Happened in my Wii remotes all the time when I was kid, only ever lost one to battery corrosion though, and that was about a decade later
few times, but it luckily never broke the devices it happened it
This happens when alkaline batteried are completely empty.
False. Alkaline batteries are never completely empty. They are just too low to be used for what they are in. Move them to another device and they again.
The heat death of the universe will be delayed by a bag of AA’s in a landfill
Well, if I cannot operate an IR remote anymore I consider the batteries empty because I won’t be able to do anything else with them. I’ll dispose of them properly, but I won’t tell you ;-)
Completely empty? You’re sure that there isn’t any juice left? I haven’t tried opening a leaky one, but I’d guess that there’s still at least a few drops left.
The forbidden frosted sugar.
It has happened enough times to me being really aware of removing batteries of any device that does not see constant use
I suspect some (not enshitified) devices even designed around it because I remember it killing devices back in the day but the more recent times I’ve had it happen, like with a wireless guitar controller, the device was fine, just a bit crusty in the battery area. Though if you’ve ever opened up a guitar controller, they are mostly empty space, so it might just be the nature of their use case vs something like a gameboy, where everything is packed in as much as the thermal situation allowed.
Sure, dust out with a paintbrush…wipe down with some alcohol. If the contacts are corroded either file or use a dot of lemon juice and a toothbrush to remove and then either spray with contact cleaner or wipe again with alcohol.
Thats my, favorite sweet&sour candy
That’s why I put non rechargeable batteries out, before putting them away for long time without usage. This won’t happen if you are constantly using the remote and batteries, and it won’t happen with rechargeables.
This won’t happen if you are constantly using the remote and batteries,
It still can. I have found that the most common cause of batteries going south like this(when being used actively) is when there is a voltage mismatch between the batteries.
Always make sure you use batteries from the same pack when you put them together in a device. That or get a voltmeter out and check to make sure their voltage is the same.
This is less of an issue when the batteries are in parallel, but almost all cases where batteries are combined in electronics, they are putting them in serial.
Good point. I never experienced this issue and always thought its a myth that we shouldn’t combine them. So I learned something. But I don’t use non-rechargeable batteries anymore anyway.
It took me decades to finally figure this out. It wasn’t until I started building solar systems and batteries that I realized what was happening.
You can have the same issue with rechargeables, but they are more resilient. Running them in parallel will work fine because the batteries balance out their state of charge. When you run them in series they have no way to balance out and one is always dragging the rest down. If the difference is too much then that lowest battery heats up considerably. That cooks the electrolyte.
Interesting, even with rechargeables. Good thing since the 90s Game Boy I only use same set of rechargeable batteries from same manufacturer only, and always put them out when not in use. That’s probably I never had an issue anymore. The humidity of the environment and quality control of the batteries are probably an important factor too. I can imagine this happens more often in some regions of the world than others in example.
It definitely still can happen, especially with Duracells, even while they’re still in a sealed package in the store.
Get the batteries out and wipe the electronics with a soft towel soaked with a little vinegar to neutralize the corrosion. Then a damp towel with just water to get the vinegar up. Let it fully dry before putting in new batteries. This happens to batteries that have sat unused for a long time installed. It can also happen if at the end of charge, you pull the batteries out, and put them back in to squeeze a little more use out of the batteries. Do it too many times and there is a leak risk. Cheaper batteries do it more often but the top brands will occasionally leak as well.
Vinegar here really does the trick in neutralizing the acid. do not skip it!
Neutralise the corrosion with a conjugate pair acids/base buffer.
Neutralise was a confusing term to pick, but they’re not wrong.
Vinegar (Acetic Acid) does not neutralise any acids at all.
It does however, neutralise the caustic, alkaline contents of a non-rechargeable alkaline cell (potassium hydroxide).
Acid is just upside-down base
That just sounded factual.
How the shit? Just use baking soda in water instead.
Alkaline batteries use a base, hence the name. Baking soda would work as you can neutralize a strong base with a weak one. Same with acid…
I believe the comment you are replying to meant to say corrosion not acid.
This is some sort of electrochemistry, more complex than just acid/base
I’m pretty sure its an acid/base conjugate pair buffer, but I could be wrong
I’m just going to say alkaline batteries have a strong hydroxide so use any acid.
Why not just switch to NiMH rechargables? Upfront cost is a bit higher, but considering the 10 or so year lifespan in a TV remote, they make sense. And they don’t leak.
I found an old plush that had a voicebox in it… I’ve not touched it in 25+ years but wanted to show it to my daughter, so I pulled out the battery box, expecting the worse, and there was no corrosion at all. I pulled out the generic brand batteries and put in new batteries and it started speaking.
I was amazed.
I remember hearing that alkaline batteries that contain mercury don’t leak, they’re just much worse for the environment. So maybe that’s what happened?
In the future, someone will have this same story but the ending will be the toy telling you to connect to WiFi and update your subscription information…
:(
How does vinegar compare to a can of CRC?
It doesn’t.
CRC is a hydrocarbon based cleaning solution similar to isopropyl alcohol. Vinegar works to clean the alkaline corrosion specifically because it is acidic, so it will both neutralize the alkalinity and also act as a mild etchant.
It is important that you thoroughly clean all of the vinegar, since leaving it on for too long will etch away the copper (though when I say “for too long”, I mean a very long time).
Doesn’t smell as good but tastes a bit better.
This is the way. Sometime I even file down the spring/contacts with a nail file to expose fresh metal rather than corrosion. Just a few light scratches helps greatly.
If you have access to one, use an ultrasonic cleaner with vinegar and water in it to clean the parts you can take out (NOT the batteries themselves! Those are done)
the fate of old batteries. if you’re storing electronics for a long time, take the batteries out.
Battery orgasm?
Orgery.
(Not to be confused with batgasm, that’s when Bruce beasts up ppl from different socioeconomic background than his.)
Yeap as a reseller happens quite a bit and I found battery that expirebbsck in the 90s in a portable speaker
I lost my favorite mouse this way :(
Make sure to take ya batteries out if you’re putting electronics in long storage!
Yes? It was extremely common as a child because all our toys were battery powered (but not included)
As a millennial: all the time
What I did only experience once, was a leaking alkaline battery while in use
Mouse stopped working. Opened it up, only to be greeted with freshly squeezed battery juice dripping out of the battery
Mouse worked fine with new batteries, so no short in there.
Was even high end Duracell
high end Duracell
This has become an oxymoron in the last few decades.
Bought out by berkshire hathaway in 2016 and they’ve been absolute garbage since then. I haven’t bought them for years, they aren’t worth anything.
Now that I think about it, that’s about when I switched to energizer. Were they owned by berk?
Energizer is not owned by berkshire.
Yeah I just threw out half of a 30 pack of procells because they look like this. Expiry date is next year.
Gen Z too.
I hate to be counted as a gen z because my mind is less there and more inbetween.
Anyway, I think people forgot how genz starts at 1997. People. Some were 10 years old in the 2000s and al we had were battery toys and outside to play with…
Goddamn you had a blowout
