Once upon a time, Duracell used to guarantee to replace any equipment damaged by leakage from a Duracell battery. Now I find that leakage is commonplace if the battery is left for a long time. Does the guarantee still apply? That said, I have not recently known anything to be damaged as the deposit seems to be a white powder easily removed using a screwdriver.
Are you sure they are / were genuine Duracell batteries?
I used to used Kirkland batteries ( CostCo own brand) but they seem especially bad for leakage in my experience.
Used to be my impression that Duracell was a “quality” brand but they do seem to leak a lot these days. Hard to tell as it’s possible that it’s just the brand that I’ve bought most of but I’ve come across some really old non-Duracell batteries that haven’t leaked.
Tim
I had thought leaking batteries were a thing of the past, but had this issue with an aluminium torch. The seapage got between the threads of the cap where it screws in to hold the batteries and has welded it solid. I cannot get the cap off. I've tried putting the body of the torch in a vice and using a strap wrench (normally used for oil filters) on the cap, but it will *not* budge! I'd really like to get it off so I can see which battery manufacturer is the culprit.
I think it's got passed around the houses - first Proctor and Gamble, now Berkshire Hathaway. It does seem to still be a separate company, not just a brand slapped on random Chinese batteries. But personally I don't rate them very highly and wouldn't pay a premium for them.
(There's also Duracell branded products like phone chargers which likely are their brand slapped on stuff made by others)
Theo
Duracell batteries, especially AA and AAA, are guaranteed to leak. I stopped using them a long time ago because of this problem.
The ones we get are from Belgium (usually) but the OEM ones are made in China with a 'not for retail sale' warning. I have not worked out whether this means they are not as good or if there is another reason such as import duty.
The white stuff is water soluble , I use a old toothbrush dipped in water to remove then contact cleaner or IPA. Get a lot of this in the Charity Shop where I check donated tech items, modern contacts seem to survive, interesting vintage stuff contacts rust and disappear.
Oh, they are genuine. This is widespread.
They're known as Duraleak these days.
Has the composition changed?
The behavior of Duracell products, has been consistent for a long long time.
It boggles the mind, why they don't do something about it.
What is hard to determine, is whether we are seeing the work of the original company or not. Duracell offered its name, for branding bodges (the Duracell USB sticks, which are not made by Duracell), and you have to wonder what kind of company is behind the manufacture of the cells.
If other companies can make cells that don't leak and are 10 years past their best-before date, then Duracell can do that too.
Most companies would have a "continuous improvement" policy, examining field results and attempting to improve on them.
I've done a couple sweeps of the house, and I think I've collected all the Duracell I could find.
Paul
Not convinced that china does it like that with stuff like dry cells.
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