Most all instructions for battery using devices give the advice to not let batteries stay inside for long periods of unuse because can leak and cause damage to electronics.
Periods of unuse where recommended to remove batteries vary considerably. Usually 1 month. Sometimes only 1 week.
I do understand that batteries can leak with age. Have seen massive cases of corrosion whefe your typical AA or AAA, C or D or 9 volter was left inside for years.
But it did take years and not necessarily leak even then.
Just found an old misplaced Furbie--------had to be at least 3 years old. Thought ----“Gawd—hope the batteries aren’t still inside” They were. Of the 4 AA batteries, 3 were pristine. One showed a little a slight greyness on the negative terminal. No corrosion inside the Furbie at all. Put in a fresh set of batteries and Furbie started talking up a storm
So what is the scoop here?
Do you really have to remove batteries once a week or once a month with unused electronic devices? Or is the manufacturer just covering his ass because occasionally they make defective batteries that do leak within a very short period of time?
(I also notice that “watch” type batteries—the round ones—don’t seem to have these type of warnings. Do they never leak?)
I’ve had two electronic devices- a camera and the lost remote for my VCR- which leaked battery juice when unusued for a long time. The camera I left in a drawer for about a year; the remote was missing for about four months. When I opened them up, there was a mess of dried white ick all over the batteries, and the devices were dead dead dead.
This thread inspired me to go remove the batteries from my TI-92. I haven’t used it since college, and the batteries have been in there ever since then. That was 6-7 years ago. All the Duracells looked fine. Not even a hint of corrossion, dried ick, or anything. And it still works fine. But I removed them anyway. Since I probably wont use that thing for another 6-7 years.
Good question. I notice expiration dates as far off as 2010 and longer too.
I think the air tight shrink packaging must help some.
Plus-----even when a device is technically “off” ------there is probably some natural drain to the batteries simply by being inside an electronic device and hooked to circuitry.
Even the slightest, almost insignificant, drain would enhance corrosion of the battery and make a battery age much quicker than being in a package or not in a package but not hooked up to anything.
But I still wonder how my neglected Furbie sat in a drawer for 3 or 4 years with batteries inside (and there is no way to turn off a Furbie)-------and end up with no leakage, no corrosion, and only one of four batteries being not quite pristine.
I think defective, leak-prone batteries, are manufactured sometimes.
And the manufacturers are just covering their ass legally for the worst possible scenario.
With alkaline batteries I can think of no reason to have this warning, as the alkaline paste makes them essentially leakproof. With zinc-carbon batteries the zinc reacts with ammonium chloride (which is acidic) and eventually holes are formed in the case. A decent quality Zn-C battery might last a couple of years but I once managed to ruin an alarm clock by use cheap batteries which leaked after about six months.
Alkaline batteries do leak. I’ve had several flashlights and lanterns ruined by leaking alkaline batteries. I’ve also known many people who’ve had calculators ruined or damaged by leaking alkaline batteries.
I think you’re on to it. I’ve had batteries sitting in a drawer (out of the package) for years with no leaking, but leave them in an electronic device and leakage is almost guaranteed. Must be a trickle drain going on.