Disaster! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 06:11:03 pm
content: I just went to try something with my Aneng AN8008 (which doesn't get used very often) and I found this:

author: rvalente
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 06:18:25 pm
content: Alkalines are little devils when left flat...

author: PartialDischarge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 06:19:54 pm
content: Do you live near the sea?

author: paul8f
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 06:30:09 pm
content: Looks nasty...!A good clean with isopropyl alcohol will only go so far I think. You could try scrubbing the contacts with a micro-abrasive-pen such as Radionics #514-868. However, this will also remove the protective enameled finish, so you will then need to tin the freshly exposed metal with solder. Don't know how long this repair will last...Can you buy replacement battery terminals somewhere? Last resort you could just extend the positive and negative wires out to an external battery pack/battery holder, which you could stick to back of the meter with some double sided tape.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 07:01:01 pm
content: Quote from: MasterTech on February 03, 2021, 06:19:54 pmAbout 700m away, but I doubt that makes a difference. That looks like sea salt but I'm fairly sure it isn't.This is only the second or third time in my life I've had a battery leak.Quote from: paul8f on February 03, 2021, 06:30:09 pmI usually use warm water and plenty of elbow grease.I doubt there are any spare parts out there, even replacement fuses are almost impossible to find for these meters.

author: NoisyBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 08:01:14 pm
content: So sorry to see that, with the Durahell here in the US, it is a common occurrence. AAA is the worst offender, AA is next, but I rarely seen it happen in C or D cells. A lot of the corrosive crystal are alkaline in nature (Potassium Carbonate), I usually use diluted vinegar to neutralize it first, then remove all the liquid and residual with distilled water, then Isopropyl alcohol to dry it out. It is a good idea to make sure to open it up and make sure no corrosion migrate beyond the battery box.If you see my post about the Durahell batteries, those things leaks brand new inside unopened packaging. I easily threw out a few dozen batteries in unopened packages as they leak.I will only use the remaining alkaline batteries in high drain devices where I know I will use it up in a day or two and dispose it immediately. For portable test gears, where the batteries can stay in it for months or over a year, I only use rechargeable and lithium batteries now.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 08:03:29 pm
content: Unfortunate. Thankfully, the meter wasn't worth much more than a set of batteries to begin with.

author: kcbrown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 08:27:05 pm
content: This is one of the major reasons I use NiMH rechargeable batteries in my handheld equipment. I've never seen one of those leak. The AN8008 works just fine with them.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 11:08:05 pm
content: Same here at work, we use NIMH accus for decades with no problems like this.At home, I always use alkaline cells and last week, one of my devices are found dead because of leaking batteries...

author: bc888
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 11:08:32 pm
content: Deoxit is your friendThey have both a cleaner and a sealer.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 02:30:25 am
content: Quote from: NoisyBoy on February 03, 2021, 08:01:14 pmThat's my process - applied sensibly, of course.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 04:22:54 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on February 03, 2021, 08:00:46 pmFirst of all, vicinity to the coast has little to do with humidity. Have you ever heard of a desert island?Secondly, (alkaline) batteries do not leak from humidity. The causes of leaking are gas pressure, seal deterioration, and corrosion of the case starting on the inside. You can verify this yourself if you autopsy leaked cells.Today, all alkaline cells have the potential to leak. Some have better seals, are made with more space for gas, and better surface finish of the case, but they can all leak under the right circumstances. The major change from 30 years ago is the removal of mercury, which helped to prevent gas and corrosion.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 04:56:37 am
content: Quote from: helius on February 04, 2021, 04:22:54 amIt has been my experience that they will all leak if left flat long enough. This sometimes escapes notice if the equipment fully electrically isolates the battery when off. It takes quite a while for self discharge to flatten the battery enough to trigger the leak response. But any equipment that has a sleeping processor or any other source of minor current drain will demonstrate this behavior relatively quickly.I haven't noticed any strong dependence on humidity, but high temperatures do make the problem much worse. Don't store anything with alkaline batteries in a car that sits in the sun. A flashlight (torch) being the obvious example, but multimeters also love to die in that environment.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 05:16:01 am
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on February 04, 2021, 04:56:37 amWeird. Dave had no luck at all in getting his batteries to leak.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1296-alkaline-battery-leakage-testing-2-electric-boogaloo/

