Flashlight Battery Corrosion Fix?

[DougE]

All of us grab that seldom used flashlight and find that it glows feebly or not at all. Are there any cures (preventative maintenance) for this. I'm trying a couple of things right now but won't know if they'll work for quite some time. One thing I am trying is to put a dab of silicon grease on each end of the battery(s). The other thing I'm trying is to give the contacts a spritz of battery terminal corrosion inhibitor - the stuff you get for the car battery at the auto supply. Any thoughts?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

pkunk wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Batteries need high or low Ph media to work. High or low Ph media eats things for a living. Including whatever it is contained in. An answer is lithium but it's unavailable In AAA - F cell. NiMH is better than alkaline or zinc chloride for resisting case leakage, but at the expensive of losing several tenths of a volt flashlight brightness. Can't winnemall...

I've bought quite a few, so.... Here

Aghhh, MY BAD!

I meant rechargeable AAA and AA lithium batteries. I'll go to my room now.

[starlord]

For the last couple of years I have had a LOT of problems with Duracell. I don't know if it is because I lived in a high humidity area or what the problem is. I have had SEVERAL Maglite flashlights ruined by these batteries, triple D cells and double A style, both LED and regular style. All of them have had (I assume) the batteries expand as well as "blow up" in the tubes and then I could not, in no way shape or form get the batteries back out of the flashlight tubes to even attempt to clean them up. This problem has not been exclusive to flashlights, I have had problems with remotes and electronic toys too. Now, I am told by Maglite that they have an agreement with the battery company, if a flashlight does experience problems like this, you can send it someplace (I don't remember where....sorry) and they will either repair or replace it. I have been pretty loyal to Duracell but have been contemplating changing to Energizer and giving them a try.

[Gdetrailer]

DougE wrote:
Their parent sites say that No-Alox is for aluminum while DeOxit Gold is general purpose.

Primary PURPOSE of No-Alox is to INTERFACE ALUMINUM ENTRANCE WIRE with COPPER/ALUMINUM RATED METER SOCKETS AND MAIN BREAKER PANEL.

No-Alox is SAFE to use on copper wire. I have continued to find more and more uses for it over the years, pretty much every outdoor electrical use like outlets and such it works wonders keeping the wire from oxidizing..

You can also get Gardner Bender version which is sold as Ox-Gard which is the same thing..

Ox-Gard and No-Alox can be typically found in Home Depot or Lowes electrical departments and is easy to get.

DeOxit not so much, most likely will have to mail order it..

[DougE]

Their parent sites say that No-Alox is for aluminum while DeOxit Gold is general purpose.

[RAS43]

Best thing I have found to avoid battery corrosion is not to use Rayovac batteries. I have found them leaking at the store in original packaging. Have not had an issue with other brands and some of my flashlights sit around for a long time without use. My boat is one place.

[wa8yxm]

Gdetrailer wrote:
Surely you jest..

A flashlight with no batteries would be rather useless in a power outage or if you have a need for portable light in a hurry..

No, not jesting, but perhaps not clear.

A small LED flashlight and the needed 3 AA cells will all fit in the plastic drink mix container so the flashlight and batteries are stored in the same container, If the batteries start leaking you will see it through the translucent container and since many LED flashlights are wrapped in either plastic or synthetic rubber they can be rinsed off (Water proof too). There will be no chemical erosion of the contacts. Battery life = shelf life as well

You simply remove batteries and flashlight from plastic tube, insert batteries and operate. The idea is to store batteries and flashlight BESIDE each other. in the same container.

[DaHose]

You can buy small, water resistant, LED flashlights. Insert good quality batteries and slip pieces of card stock between the battery ends and the terminals. That will insulate the batteries so they can be safely stored for their life cycle in a cool, dark cabinet. Tape a small piece of paper to each flashlight with the battery expiration date so you can cycle them before they leak.

Alternately, buy some of the little dynamo powered flashlights. I have a bunch and they have worked every time I have needed them, including a recent earthquake that took out power in all of Napa.

Jose

[Gene_Ginny]

DougE wrote:
... Are there any cures (preventative maintenance) for this. ...

WD40.
I have used it often for contacts. Just recently I bought a package of 4 used remotes on eBay. Three would not work because the battery terminals were corroded. A quick spray with WD40 and now 4 out of 4 work like new.

Forget the grease stuff. Over the last 20 years or so the only thing that ALWAYS works is WD40.

[beemerphile1]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Craig DeOxit

Looks like auto correct changed the spelling, I meant Caig, not Craig.

[Gdetrailer]

wa8yxm wrote:
Daffination of a flashlight: Container for dead batteries.

There is one and only one solution

Store the batteries external to the flashlight...

Now: an easy way to do this: Next time you visit the grocery take a look at the powdered drink isle, Crystal Light and Store brands often come packaged in a plastic tube, A very nice size to hold a small flashlight and batteries, You can peal the label off and it is even nicer for this job (Plastic is translucent) Wylers comes in a round tube, depending on the flashlight this is good too, And the kids will love the drinks.. that is you do not. (That's my alternative to coffee, being a coffee holic).

Surely you jest..

A flashlight with no batteries would be rather useless in a power outage or if you have a need for portable light in a hurry..

Pretty much sort of like having a unloaded gun tucked under your pillow and the bullets are in the safe, downstairs, by the door the burglar has just jimmied open :S

In all my years of living I have as of yet never had any flashlight that had corroding connections due to batteries in them..

The only time I have ever had corrosion has been when someone had left totally dead batteries in the device for months..

Corrosion happens when batteries leak OR the connections are constantly exposed to high humidity or salt spray for long periods of time.

Personally if you are having to constantly clean the terminals then get yourself some No-Alox, it is a special grease designed to prevent oxidation of aluminum and copper electrical connections. A little dab on the connections and you will not have corrosion again.. This grease blocks moisture from getting to the connection and can even be helpful in the case of battery corrosion. I use it on my auto and camper batteries.. I rarely need to clean my vehicle battery connections.

[rexlion]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Craig DeOxit

Ding ding, we have a winner!

Use DeOxit Red to clean the contacts, then follow up with DeOxit Gold to keep the surface oxidation from coming back.

Eneloops will have the charge when you need it and won't leak like Alkaleak batteries. The slightly lower voltage may reduce output just a bit in a non-regulated flashlight circuit, but not enough to notice in the dark.

[pkunk]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Batteries need high or low Ph media to work. High or low Ph media eats things for a living. Including whatever it is contained in. An answer is lithium but it's unavailable In AAA - F cell. NiMH is better than alkaline or zinc chloride for resisting case leakage, but at the expensive of losing several tenths of a volt flashlight brightness. Can't winnemall...

I've bought quite a few, so.... Here

[beemerphile1]

Craig DeOxit

[wa8yxm]

Daffination of a flashlight: Container for dead batteries.

There is one and only one solution

Store the batteries external to the flashlight...

Now: an easy way to do this: Next time you visit the grocery take a look at the powdered drink isle, Crystal Light and Store brands often come packaged in a plastic tube, A very nice size to hold a small flashlight and batteries, You can peal the label off and it is even nicer for this job (Plastic is translucent) Wylers comes in a round tube, depending on the flashlight this is good too, And the kids will love the drinks.. that is you do not. (That's my alternative to coffee, being a coffee holic).