How to stop battery from leaking?

peterjaw

peterjaw

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Good day, captains,
There is a annoying thing keeps on bugging me and I would like to get some advice from you.

I have a lifebuoy light which is powered by 4 D cell dry batteries, like this one:

7-8-2-1b.jpg

The problem is the batteries inside keep on leaking even I insulate them with a plastic sheet.

Does anybody have idea about how to avoid this kind of trouble?

Thank you very much.
 
peterjaw said:
Good day, captains,
There is a annoying thing keeps on bugging me and I would like to get some advice from you.

I have a lifebuoy light which is powered by 4 D cell dry batteries, like this one:

View attachment 87255

The problem is the batteries inside keep on leaking even I insulate them with a plastic sheet.

Does anybody have idea about how to avoid this kind of trouble?

Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
I think the best and only way is to use a brand of batteries that is not prone to this problem. There are huge differences between brands, I can tell you that much. Wasn't ever forced to do a thorough search which are the best, but I think you don't you'll find it that hard :-).
 
As an exercise I bought a few bits from ebay and completely remodeled my identical one to take an led bulb, a new mercury tilt switch and 4 AA batteries.

By comparison to the OE, the lamp was like a searchlight, the tilt switch more reliable and purely by calculation the 4 X AA batteries should have lasted longer in use.

I found pound shop D cells were less leaky than Duracell.
 
I found that the floating lights pictured were a PITA - I was sorting them out each year before the season, so a few weeks ago I bought a new pair of horseshoe Lifebuoys complete with a sealed LED lamp. For info it was the Crewsaver Hamble Lifebuoy.
When I'll be able to fit them on the boat is anyone's guess !!
 
peterjaw said:
Good day, captains,
There is a annoying thing keeps on bugging me and I would like to get some advice from you.

I have a lifebuoy light which is powered by 4 D cell dry batteries, like this one:

View attachment 87255

The problem is the batteries inside keep on leaking even I insulate them with a plastic sheet.

Does anybody have idea about how to avoid this kind of trouble?

Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Never had a problem with my mob light, although can't remember what batteries are in it, but over the last year I have had batteries leak in three different devices and in every case they were Duracell batteries!!

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
peterjaw said:
Good day, captains,
There is a annoying thing keeps on bugging me and I would like to get some advice from you.

I have a lifebuoy light which is powered by 4 D cell dry batteries, like this one:



The problem is the batteries inside keep on leaking even I insulate them with a plastic sheet.

Does anybody have idea about how to avoid this kind of trouble?

Thank you very much.
Click to expand...

Dont buy Duracell batteries for a start............ they have been christened " Duraleak" for good reasons

They used to be good and never leaked but not now

I nearly always buy my batteries in Sainsbury's. I usually buy Energizer and have have no trouble with them leaking.
Occasionally I have bought Sainsbury's own brand which have also been OK
 
If I use dry-cells .... then its ICA ... a cheap brand that seem to be just as good as most others ... and haven't had any leak yet.

But for most gear - I now use rechargeable NiMh as they don't leak ... work out cheaper in long run ... only thing is you need to charge them up regularly.
Most are now Low Self Discharge so not necessary to seek out fancy labeled LSD versions ...
 
Try using Panasonic (sony) eneloop batteries. Lots of model plane lads use them. I use them in my expensive transmittters where a leak would be catastrophic. Hadn't used my transmitter for two years , turned it on, 85% charge still in it. Tested its cycle capacity after five years ...still over 95% stated capacity. down sides 1.15v/cell. They are bullit proof.Do not use Chineese equivalents . Nik
 
How often do you replace them?

Every marine emergency light manufacture I have talked to specifies annual replacement. I find it hard to believe any of them leak in less than a year.

Better yet, replace it is with a USCG aproved SOS beacon (Orion and Sirius make them).
 
thinwater said:
How often do you replace them?

Every marine emergency light manufacture I have talked to specifies annual replacement. I find it hard to believe any of them leak in less than a year.

Better yet, replace it is with a USCG aproved SOS beacon (Orion and Sirius make them).
Click to expand...
I did not replace the batteries in it. But, I insulate them by inserting a small plastic sheet. Those batteries have been in the chamber for about 1.5 years.

Are you saying that even with insulator, I still need to replace the batteries regularly?
 
I have never had a GP cell leak. I have some that are 13 years old, still work, no leak.
Duracell are the worst leakers on the planet.
Storage temperature has a lot to do with cell life whether new or flat as far as leaking goes.
 
Matata said:
Try using Panasonic (sony) eneloop batteries. Lots of model plane lads use them. I use them in my expensive transmittters where a leak would be catastrophic. Hadn't used my transmitter for two years , turned it on, 85% charge still in it. Tested its cycle capacity after five years ...still over 95% stated capacity. down sides 1.15v/cell. They are bullit proof.Do not use Chineese equivalents . Nik
Click to expand...

Enerloops are famous for being Low Self Discharge ... and yes quite a few RC people use them in Transmitters, as the power demand is quite low at between 300 and 700mA depending on unit. But they do not like high power demand.

Low Self Discharge is now common place with NiMh even with the high capacity versions .... so no need to pay Enerloop prices anymore.

Example : Grundig NiMh 2200mAh are only just over half the price of Enerloop 1500mAh but just as LSD and offer greater capacity.
 
When looking up Enerloops I came across EBL 1.2V AA 2800mAh Ni-MH rechargeable batteries, quite a bit cheaper and higher Ah.
Has anyone any comments on them?
PS - Just done some more digging and found This Article
EBL is a small electronics brand that’s focused on cornering the rechargeable battery market. And as of right now, the company is doing a great job. Its rechargeable AA batteries (8-pack) have a massive 2,800 mAh capacity, and EBL claims that they can endure 1,200 recharge cycles.

But unlike the Eneloop Pros, these EBL batteries have a fairly fast self-discharge rate, which means that they’ll drain faster than the Eneloop Pros when used in low-resource electronics (like TV remotes and simple wireless keyboards). We suggest using these batteries in power-hungry electronics, like cameras, lights, and musical instruments. That way, you’ll make the most of their capacity without getting bit by their self-discharge rate.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
peterjaw said:
I did not replace the batteries in it. But, I insulate them by inserting a small plastic sheet. Those batteries have been in the chamber for about 1.5 years.

Are you saying that even with insulator, I still need to replace the batteries regularly?
Click to expand...

Yes. Batteries fail due to internal corrosion. 1.5 years is pretty fast, so yeah, a better grade of batteries should help. That's really unusual.

Honest, the 1-year recommendation was from Orion and Sirius.
 
I have one of those MOB lamps and was never impressed by the single puny flashlight bulb, so I remodelled it with a cluster of LEDs from a head torch and some lead for ballast. I arranged the battery holder (3 x AA) from the head torch to slide down, inside the original battery holder of the MOB lamp and complete the circuit. I use Aerocell from Lidl for all applications requiring dry-cell batteries.
 
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