16 ms·

Let me leap in here to ding Duracell. They used to be my goto battery, but over the past few years (there was a hedge fund takeover, which IME rarely results in

by zh3 5y ago

Let me leap in here to ding Duracell. They used to be my goto battery, but over the past few years (there was a hedge fund takeover, which IME rarely results in improvements to long-standing quality products) they've turned into liabilities - specifically, they are extremely prone to leaking once even a little bit discharged. To this day I open old kit and there can be duracells in there with "use by 2010" or even earlier dates which are fine, yet far newer batteries (e.g. bought in 2016 with expiries in 2022) leak like there's no tomorrow for the buyout team. Interested to hear of others experiences, or I've just been amazingly unlucky.

ASalazarMX 5y ago
Happened for me too. They were very reliable batteries, now even new batteries leak if unused for a few years. They have ruined several remotes that I use sparingly, they should change their name to Ephemeralcell.
TrainedMonkey 5y ago
Anecdata, I recently had to replace batteries in several smoke alarms. 3 were Duracells and 2 were Rayovacs. All Duracells were from 2016/2017, i.e. assuming they were installed right away they lasted around 5 years. Rayovacs were from 2010 and 2011, despite both brands being rated for 5 years. It is possible that old Rayovacs were installed around same time as new Duracells and both lasted around same time, still makes for an interesting datapoint.
- bluGill 5y ago
  Rayovac was bought out by Energizer not too long ago. They used to have a 10 year no leak guarantee, now they leak in a few months as I've learned the hard way.
- adenner 5y ago
  Just as a bit of feedback, for safety equipment like smoke and CO detectors, standard guidance is to replace the battery at least once a year. (Unless you have an integrated 10 year battery that will last the life of the detector) If you live in an area that follows Daylight Savings time, doing it then is best so that you remember. Otherwise doing it during the Operation Edith drill for Fire Prevention Week is the next best.
  - TrainedMonkey 5y ago
    Does this guidance apply to both battery backup and battery only situations?
    - adenner 5y ago
      It is the safe option. At the least you should be up there validating that it works and as long as you are up there...
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  Eh most smoke detectors are only rated for 10 years, you may want to check those and chuck them based on what the manufacturer says.
bwbmr 5y ago
Same here, lots of leaks-- some family even has had a drawer full of unexpired Duracells leak. Myself, I've switched over completely to NiMh except when unsupported by the device to remove the change of leaks (Nest x Yale door lock in particular, which detected NiMh as low battery even when 90% of the cell capacity is remaining). AmazonBasics has been bad with leaks too. Edit: I have a Powerex MH-C980 and that has significantly made using NiMh easier. Before with a bundled Panasonic charger I had to charge everything in pairs, 4 max. The Powerex I can charge 8 cells individually, turbo charge if I'm in a rush, and see how much energy actually was used if something seems to be eating through a lot of batteries.
- Moru 5y ago
  Just to clarify your point there: Charging batteries as pairs is what kills the rechargeable batteries. There is no way for the charger to keep track of both batteries at the same time so it just charges until both should be done. If one of them is bad, the charger will kill the other one too. If they are differently charged, it will kill one of the batteries and next time it will kill the other battery. (Kill as in make worse and worse until it finaly doesn't charge at all.) I have mostly stopped using rechargeable AA and AAA batteries because of the bad quality of the last ones I bought. They took 3-5 charges before dying with a good charger that does all batteries separately.
  - zackees 5y ago
    Also, NiMH batteries can reverse charge and ruin themselves. This happens a lot when batteries are in series and the load will continue to run the batteries until 0 voltage. The weakest battery will deplete first but then the other batteries will continue to pump current through until that weak battery reverses polarity and wrecks itself.
    - hilbert42 5y ago
      Correct, ages ago, I was testing a batch of them and came across several reversed charged ones. At first I thought I must have got my multimeter leads reversed but I found that was not the case. For a long while I kept them to prove the point to anyone who thought I'd must have lost my ability to distinguish plus from minus.
dv_dt 5y ago
After using Duracell for years for applications where I had to use alkaline, I recently had a set die with major leaks early, basically ruining a nice LED flashlight.
cjbgkagh 5y ago
Happened to me. Duracell was my goto and now they leak. I don’t know who to trust anymore. Thankfully I’m not a big battery consumer.
- klodolph 5y ago
  As the article states, NiMH has gotten a lot better, and I now use that nearly everywhere instead of alkaline. It's nice not having to shop for batteries as often. I plugged in a charger behind the TV and batteries in a drawer under the TV. With the price point for Eneloop and Duracell batteries, you break even once you use a rechargeable for the fourth time. Part of the reason I have it in the first place is that the Roku 4's abysmal remote control goes through a set of batteries once every three months or so.
