In my experience, I don't think this battery leakage problem is unique to Rayovac or any other brand anymore. I find pretty much all alkaline battery brands nowadays to leak like crazy for whatever reason. Not sure what's changed, but 10 years ago, it was just Duracell that started doing this first... and subsequently Ikea and Costo Kirkland alkalines a little later. Related? -Possibly. In any case, at least the other brands were generally OK. But now - it seems every brand is affected.
For this reason, I have started to avoid alkaline batteries whenever possible.
For smoke detectors, remote controllers, and other applications with low drain, I've rediscovered / switched back to the good old Carbon Zinc ("Heavy Duty" / "Super Heavy Duty") chemistry. And from those, Panasonic and Toshiba are still the best, IMO - no leaks, and they will last for years and years without issue. On that note, the original C-Zn Panasonic batteries that came with my parents' DVD/home theater system are close to 15 years old now! Not only have they not leaked, but they are still holding up and used in the remote for that DVD player.
(And yes, that DVD/home theater does see a lot of use, because it's used every time the TV is On.)
Originally posted by retiredcaps
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My sister switched to Ikea LADDA rechargeable batteries for her son's toys and... going 4-6 years now without any issues. Some of the toys he doesn't use very often, so it's a good thing these LADDA batteries have low self-discharge. On the other hand, they can also provide a high current easily when it's needed. So they are pretty good quality.
Originally posted by stj
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My mother bought an 8-pack of the Duraleaks (AAA "Optimum") because she needed one for an old MP3 player that she uses very infrequently. Luckily, I remembered to check on her MP3 player after I saw the packet. The single Duraleak inside it was just starting to form droplets on the edges of its bottom, though they hadn't quite reached the battery terminal springs of the MP3 player. And this was after not even 6 months of storage (!) after the very occasional use that the MP3 player saw. I checked the rest of the AAA's in that pack, and another one was starting to have droplet formations.
So I pulled the two AAA's with the droplets and set them aside. But I didn't throw them away - I'll be damned if Duraleak can make a fool of me like this.
Instead, I wiped the moisture from these two cells and started using them in my headphones (need 1x AAA battery for NC), since I use those almost daily and typically for several hours. Of course, I'd remove the Duraleak after each session. But because of my high usage, I'll drain a regular AAA alkaline with these headphones in about 3-4 weeks max. This allowed me to get the first Duraleak completely used up before it totally pissed its pants. I'm now onto the 2nd leaking one... and waiting for it to die any day now. After this, I'll be back to my regular NiMH rechargeables... unless there are more Duraleaks from that 8-pack that need draining (I suspect there will be.)
Originally posted by stj
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The "Rocket" alkaline batteries that came in my parents' Samsung TV's remote just started leaking last year - that is a good 9 or so years after the TV was purchased. You will not find a modern Duracell battery last that long, or even a small fraction of that time. The only Duracell alkaline batteries that I have that haven't leaked yet are really old stuff from the early 2000's. I don't know what Duracell did differently back then, but their batteries actually lasted damn well and rarely ever leaked. But now... half a year on the shelf, tops, before they start going. Same goes for Ikea and Costco's Kirkland brand alkaline batteries.
On that note, I'm curious to try Harbor Freight's alkaline batteries. Unfortunately, I don't use batteries that often anymore. So it's rare when I have to purchase any... and that's usually 9V ones for the smoke detectors inside the house (whose old batteries I transfer to use in my cheap multimeters afterwards.)
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