author: Old Goat
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 06:08:09 am
content: Oops! Take 'em out carefully, clean up as much of the junk as you can, then use a small stiff bristle brush and white vinegar. That should neutralize all the leakage. Then see where you are. Scraping contacts with an exacto knife or similar might be warranted. Then you may want to re-tin the contacts as mentioned above.

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 06:09:53 am
content: Hard to say what really makes alkaline batteries leak, can be a whole lot of factors of how the battery was used and stored combined with the luck of the draw that some batteries happened to be made better than others.Try to clean it up the best you can, hopefully the meter still works. If not then at least it happened in a cheep chinese DMM. For this reason i run my good name brand DMMs on lithium AAs since they don't leak at all.

author: HarryDoPECC
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2021, 06:58:07 am
content: +1 for vineger -> distilled -> isopropyl. Remove the crud that loosens at each stage. I have been caught in past before I did the vinegar, problems later due to slow progress of corrosion from residual alkali. The weak acid also helps to remove that which is not water/alcohol soluble.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 12:36:48 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on February 04, 2021, 06:02:52 amThis is a well known effect of chloride ions (salt) in the atmosphere. Seehttps://corrosion-doctors.org/AtmCorros/chlorides.htmQuoteIt is visibly leaking its electrolyte (potassium hydroxide). Short of smelling and tasting it, I have every evidence needed for that, no assumptions

author: eKretz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 08:05:10 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on February 04, 2021, 06:02:52 amThis is sort of a silly analogy. (Sun/heat). Being near the ocean does have something to do with the humidity in the air, but unless you're comparing to the middle of a desert it can be pretty humid almost anywhere. I don't live anywhere near an ocean or even lake for that matter, but it's pretty humid here quite often. Wonder of wonders, it even rains here sometimes! The humidity falls right out of the air!Anyway, it is very evident from the photo to anyone who has ever had alkaline batteries leak and corrode equipment that the photo is showing exactly that.

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 10:15:13 am
content: 700m?Move house!

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 11:28:42 am
content: Quote from: Terry Bites on February 05, 2021, 10:15:13 amCloser to the sea or further away?

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 11:52:56 am
content: Quote from: kcbrown on February 03, 2021, 08:27:05 pmAnd yet I have. YMMV.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 02:15:36 pm
content: I am sorry to hear that, Fungus. The quality of these little s****s of Alkalines is eroding every single day - no brand is safe. Interestingly enough, coincidentally yesterday I mentioned this to the other guy in the U1272A thread.I reported my experience here in many places around EEV forum (here,hereandhereand there's more for sure).I have seen these issues happen in many different environments and with different levels of internal charge - the one that usually is the worst case due to the cost of the equipment is when a battery is left alone in a device with a soft power button, which gets discharged little by little.My recovery process is also with vinegar followed by isopropyl alcohol

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 04:08:48 pm
content: Update:The leak happened at the end where the spring forms a "U" shape to connect the two batteries together. I just pulled that bit of metal out (it comes out quite easily), washed it with water, and... it came up like new!The meter is working again.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 04:46:06 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 05, 2021, 04:08:48 pmNice work.My experience is that cleaning battery leaks generally restores operation - just depends on how bad the leak was and how hard you work at the cleaning process. Your cleaning came out beautiful.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 05:12:49 pm
content: Quote from: Electro Fan on February 05, 2021, 04:46:06 pmTwo seconds under the tap.(faucet)