  - tkojames 5y ago
    Rumor is the Ikea batteries are rebranded Eneloop I have good luck with them.
    - jq-r 5y ago
      I have a lot of those white ones, and they work great for years now. They're a steal.
    - bxparks 5y ago
      This website says that the IKEA brands are equivalent to the Eneloop Pro and Lite, but not the regular white ones: https://eneloop101.com/batteries/rewrapped-batteries/ https://eneloop101.com/batteries/rewrapped-batteries/ (Scroll/search to "IKEA")
    - tecleandor 5y ago
      Seems like at least the AA size, model LADDA 2450mAh. You can check they're made in Japan. Not sure about the 1900 mAh, or the AAA size model, it might be a different brand.
      - 5y ago
JTbane 5y ago
Yep, have the same experience here. Even worse, I have devices which require batteries to be installed for memory retention, so I can't really remove all the alkalines to prevent leakage.
Isthatablackgsd 5y ago
Mmm, I recalled I had Duracell (bought in 2018, expire date 2025) leaked in the battery compartment and I don't use the device. I just assumed the device was on standby mode and been draining the battery for a while which caused the leaking. That mean I have to be wary of Kirkland AA and AAA Batteries because they are made by Duracell. This is new for me and I'm surprised about Duracell, and I am not surprised about hedge fund/private equity. This is their MO.
- siegecraft 5y ago
  Kirkland batteries were very leaky to the point where I didn't even finish using the pack I bought. I was quite dismayed since Kirkland usually has quality products.
pomian 5y ago
That possibly explains the mysterious leaking battery problems. I remember that was an issue over twenty five years ago, which taught us not to leave batteries in devices. But then we accepted that they don't leak anymore. Then in the last five years or so, I keep finding gadgets that are destroyed, or almost so, from massive battery leaks. And alkalines don't seem to last very long, even though they are more expensive than they were.
tablespoon 5y ago
> there was a hedge fund takeover, which IME rarely results in improvements to long-standing quality products But think of the shareholder value that was created! https://web.archive.org/web/20121120072539/https://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/11/26/cartoons_20121119#slide=6 https://web.archive.org/web/20121120072539/https://www.newyo...
bxparks 5y ago
Yup, I hate Duracell batteries with a passion, they leak like a wet sponge and destroy electronics. I have converted most of my batteries to NiMH, but for the few that cannot be rechargeables, I will go out of the way to buy anything but Duracells.
jolux 5y ago
It wasn't a hedge fund, it was Berkshire Hathaway.
CWuestefeld 5y ago
More anecdata - I don't have anything to add regarding Duracell, but I've experienced the same thing you describe with Energizer. Recently I've leaned toward ACDelco batteries, which aren't on the test list.
- wlesieutre 5y ago
  I had no idea ACDelco made anything other than car parts, huh.
gunapologist99 5y ago
Curious if you're having these leaks in Duracells you bought from a big box retail store, or shipped from Amazon.
- gerdesj 5y ago
  You mean ... gasp ... they might be fakes. The EU has a quality mark "CE" - Conformitè Europëenne. Sometime the font is a bit wonky and it is alleged that CE in that case stands for China Export instead. I imagine that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#%22China_Export%22 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#%22China_Export%22 is policed quite carefully.
  - kalium-xyz 5y ago
    those are just self-certified, CE is only on the authority of the people who put the label on not on some EU agency. They can be held accountable for not following CE correctly but not having the correct logo is not a problem.
- brnt 5y ago
  I get Duracell Industrials through my works office supplier, they also leak frequently.
- greenyoda 5y ago
  Back when I still bought them, I'd get them from the local big-chain supermarket. So I'm pretty sure they weren't fakes.
- numpad0 5y ago
  ya saying..."Totally 100% Genuine" Duracell could leak less...
grumpyprole 5y ago
Completely agree. Duracell batteries have been leaking consistently for me, I've stopped buying them and actively warn others. They have destroyed various remotes, torches and an expensive camera flash after only a few years.
justjash 5y ago
Same. I pulled down my dad's old camera from the closet a few years ago and it probably hadn't been used since the 90s so the batteries were dead. Threw in some new Duracell batteries and played with it a bit before putting it away. Opened it a year or two later and the batteries had swelled and leaked everywhere. Had to use a pair of pliers to extract the swollen batteries from the battery compartment. Such a huge pain.
jhallenworld 5y ago
But I think their NIMH batteries are good. Project Farm reviewed them, they were near the top. Of course I'm looking for good ones that are cheaper..
jacobolus 5y ago
Duracell (the Mallory company) was bought by Dart in 1978, then by KKR in 1988, Gillette in 1996, Procter & Gamble bought Gillette in 2005, and Duracell was spun off and bought by Berkshire Hathaway in 2016. (source: Wikipedia) The company has been under large-scale finance / conglomerate management for more than 4 decades by now. I don’t think there would have been any immediate change in battery quality circa 2016. Seems just as likely that corner cutting (assuming there is corner cutting; I have no insight) started before changes of ownership.
