PSA - Check your flashlights

[ReamerPunch]

I had removed the batteries from electronics that do not get used often, but a flashlight escaped. 
The battery had corroded, but the flashlight still works.

Check your stuff, and remove batteries from them and store them separately if you don't use them often.

[Don Pablo]

Important tip if you use non-rechargable alkaline batteries. 
(Why do they poo in your electronics so much? it happened to me, and annoyed me enough to throw them all away for a better replacement chemistry)

[Dan B]

I'll still use alkaline disposables for the lights that I don't care about, but all my good ones get eneloop or lithium rechargeable batteries for this reason right here.

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[Poncho65]

All my good lights have rechargables but I need to go and check all the rest to make sure they don't corrode
\
Good heads up reminder

[Aloha]

Only Eneloops for me. 

[gerleatherberman]

My new goto for long term storage batteries is Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAs and AAAs. Pricey, but extremely good run times and 15+ year shelf life.
I have a set of 2xAAA Ultimate Lithiums in my work light and it has so far outlasted a set of regular alkaline batteries by 5x.
My digital camera can take 20 photos with a new set of quality alkaline batteries, but the Ultimate Lithiums can take 250 photos in the same camera. Then the ULs are still good for using in flashlights stowed away for over 10 years.

[Stefano]

My new goto for long term storage batteries is Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAs and AAAs. Pricey, but extremely good run times and 15+ year shelf life.

I agree,
Energizer L91 Lithium (AA) and L92 (AAA) are excellent "disposable" batteries,
They do not lose acid, have high autonomy, weigh little and do not fear frost,
They can also allow powerful AA lights like Armytek or Zebralight to emit full power.

[enki_ck]

I don't trust anything, I lost a ThruNite T10s flashlight to an Eneloop that spilled its guts inside it.

If you wanna store it for a longer time, lithium or lithium ion from reputable brands. Otherwise, store separatly

[Wspeed]

I always try and remove the batteries from stuff that doesn’t get used much
But I have forgotten before as well and it makes a real mess of things 

[ezdog]

I use a lot of AA batteries and they are still a staple of my EDC really and I use Leakers all the time but I use them fast and get rid of the bodies too!
Using them like this has kept them from getting a chance to blow on me so far and I have no intention of changing things up as long as I remain diligent about keeping the fresh ones in the light.

My SC52 and LD12 might go through a few sets a day on some days and they never get the chance to leak.

Otherwise for lights that I do not use every day and all day long I use L91 or Eneloop pr Lithium 14500s to avoid the pain of the leak.

[gerleatherberman]

  to lithium fans. It is a wonder element indeed.
Used for antipsychotic medications, awesome batteries, and many other things.

[nate j]

I agree,
Energizer L91 Lithium (AA) and L92 (AAA) are excellent "disposable" batteries,
They do not lose acid, have high autonomy, weigh little and do not fear frost,
They can also allow powerful AA lights like Armytek or Zebralight to emit full power.

+2   

[Aloha]

Kinda surprised Eneloops leaking  .  I've had some Eneloops sitting in lights for a while with no issues. I also make sure to unscrew the heads slightly so no accidental activation while sitting.  Thanks for the heads up tho, Ill keep an eye on those lights. 

I have Surefire Lithium and Panasonic as well as Olight 14500s rechargeable.  I run the 14500s in my Zebralight SC52L2.     

[comis]

I agree,
Energizer L91 Lithium (AA) and L92 (AAA) are excellent "disposable" batteries,
They do not lose acid, have high autonomy, weigh little and do not fear frost,
They can also allow powerful AA lights like Armytek or Zebralight to emit full power.

Me too, except appliances that I use daily(like my mouse), pretty much everything else that use AA or AAA are all L91 for me. 

I have the habit of keeping some of the lights with batteries, so that I can pick up and play/use.  But way too many times I have lost lights/appliances due to leaky batteries, either alkaline or even eneloop might leak over time.  So basically I am going all lithium for everything I used.  The longer battery life/no leak kinda pay for itself.

[Dan B]

Interesting. I've never had an eneloop leak.

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[ezdog]

Interesting. I've never had an eneloop leak.

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Me either but I have read about it before.

[gerleatherberman]

Using a non-technical subjective comparison.

