. I just do not want to take the chance. I have few things that I have neglected to replace in the year and found that the battery leaked. I then had to replace the battery contacts in the unit. Just a pain in the ... to do. Link to comment
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