- kuhewa 5y ago
  You could be right as this suit alleging commonplace leaking was before ownership changed. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/duracell-batteries-leak-normal-use-class-action-claims/ https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news...
jasode 5y ago
I came across this recent youtube comment[1] on why older batteries didn't leak. I don't know if it's correct but sharing it anyway: >ceptimus 2 weeks ago (edited) >> Old alkaline batteries contained mercury, which made them resistant to leaking. The mercury was there to absorb the hydrogen gas, which builds internal pressure when the battery is used, causing them to leak. Newer alkaline batteries don't have mercury, because it's harmful to the environment when disposed. Unfortunately, the mercury free batteries leak much sooner - many of them long before their 'use by' date, even if you've never used them. Now you've replaced the batteries, you should check the camera more frequently. The modern rechargeable Ni-mh batteries, with a low self-discharge rate, are a good alternative: less likely to leak; but they're only nominally 1.2 Volts per cell instead of 1.5 volts, so some equipment won't work with them. EDIT... maybe there's more to it than just mercury because some low-effort googling[2] found that law prohibiting it in batteries was 1996 (~25 years ago). That doesn't match the timeline in the video because Alec says his old batteries (that didn't leak) were "use-by-date-2016". So maybe something else was different about the formulation in his Kirkland Signature batteries circa ~2008. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5s6xerRqVY&lc=UgztQzUKV5BJQqlFwVB4AaABAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5s6xerRqVY&lc=UgztQzUKV5BJQ... [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=mercury+removed+from+alkaline+batteries+1996 https://www.google.com/search?q=mercury+removed+from+alkalin...
surge 5y ago
Someone did a test and found the Costco Kirkland batteries were not only as good as Duracell, but cheaper and lasted longer.
Spooky23 5y ago
They are expensive, but if you need a primary battery, the non-rechargeable lithium batteries are great. My clock radio backup battery has probably been in there for >15 years.
sandworm101 5y ago
In a past life I worked in the entertainment biz. Duracell ProCells were the go-to battery for important things. Britney Spears' headset would have had a Procell in it. They would all get tested before use and maybe 5 in a thousand were bad and not used. They weren't the absolute best in the world but they were acceptable and cheap enough to use and toss. After a show we would all take the 'used' batteries home and use them until they were actually flat. The only time I ever saw one leak in a device was if it got submerged or very hot. Now, the procell in my pencil-sized flashlight seems to leak after a month. I switched to energizer and, at least in my sample size of one, I haven't seen a leak.
- rainbowzootsuit 5y ago
  Having worked in video production for a time, my understanding of the intent/marketing of the procell line is that you always use a fresh one for each production. Therefore, they are lower spec than one that might sit in a device for a long time as they're going to be done with their intended life in a few hours, and they're cheaper than the retail cells with better longevity. I certainly never ran them through the qualifications that the article did.
  - sandworm101 5y ago
    The places I worked certainly went thought them like water. Every time something like a lav pack or mic came off a performer it got a new procell. There were buckets of them at the end of the day. They never spent much time inside the devices but did come home with us for use in remotes and kids toys. I understood the procell line to mean that the batteries each got tested for voltage before shipping. 20/30 years ago, for whatever reason, a percentage of consumer batteries would be already dead when they left the factory.
    - sidpatil 5y ago
      > 20/30 years ago, for whatever reason, a percentage of consumer batteries would be already dead when they left the factory. My uneducated guess is that manufacturing defects led to internal shorts or opens, both of which eventually lead to the same result — no output.
im_down_w_otp 5y ago
I have a pack of AAA Duracells I just went to open the other day which were "use by 2025" that I purchased just a few weeks ago, and one of the batteries in the middle of the fresh unopened pack was already leaking with one end fully encrusted with corrosion.
petee 5y ago
90% of my Duracells from the past decade have leaked and ruined equipment, and all well before expiration date. Ive been now telling my family and friends to avoid at all cost
GekkePrutser 5y ago
Same here. Have had many of them leak before the due by date :(
greenyoda 5y ago
I've had exactly the same experience with Duracell - batteries leaking years before their expiration date (sometimes shortly after purchase). I never buy Duracell anymore.
mherdeg 5y ago
Yeah the second blog post in this series has some examples of leaking, unexpired batteries: https://goughlui.com/2016/12/19/great-aa-alkaline-battery-test-pt-2-the-contenders https://goughlui.com/2016/12/19/great-aa-alkaline-battery-te...