I did the subjective math on Energizer Lithium ultimate batteries in my digital camera. An 8 pack of Energizer Lithium Ultimates is $9.99(so $1.25ea basically) locally. Alkaline cheapies are an 8 pack for $1.99($0.25ea basically). My digital camera can take an average of 20 photos on a pair of cheap alkalines($0.50 basically). And the Lithium batteries in the camera can take 200 photos on average with a pair of Lithiums($2.50 basically). So the Lithium batteries work at 10x the operating capacity in the camera and cost just 5x the price. The Lithiums cost me 1/2 the cost of the alkalines in the long run. Now, that said, those figures don't reflect operation in other devices. They also don't account for damage costs from alkaline leakage or shelf life if the camera goes unused for a while.

[Stefano]

@Comis
I have some L91 and L92 for emergency but I don't use themm I have these batteries to be able to use AA/AAA lights if for some reason it is not possible to recharge the Eneloops.
I have a old large stock of Eneloop and Fujtsu but I don't even use them, they are only for SHTF (I prefer 18650 battery lights)
Four L91 / L92 batteries cost approximately 7 euros, it seems a lot but it is a good price because they have a lot of autonomy and the duration in the time exceeds the expiration date on the package.
The ability of L91/L92 to work well in extreme temperatures (cold) is also important.

Forgiving Eneloop leaves me very puzzled too!
A leaking NiMH battery is an exceptional case.
I've never heard this, won't they be fake batteries? (yes, there are also false batteries on the market..)

[comis]

@Comis
I have some L91 and L92 for emergency but I don't use themm I have these batteries to be able to use AA/AAA lights if for some reason it is not possible to recharge the Eneloops.
I have a old large stock of Eneloop and Fujtsu but I don't even use them, they are only for SHTF (I prefer 18650 battery lights)
Four L91 / L92 batteries cost approximately 7 euros, it seems a lot but it is a good price because they have a lot of autonomy and the duration in the time exceeds the expiration date on the package.
The ability of L91/L92 to work well in extreme temperatures (cold) is also important.

Forgiving Eneloop leaves me very puzzled too!
A leaking NiMH battery is an exceptional case.
I've never heard this, won't they be fake batteries? (yes, there are also false batteries on the market..)

I used to be a flashaholic, and all my flashlight friends used to run big incan mods from many eneloops at a time, so we do have pretty healthy sample size to learn from.  It is really not that common an eneloop will leak, but from my flashlight days I know anything and everything will leak given time.  A poorly designed circuit flashlight will trickle drain a battery without knowing, and eventually will kill the light. 


I know you mentioned fake batteries, and yes, they are quite common if you are not careful where you get them from.  But since we used to purchase batteries in bulk as flashaholics, we did take extra care to know our sources.  In fact, we had learned so much about battery that one of our friends went on to eventually became one of the largest rechargeable lithium brand owner in the world, but that's another story for another time.

[Stefano]

@comis
It would be nice to know how many years ago this happened (the leak of batteries)
Were there several generations of Eneloop, perhaps the first series had any problems? (it's just a hypothesis)

[comis]

@comis
It would be nice to know how many years ago this happened (the leak of batteries)
Were there several generations of Eneloop, perhaps the first series had any problems? (it's just a hypothesis)

Honestly, it was so long ago, I can't really remember when, but definitely not within the last few years.  I actually don't think it is the fault of the eneloop, but probably a faulty circuit.   The eneloop leak was very mild(IIRC, just felt something liquid-y between fingers) and no where as devastating as a leaky alkaline battery, where it could corrode everything and even kept the tailcap 'shut' in some extreme cases.

[Don Pablo]

Honestly, it was so long ago, I can't really remember when, but definitely not within the last few years.  I actually don't think it is the fault of the eneloop, but probably a faulty circuit.   The eneloop leak was very mild(IIRC, just felt something liquid-y between fingers) and no where as devastating as a leaky alkaline battery, where it could corrode everything and even kept the tailcap 'shut' in some extreme cases.

Sounds like I can stop worrying about leaky eneloops then.

[gerleatherberman]

You guys have me wanting to try Eneloops.

Is there any advantage(aside from being less expensive) to using then instead of Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAs and AAAs?

[Don Pablo]

You guys have me wanting to try Eneloops.

Is there any advantage(aside from being less expensive) to using then instead of Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAs and AAAs?

More environmentally friendly (because they're reusable).

They're also the best value battery option, if that's something you care about. Alkaline batteries are like $0.5 per battery, while the 2450mAh eneloops are like $4 per battery, but can be practically reused a hundred times. 1900mAh eneloops are cheaper, and can undergo more charging cycles.