author: NoisyBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 05:35:25 pm
content: It is good that the leak occurs at the end of the battery box that is sealed, so you don't have to worry about the corrosion migrating into the circuit.I bought a fairly rare HP calculator as a gamble, the original owner had not opened the battery compartment for over 25 years. Upon opening it, the old NiCd battery in it had leaked (which was common for the HP NiCd from the 70's), the corrosion migrated through two layers of gold plated PCBs, ate the legs off both active and passive components, and lifted most of the traces off the board. It basically destroyed every single component within the calculator case, it was $200 down the drain and a great example of what battery corrosion can do to electronics and reduce it to a non-functioning windows display.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 05:41:17 pm
content: Quote from: NoisyBoy on February 05, 2021, 05:35:25 pmIndeed, I recently got my hands on a nice dual band handheld radio which had a NiMH pack, it'd leaked and most of the tracks on the PLL board had dissolved making it scrap.

author: kcbrown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 07:02:45 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 05, 2021, 05:12:49 pmLooks like you caught the leak before it was able to do any corrosive damage to the metal, and the nickel plating held up. Which means the leak must be recent. That was definitely a stroke of luck.I'm sure NiMH batteries leak from time to time, but that seems to be rare enough as to make them the way to go unless the device is going to sit for a very long time, in which case you might want to switch to lithium.I'm forced to agree with @rsjsouza: the quality of alkaline batteries has fallen through the floor, and none of the brands seems to be immune from leakage anymore. These days, they're the last thing I'd put into any device that I care about. In fact, it's gotten to the point that I have to wonder if there's any significant difference in this regard between the big name brands and the cheap Chinese alkaline batteries that you can get at places like Harbor Freight. I'd bet they all tend to be made in the same plants these days.Either way, alkaline batteries are now, for me, specialty batteries that I use only when forced to. I'll use just about any other solution in preference to alkalines when possible.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 07:15:20 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 05, 2021, 04:08:48 pmCongrats, man. You dodged a bullet here.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2021, 07:25:34 pm
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on February 05, 2021, 07:15:20 pm... one from a peashooter, fortunately.

author: Co6aka
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 06, 2021, 05:58:41 am
content: FWIW, I found that citric acid does a much better cleaning job than vinegar, and so far haven't had any subsequent corrosion issues (after a thorough IPA cleaning and Deoxit application, of course) but I'm wondering if anyone has ideas/opinions about citric acid versus vinegar usage...?

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2021, 06:08:15 am
content: The advantage of acetic acid is that it is volatile. Given time to dry (after rinsing with water, of course) with sufficient airflow, there is no residue at all.Citric acid is not volatile and thorough washing with warm water is recommended.

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2021, 11:46:11 pm
content: This sort of leakage absolutely does not require the batteries to run flat. I have had many failures with Kirkland batteries (Costco), even when still within the date code and in the original package!Costco won't stand behind their batteries. I quit my membership partly because of this.

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2021, 11:54:06 pm
content: Quote from: kcbrown on February 05, 2021, 07:02:45 pmI use Sunshine batteries sold at the Dollar Tree. Not found one to leak yet and they have been reviewed and tested to last as long as any of them.QuoteI've always wondered why they don't make a double, AA lithium battery. They have a high enough voltage that one will replace two alkaline cells in many applications. I guess the voltage compatibility and even case compatibility would not be universal enough. Some gadgets put the cells in opposing directions and others put them in the same direction. It would be impossible to design a single cell configuration to be compatible with them all or even be sure not to get shorted in the wrong configuration of battery holder.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 08:49:42 am
content: Quote from: gnuarm on February 06, 2021, 11:54:06 pmThey make single Lithium AA cells at 1.5V terminal voltagehttps://www.energizer.com/batteries/energizer-ultimate-lithium-batteries*edited because pre coffee posting is a bad idea it seems*

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 08:56:13 am
content: Quote from: gnuarm on February 06, 2021, 11:54:06 pmTenergy sells3.2V LiFePO4 AA cellsthat are pretty nifty. At least until you accidentally install them in something that expects 1.5V cells...