by zh3 5y ago

ASalazarMX 5y ago

Happened for me too. They were very reliable batteries, now even new batteries leak if unused for a few years. They have ruined several remotes that I use sparingly, they should change their name to Ephemeralcell.

TrainedMonkey 5y ago

Anecdata, I recently had to replace batteries in several smoke alarms. 3 were Duracells and 2 were Rayovacs. All Duracells were from 2016/2017, i.e. assuming they were installed right away they lasted around 5 years. Rayovacs were from 2010 and 2011, despite both brands being rated for 5 years. It is possible that old Rayovacs were installed around same time as new Duracells and both lasted around same time, still makes for an interesting datapoint.

bluGill 5y ago
Rayovac was bought out by Energizer not too long ago. They used to have a 10 year no leak guarantee, now they leak in a few months as I've learned the hard way.
adenner 5y ago
Just as a bit of feedback, for safety equipment like smoke and CO detectors, standard guidance is to replace the battery at least once a year. (Unless you have an integrated 10 year battery that will last the life of the detector) If you live in an area that follows Daylight Savings time, doing it then is best so that you remember. Otherwise doing it during the Operation Edith drill for Fire Prevention Week is the next best.
- TrainedMonkey 5y ago
  Does this guidance apply to both battery backup and battery only situations?
  - adenner 5y ago
    It is the safe option. At the least you should be up there validating that it works and as long as you are up there...
stjohnswarts 5y ago
Eh most smoke detectors are only rated for 10 years, you may want to check those and chuck them based on what the manufacturer says.

bwbmr 5y ago

Same here, lots of leaks-- some family even has had a drawer full of unexpired Duracells leak. Myself, I've switched over completely to NiMh except when unsupported by the device to remove the change of leaks (Nest x Yale door lock in particular, which detected NiMh as low battery even when 90% of the cell capacity is remaining). AmazonBasics has been bad with leaks too. Edit: I have a Powerex MH-C980 and that has significantly made using NiMh easier. Before with a bundled Panasonic charger I had to charge everything in pairs, 4 max. The Powerex I can charge 8 cells individually, turbo charge if I'm in a rush, and see how much energy actually was used if something seems to be eating through a lot of batteries.