While those Energizer Lithium batteries are the best by far, that does come at a price.
In terms of electrical performance, eneloops are in between Alkaline and said Lithium.


(BTW, the slow but smart charger I use, BQ-CC17, works great, cost €20 and came with 4 1900mAh eneloops. There are faster smart chargers for a little more money.
And all "low self discharge" "pre-charged" batteries that are "made in Japan" are made at the same Fujitsu factory that Japanese eneloops are. So you aren't limited to buying eneloops. Example: Fujitsu sells them under their brand name.)

[gerleatherberman]

More environmentally friendly (because they're reusable).

They're also the best value battery option, if that's something you care about. Alkaline batteries are like $0.5 per battery, while the 2450mAh eneloops are like $4 per battery, but can be practically reused a hundred times. 1900mAh eneloops are cheaper, and can undergo more charging cycles.

While those Energizer Lithium batteries are the best by far, that does come at a price.
In terms of electrical performance, eneloops are in between Alkaline and said Lithium.


(BTW, the slow but smart charger I use, BQ-CC17, works great, cost €20 and came with 4 1900mAh eneloops. There are faster smart chargers for a little more money.
And all "low self discharge" "pre-charged" batteries that are "made in Japan" are made at the same Fujitsu factory that Japanese eneloops are. So you aren't limited to buying eneloops. Example: Fujitsu sells them under their brand name.)

Thank you very much, Pabs! 

Definitely worth getting back into rechargeable batteries again. My only experience with them is limited to the rechargeable NiCd and rechargeable alkaline batteries from the 90s(which weren't great and got set aside when they couldn't run my digital camera and other modern high-drain devices). Will be nice to try the NiMH, with Eneloops. 

[Don Pablo]

Thank you very much, Pabs! 

Definitely worth getting back into rechargeable batteries again. My only experience with them is limited to the rechargeable NiCd and rechargeable alkaline batteries from the 90s(which weren't great and got set aside when they couldn't run my digital camera and other modern high-drain devices). Will be nice to try the NiMH, with Eneloops. 

No problems.
If you're coming from 90's NiCd, be aware that NiMH doesn't have to be empty to charge, as there's no memory effect. They can be topped up even if they're only half-empty.
In fact, not discharging them all the way makes them last for more cycles.  But that's not a big deal for little batteries.
(I understand that memory effect was a known issue with NiCd.)

[gerleatherberman]

 

Battery memory...oh smurf...the worst enemy of NiCd. I ruined a lot of 9.6v NiCd battery packs for my R/C cars before I knew about that. 

The rechargeable alkalines leaked a lot of the time, but worked fairly well for a dozen cycles or so. The NiCd batteries lasted more cycles, but making sure the batteries were dead before charge was a chore. Leaving incandescent lights on would drain them well enough though. And the drain curve was bad. 

Thank you again for the help!

[Stefano]

eneloops are like $4 per battery, but can be practically reused a hundred times. 1900mAh eneloops are cheaper, and can undergo more charging cycles.

White Eneloop = guaranteed for 2100 cycles (2000/19000 mA)
Black Eneloop = 500 cycles (but they are around 2450 mA of capacity)

The black version has more autonomy but also more expensive.
I prefer Eneloop or Fujtsu (white) they cost less and have longer life.

[Don Pablo]

White Eneloop = guaranteed for 2100 cycles (2000/19000 mA)
Black Eneloop = 500 cycles (but they are around 2450 mA of capacity)

The black version has more autonomy but also more expensive.
I prefer Eneloop or Fujtsu (white) they cost less and have longer life.

Black has higher capacity, and white lasts for more cycles.
All my eneloops are white also, as cycles are more important than capacity for me.
If I need more capacity, I bring an extra battery.

[Aloha]

For me its cost over time.  I have not purchased AA/AAA batteries in a while (2012).  I bought them from Costco during xmas.  I have the 2100 cycle and lessor cycle ones as well.  I cannot tell you how happy I am using rechargeable over non.  During xmas Costco has them on sale or you can try the Ikea LADD or Amazon Basics but read up on those just so you're clear on how they stack up against Eneloops.  As for your cells for your camera, just carry a more recharables if you find them draining too fast for your comfort.  My partner photographed MMA fights locally and did just that with her flash.