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 10:17:20 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 03, 2021, 07:01:01 pmYou should be playing the lottery then because you are one lucky guy. It has cost me so much that I've given up on alkaline battereis as much as possible.To put it in perspective I went out and bought a couple of flashlights that use Milwaukee's 12 VDC battery system and I honestly believe I've saved money over the various AA and D cell lights I've had to throw out.QuoteHow "cleanable" the contacts are depends a great deal on what happened to the plating. If the plating is damaged you will either need to replate or replace. I've not had good luck with cleaning to be honest but you millage may vary and if you get the leak early you might get good results.Contacts or springs are available in hundreds (probably 1000's) of styles, the problem as always is finding the right one. Under the grouping "Battery Holders, Clips, Contacts" DigiKey has like 133 items to choose from. One manufacture. Keystone, (https://www.keyelco.com/index.cfm) has a huge selection but you will likely have to go through a distributor.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 10:21:25 am
content: Quote from: kcbrown on February 05, 2021, 07:02:45 pmThat's not just a "quality" thing, alkalines used to have mercury in them and that made abigdifference.Mercury is mostly banned now and one of the results is batteries that leak more.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 10:22:54 am
content: Quote from: wizard69 on February 07, 2021, 10:17:20 amMaybe they have different chemistry in the USA?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 10:37:49 am
content: I'm thinking of looking into Eneloops. I've never seen them on sale around here but I could get them on the Internet.Enelooping everything I own would be a big investment though. Maybe I could start with just the expensive/important stuff and the things that go through a lot of batteries. The expensive stuff mostly uses 9V batteries though and I don't think there's an Eneloop 9V.But as I said, leaks are a very rare event for me. Maybe I've been lucky so far and this leak was just the start of a "correction" in the numbers game. I dunno.(cue the Eneloop fanboys...)

author: Doddy883
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 11:21:57 am
content: The initial cost of buying lots of NiMHs is a bit of a burden. Now I just buy a new pack whenever I get something new that needs them, adds about £6 to the cost of new equipment. I need to look into some of the charger projects I've seen, the Ansmann charger I got was cheap but is very basic. I have to use it somewhere where it's in my eyeline so I remember to remove the batteries when they're charged (no automatic controls here!)Regarding battery leaks, I've 'fixed' a few things by using desoldering braid in the place of corroded terminals. It's not pretty, but it works!

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 12:15:55 pm
content: I've had some success 3D printing holders for cell chargers and I made the contacts from thin brass sheet, seems to work rather well and is very easy to cut with a cheap pair of scissors.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 01:10:22 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 07, 2021, 10:21:25 amFungus, this may explain in part, but mercury has been banned for quite some time and my personal experience is that brands that were rock solid seem to have cheapened their products - that or they are trying to pack so much energy that those batteries literally burst on their seams.I have been quite consistent in limiting the brands and observing their behaviour for more than ten years, and I can tell the brands that had very little failure (if at all) started to show problems over the years.Anecdoctal experience indeed but, since there are no serious studies about this, that is what I am going for.

author: Zoli
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 04:25:16 pm
content: Quote from: CJay on February 07, 2021, 08:49:42 amI won't exactly call it 1.5V - it can be dangerous some times...