Moru 5y ago
Just to clarify your point there: Charging batteries as pairs is what kills the rechargeable batteries. There is no way for the charger to keep track of both batteries at the same time so it just charges until both should be done. If one of them is bad, the charger will kill the other one too. If they are differently charged, it will kill one of the batteries and next time it will kill the other battery. (Kill as in make worse and worse until it finaly doesn't charge at all.) I have mostly stopped using rechargeable AA and AAA batteries because of the bad quality of the last ones I bought. They took 3-5 charges before dying with a good charger that does all batteries separately.
- zackees 5y ago
  Also, NiMH batteries can reverse charge and ruin themselves. This happens a lot when batteries are in series and the load will continue to run the batteries until 0 voltage. The weakest battery will deplete first but then the other batteries will continue to pump current through until that weak battery reverses polarity and wrecks itself.
  - hilbert42 5y ago
    Correct, ages ago, I was testing a batch of them and came across several reversed charged ones. At first I thought I must have got my multimeter leads reversed but I found that was not the case. For a long while I kept them to prove the point to anyone who thought I'd must have lost my ability to distinguish plus from minus.

dv_dt 5y ago

After using Duracell for years for applications where I had to use alkaline, I recently had a set die with major leaks early, basically ruining a nice LED flashlight.

cjbgkagh 5y ago

Happened to me. Duracell was my goto and now they leak. I don’t know who to trust anymore. Thankfully I’m not a big battery consumer.

klodolph 5y ago
As the article states, NiMH has gotten a lot better, and I now use that nearly everywhere instead of alkaline. It's nice not having to shop for batteries as often. I plugged in a charger behind the TV and batteries in a drawer under the TV. With the price point for Eneloop and Duracell batteries, you break even once you use a rechargeable for the fourth time. Part of the reason I have it in the first place is that the Roku 4's abysmal remote control goes through a set of batteries once every three months or so.
- tkojames 5y ago
  Rumor is the Ikea batteries are rebranded Eneloop I have good luck with them.
  - jq-r 5y ago
    I have a lot of those white ones, and they work great for years now. They're a steal.
  - bxparks 5y ago
    This website says that the IKEA brands are equivalent to the Eneloop Pro and Lite, but not the regular white ones: https://eneloop101.com/batteries/rewrapped-batteries/ https://eneloop101.com/batteries/rewrapped-batteries/ (Scroll/search to "IKEA")
  - tecleandor 5y ago
    Seems like at least the AA size, model LADDA 2450mAh. You can check they're made in Japan. Not sure about the 1900 mAh, or the AAA size model, it might be a different brand.
    - 5y ago

JTbane 5y ago

Yep, have the same experience here. Even worse, I have devices which require batteries to be installed for memory retention, so I can't really remove all the alkalines to prevent leakage.

Isthatablackgsd 5y ago

Mmm, I recalled I had Duracell (bought in 2018, expire date 2025) leaked in the battery compartment and I don't use the device. I just assumed the device was on standby mode and been draining the battery for a while which caused the leaking. That mean I have to be wary of Kirkland AA and AAA Batteries because they are made by Duracell. This is new for me and I'm surprised about Duracell, and I am not surprised about hedge fund/private equity. This is their MO.

siegecraft 5y ago
Kirkland batteries were very leaky to the point where I didn't even finish using the pack I bought. I was quite dismayed since Kirkland usually has quality products.