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 07:40:00 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 07, 2021, 10:37:49 amI have Eneloop batteries. I used them a lot in a handheld GPS which no longer is used. I found them to be rather pointless in low drain devices like clocks or computer mice and so don't use them at all anymore. They also have the limitation of needing to be charge in pairs which means discharged in pairs. LED headlights often use 3 cells and so mess up the balance of paired charging.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 08:37:14 pm
content: I doubt that the cells need to be paired to be charged, but it may be a cost-cutting decision on Eneloop branded chargers (there have been many models of charger from Sanyo/Panasonic over the years, but they are all cheap).I have a $100 multi-chemistry charger that can charge any combination of 4 cells simultaneously, of different chemistries and voltages. It is overkill as just a NiMH charger; you can do the same with $30 units.It also has the capability to charge alkalines, as RAM (rechargeable alkaline manganese) cells were (or still are) available. I have done some experiments with Japanese primary alkalinesdescribed here; more recently I have tested some Maxell C cells with more favorable results.The criteria for the recharging treatment is:1. Candidate cell was made in Japan, not a Duracell or Energizer2. Open-circuit voltage (before recharging) is above 1.3 V3. No signs of leakage or corrosionCharging was carried out on 4 C cells at a current of 200 mA each, termination at 1.6 V.To give gas the opportunity to recombine, a 15 minute pause was taken every 15 minutes of charging. This can obviously vary and I have not experimented with different periods.Results were (after resting for 1 day) the open-circuit voltage on each cell is now 1.4 V, enough to turn off the low-battery indication on a 1970s electric scale. This represents added energy of less than 20% of total capacity, but the primary cell construction probably doesn't handle more than that. The cells have been back in service in their (extremely low drain) application and have not leaked for 2 weeks.AA cells are much smaller than C, so the current also must be much less. Based on the successful experiment, I believe that alkaline AA should be charged at no more than 50 mA, with pauses every half hour for gas recombination.Hopefully this is useful to somebody.

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 11:08:14 pm
content: That's why I said the Eneloop batteries have to be charge in pairs, the charger won't charge a single cell and they run the same amount of charge into both cells. That's not good. They did it to save literally a few pennies. That makes them much less useful to me.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 11:21:51 pm
content: Quote from: gnuarm on February 07, 2021, 11:08:14 pmThat's just the crap charger you may have. If it is an official Panasonic charger, shame on them. I have multiple chargers, including the one that came with the Eneloops, that charge each cell individually. Anything less is silly.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2021, 11:43:20 pm
content: I agree with bdunham7 and helius: the charger is crap. I have ancient chargers that already charged single cells (one from Sony and another from an off-brand Werlisa). I also have Nitecores (one i2 that I gave away and another i4) that charge cells individually and were bought new for about US$15 a few years ago.

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 12:00:21 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on February 07, 2021, 11:21:51 pmIt's the one that came with the batteries, a "kit" from Costco with several AA, AAA cells and C adapters (a tube to make the AA fit a C compartment) along with a charger that holds 2 or 4 cells, all in a carrying case with a handle. lolEverything in this has the Eneloop name on it.Doesn't matter to me really. A couple of years ago I bought a second kit because I couldn't find most of the batteries and I never opened it. I only use batteries in long life products and primaries work ok. Much less bother. I just won't use Costco batteries anymore. Never had a Sunshine cell leak on me and I can get the same price on a pack of four as I paid for 48 from Costco some of which leaked in the pack before I ever used them.

author: gnuarm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 12:03:27 am
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on February 07, 2021, 11:43:20 pmOf course it's the charger, no dispute about that. The problem is I'm not charging cells in devices that were not designed for it. Every different battery composition is charged a bit differently. One charger type may over charge a cell while another type may undercharge it. Generic chargers are for generic batteries. Eneloops are not generic batteries.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 12:30:54 am
content: Quote from: gnuarm on February 08, 2021, 12:03:27 amEneloop are NiMH, and if they are charged in a 'proper' NiMH-aware device (one that is truly smart instead of a constant rate cooker) everything works well. The constant-rate timed chargers are a terrible idea for the Eneloops or any LSD NiMH and I have no idea why they would ship a charger like that with the batteries. Perhaps Costco wanted them to meet a price point and they couldn't resist the temptation to ship a boatload of product? I have the OEM Panasonic BQ-CC17 'Advanced' and the ACCUPower 338XL and they both work perfectly with the Eneloops.