pomian 5y ago

That possibly explains the mysterious leaking battery problems. I remember that was an issue over twenty five years ago, which taught us not to leave batteries in devices. But then we accepted that they don't leak anymore. Then in the last five years or so, I keep finding gadgets that are destroyed, or almost so, from massive battery leaks. And alkalines don't seem to last very long, even though they are more expensive than they were.

tablespoon 5y ago

> there was a hedge fund takeover, which IME rarely results in improvements to long-standing quality products But think of the shareholder value that was created! https://web.archive.org/web/20121120072539/https://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/11/26/cartoons_20121119#slide=6 https://web.archive.org/web/20121120072539/https://www.newyo...

bxparks 5y ago

Yup, I hate Duracell batteries with a passion, they leak like a wet sponge and destroy electronics. I have converted most of my batteries to NiMH, but for the few that cannot be rechargeables, I will go out of the way to buy anything but Duracells.

jolux 5y ago

It wasn't a hedge fund, it was Berkshire Hathaway.

CWuestefeld 5y ago

More anecdata - I don't have anything to add regarding Duracell, but I've experienced the same thing you describe with Energizer. Recently I've leaned toward ACDelco batteries, which aren't on the test list.

wlesieutre 5y ago
I had no idea ACDelco made anything other than car parts, huh.

gunapologist99 5y ago

Curious if you're having these leaks in Duracells you bought from a big box retail store, or shipped from Amazon.

gerdesj 5y ago
You mean ... gasp ... they might be fakes. The EU has a quality mark "CE" - Conformitè Europëenne. Sometime the font is a bit wonky and it is alleged that CE in that case stands for China Export instead. I imagine that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#%22China_Export%22 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#%22China_Export%22 is policed quite carefully.
- kalium-xyz 5y ago
  those are just self-certified, CE is only on the authority of the people who put the label on not on some EU agency. They can be held accountable for not following CE correctly but not having the correct logo is not a problem.
brnt 5y ago
I get Duracell Industrials through my works office supplier, they also leak frequently.
greenyoda 5y ago
Back when I still bought them, I'd get them from the local big-chain supermarket. So I'm pretty sure they weren't fakes.
numpad0 5y ago
ya saying..."Totally 100% Genuine" Duracell could leak less...

grumpyprole 5y ago

Completely agree. Duracell batteries have been leaking consistently for me, I've stopped buying them and actively warn others. They have destroyed various remotes, torches and an expensive camera flash after only a few years.

justjash 5y ago

Same. I pulled down my dad's old camera from the closet a few years ago and it probably hadn't been used since the 90s so the batteries were dead. Threw in some new Duracell batteries and played with it a bit before putting it away. Opened it a year or two later and the batteries had swelled and leaked everywhere. Had to use a pair of pliers to extract the swollen batteries from the battery compartment. Such a huge pain.

jhallenworld 5y ago

But I think their NIMH batteries are good. Project Farm reviewed them, they were near the top. Of course I'm looking for good ones that are cheaper..

jacobolus 5y ago

Duracell (the Mallory company) was bought by Dart in 1978, then by KKR in 1988, Gillette in 1996, Procter & Gamble bought Gillette in 2005, and Duracell was spun off and bought by Berkshire Hathaway in 2016. (source: Wikipedia) The company has been under large-scale finance / conglomerate management for more than 4 decades by now. I don’t think there would have been any immediate change in battery quality circa 2016. Seems just as likely that corner cutting (assuming there is corner cutting; I have no insight) started before changes of ownership.

kuhewa 5y ago
You could be right as this suit alleging commonplace leaking was before ownership changed. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/duracell-batteries-leak-normal-use-class-action-claims/ https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news...

jasode 5y ago

I came across this recent youtube comment[1] on why older batteries didn't leak. I don't know if it's correct but sharing it anyway: >ceptimus 2 weeks ago (edited) >> Old alkaline batteries contained mercury, which made them resistant to leaking. The mercury was there to absorb the hydrogen gas, which builds internal pressure when the battery is used, causing them to leak. Newer alkaline batteries don't have mercury, because it's harmful to the environment when disposed. Unfortunately, the mercury free batteries leak much sooner - many of them long before their 'use by' date, even if you've never used them. Now you've replaced the batteries, you should check the camera more frequently. The modern rechargeable Ni-mh batteries, with a low self-discharge rate, are a good alternative: less likely to leak; but they're only nominally 1.2 Volts per cell instead of 1.5 volts, so some equipment won't work with them. EDIT... maybe there's more to it than just mercury because some low-effort googling[2] found that law prohibiting it in batteries was 1996 (~25 years ago). That doesn't match the timeline in the video because Alec says his old batteries (that didn't leak) were "use-by-date-2016". So maybe something else was different about the formulation in his Kirkland Signature batteries circa ~2008. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5s6xerRqVY&lc=UgztQzUKV5BJQqlFwVB4AaABAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5s6xerRqVY&lc=UgztQzUKV5BJQ... [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=mercury+removed+from+alkaline+batteries+1996 https://www.google.com/search?q=mercury+removed+from+alkalin...

surge 5y ago

Someone did a test and found the Costco Kirkland batteries were not only as good as Duracell, but cheaper and lasted longer.

Spooky23 5y ago

They are expensive, but if you need a primary battery, the non-rechargeable lithium batteries are great. My clock radio backup battery has probably been in there for >15 years.

sandworm101 5y ago

In a past life I worked in the entertainment biz. Duracell ProCells were the go-to battery for important things. Britney Spears' headset would have had a Procell in it. They would all get tested before use and maybe 5 in a thousand were bad and not used. They weren't the absolute best in the world but they were acceptable and cheap enough to use and toss. After a show we would all take the 'used' batteries home and use them until they were actually flat. The only time I ever saw one leak in a device was if it got submerged or very hot. Now, the procell in my pencil-sized flashlight seems to leak after a month. I switched to energizer and, at least in my sample size of one, I haven't seen a leak.

rainbowzootsuit 5y ago
Having worked in video production for a time, my understanding of the intent/marketing of the procell line is that you always use a fresh one for each production. Therefore, they are lower spec than one that might sit in a device for a long time as they're going to be done with their intended life in a few hours, and they're cheaper than the retail cells with better longevity. I certainly never ran them through the qualifications that the article did.
- sandworm101 5y ago
  The places I worked certainly went thought them like water. Every time something like a lav pack or mic came off a performer it got a new procell. There were buckets of them at the end of the day. They never spent much time inside the devices but did come home with us for use in remotes and kids toys. I understood the procell line to mean that the batteries each got tested for voltage before shipping. 20/30 years ago, for whatever reason, a percentage of consumer batteries would be already dead when they left the factory.
  - sidpatil 5y ago
    > 20/30 years ago, for whatever reason, a percentage of consumer batteries would be already dead when they left the factory. My uneducated guess is that manufacturing defects led to internal shorts or opens, both of which eventually lead to the same result — no output.

im_down_w_otp 5y ago

I have a pack of AAA Duracells I just went to open the other day which were "use by 2025" that I purchased just a few weeks ago, and one of the batteries in the middle of the fresh unopened pack was already leaking with one end fully encrusted with corrosion.

petee 5y ago

90% of my Duracells from the past decade have leaked and ruined equipment, and all well before expiration date. Ive been now telling my family and friends to avoid at all cost

GekkePrutser 5y ago

Same here. Have had many of them leak before the due by date :(

greenyoda 5y ago

I've had exactly the same experience with Duracell - batteries leaking years before their expiration date (sometimes shortly after purchase). I never buy Duracell anymore.

mherdeg 5y ago

Yeah the second blog post in this series has some examples of leaking, unexpired batteries: https://goughlui.com/2016/12/19/great-aa-alkaline-battery-test-pt-2-the-contenders https://goughlui.com/2016/12/19/great-aa-alkaline-battery-te...