author: kcbrown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 02:36:02 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 07, 2021, 10:37:49 amYou probably don't want NiMH 9V batteries anyway. For 9V applications, I now use Li-ion rechargeables. While the actual voltage in them is more along the lines of 8V, they reliably deliver charge until they sink below the minimum threshold, at which point they just switch off entirely. They have a built-in controller that regulates this.The ones I'm using are the EBL ones:https://www.amazon.com/EBL-Rechargeable-Batteries-Lithium-4-Packs/dp/B00EJKIDHE/Quote9V alkalines might well be much less prone to leak than 1.5V ones.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 07:54:57 am
content: Quote from: kcbrown on February 08, 2021, 02:36:02 amThose LiIon 9V batteries look great and the USB chasrgeable ones would be so convenient, from your description they've included some sort of battery discharge monitor, wonder why they didn't include a boost converter to make them 9V

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 08:52:11 am
content: Quote from: kcbrown on February 08, 2021, 02:36:02 amThey also connect using an easily-replaceable battery snap, not a custom-made metal insert.The wire in the battery snap keeps them quite a long way from the PCB.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 01:27:40 pm
content: I have a bunch of the EBL 9 volt rechargeables. Some of mine are probably over 6 years old and have been charged many, many times. The NiMH don't really have enough juice, only 280 mAhr, but the Li-Ion at 600 mAh are pretty good alkaline replacements.

author: kcbrown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 05:32:24 pm
content: Quote from: CJay on February 08, 2021, 07:54:57 amI imagine they're very limited for space as it is. I don't know that a boost converter would fit. I also imagine there are other drawbacks as well, such as switching noise on the output, limited current output, heat considerations, etc.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 06:37:41 pm
content: Quote from: kcbrown on February 08, 2021, 05:32:24 pmYeah, there would be switching noise but I'd not expect too many applications for a 9V battery to need *lots* of current and with a boost converter you could get away with sacrificing a little capacity by using only one cell with slightly more capacity than one of the dual cells...

author: kcbrown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 10:58:44 pm
content: Quote from: CJay on February 08, 2021, 06:37:41 pmHmm...but in doing so, you now sacrifice total charge capacity by quite a lot. One of the big draws of the batteries I linked to is that they're 600mAh.I honestly don't know how many applications there are for 9V batteries where the device won't operate properly at 7.5V to 8V. But certainly, for those devices that really need to see 9V, a boost converter implementation like you describe would be useful.Thing is, if you really need 9V and don't need the kind of capacity that the EBL batteries are capable of, you can get low-discharge NiMH 9V batteries that will satisfy that need. So there's already a ready-made solution to the problem that the boost converter implementation would be solving, and it doesn't have the output current limitations that a boost converter implementation would have.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2021, 12:01:54 am
content: Quote from: paul8f on February 03, 2021, 06:30:09 pmLook around in your junk box for old TV remote controls.When I had the same problem with an "El Cheapo" but useful, clampmeter, I found some battery terminals in one of the remote controls which were an exact replacement for the meter's corroded ones.

author: Bassman59
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2021, 04:25:28 am
content: Quote from: MasterTech on February 03, 2021, 08:00:46 pmI live in Tucson, Arizona, which as everyone probably knows, is in the Sonoran desert. New York's got nightlife, we've got cactus, as the song goes. Humidity runs about zilch except in the monsoon season starting in July.I can assure you that battery leaks like shown in the photo absolutelydohappen.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2021, 05:23:33 am
content: Quote from: Bassman59 on February 09, 2021, 04:25:28 amI second that. I have had these leaks in several environments, including the Florida coast, the Sonoran desert, the Mohave Desert, the Mediterranean climate of Southern California and in the Pacific Northwest. The leaks aren't seasonal. They somewhat vary with battery type. And happen far more frequently with batteries run flat. It does seem to matter if they have an electrical path. That is a flat battery on a table is less likely to leak.