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Old 15th Jan 2022, 10:58 am   #1
ChristianFletcher
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Default Do PP3 batteries leak ?

I have a fair amount of test equipment battery powered and I am gradually swapping out the batteries for the new long shelf life lithium ion cells. Recently bought a few PP3 lithium ion batteries for a voltage calibrator as these were specified by the manufacturer. But thinking back I have never had a PP3 leak the corrosive goo unlike AAA AA C D cells. I guess this is due to the difference in container type.

Had anyone found a corroded PP3 ?

Regards Chris
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:03 am   #2
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Yes I have seen PP3 batteries leak, the ones I saw pushed the ends out of the case.
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:06 am   #3
paulsherwin
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Layer batteries like traditional PP3s don't usually leak. However, some are not layer batteries but are made from 6 AAAA cells, either zinc chloride or alkaline, and these are no more or less likely to leak than any other AAA cells.

http://www.blaukatz.com/content_index/layer_cells/
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:08 am   #4
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

They do leak! J.
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:17 am   #5
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Seen a few go bang as well

Doesn't seem to happen to the layer batteries just the versions full of the tiny rod cells.

We have had half a dozen or so in the office over the last 5 years the cause is often not apparent the battery still having its protective insulating cap on the +ve terminal.

Cheers

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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:29 am   #6
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Ok I feel justified in the expense of swapping them out. I have been using the none rechargeable lithium types in my test gear for some years they are expensive but have never failed. Not sure about the new lithium ion batteries but hopefully these won’t have the old shelf life discharge problem of the older rechargeable. The long shelf life is important as some of the equipment only gets used once a year etc.

It’s been years since I have dissected a PP3 I thought they were all layer types not seen the rod type.

Thanks for the replies regards Chris
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:53 am   #7
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

I've also had a couple that were button cells internally - and yes, they leaked.
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:54 am   #8
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Layer types seem to be out of fashion. Duracell and the like do it with lots of thin individual cells.

But I have seen them all leak although the layer type were good.

I just looked in my box of dead batteries and I have to say that most PP3-type batteries do not show external leakage but if I open them up they are leaking inside. So maybe this is about having the extra outer tin coat makes them seem better?
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 11:58 am   #9
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

In the past I had one or two very old ones go rusty and corroded. But not green corrosion on terminals. Just the case.
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 12:04 pm   #10
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

My understanding is that all alkaline PP3s use separate cells rather than layers.
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 1:38 pm   #11
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Only had two primary PP3's weep in the past three years, one was a lithium metal job, (undated) which grew rust around one of the terminals, the other an Alkaline Hyundai (date 2021, so only just out of date) which i found with a slimy clear liquid all around the terminals.

I find that ambient temperature fluctuations and also small quiescent current demands (even uA) increase the risk of leakage over time.

Dave
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 1:52 pm   #12
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Yes the issue of equipment that has a soft off switch has certainly been mentioned in the forum and doesn’t help matters
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 2:52 pm   #13
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
My understanding is that all alkaline PP3s use separate cells rather than layers.
I've seen both types in Alkaline Panasonic PP3s used at work, one was labelled 6LR61, LR61 is a round AAAA cell/battery. The other which was too large to fit some test gear was labelled 6LF22 (if I remember correctly) and contained the flat layer cells.
I've not seen any of those Panasonic Alkaline PP3 leak, but then again they tend to get used up quickly at work and not-in-use test gear gets raided when the Cromwell "fruit machine" has run out.

David
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Old 15th Jan 2022, 7:01 pm   #14
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

The traditional layer-cell PP3 [1960s/70s Ever Ready/Ray-O-Vac/Vidor/Flying-Bomb] never seemed to leak; as a kid I would biy these in packs-of-ten from the market in Shrewsbury and then sell them on at a nice profit to my schoolmates so they could listen surreptitiously to Luxembourg after lights-out.

The later type that use cylindrical cells rather than layers - yes they go bad - I've had to scrap a few smoke-detectors/Carbon-Monoxide-sensors after a PP3 has gone bad and pushed its ends out to the point where the battery couldn't sensibly be removed from the detector.
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Old 16th Jan 2022, 3:02 pm   #15
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Likewise, I've seen problems. The two I saw were.......Duracell.
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Old 16th Jan 2022, 5:20 pm   #16
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Yes, last Tuesday I found a Duracell PP3 had leaked and corroded parts of a tester last used in May of last year.

Colin
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Old 16th Jan 2022, 6:51 pm   #17
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobaltblue View Post
Seen a few go bang as well

Doesn't seem to happen to the layer batteries just the versions full of the tiny rod cells.

We have had half a dozen or so in the office over the last 5 years the cause is often not apparent the battery still having its protective insulating cap on the +ve terminal.

Cheers

Mike T
Absolutely!

I've had them go bang.

I had one go off at work with such force that the rods from the internal cells had embedded themselves in one of the tiles in the suspended ceiling above, there's a picture of it that I took at the time on here somewhere.

A couple of years or so ago I heard a bang or 'crack' in my living room at home and I looked around to see what it was, I even looked outside, but couldn't find what had caused it. It was only later when I went looking for my DVM which I'd been using earlier, and then found that it wasn't working, that I found the PP3 battery had exploded in the meter and I realised that was what I'd heard earlier.

I also had boxes of the industrial type with their protective caps still on and well within their use by date blow their ends out in the store cupboard at work.

I would advise avoiding alkaline type batteries if you can, and you don't need the current capability of that type, and stick with the old zinc carbon types, they're much safer.

There's been loads written on this subject on the forum already if the OP has a look around. Some may be in the 'modern' section, so I don't think the 'search' works on there.
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Old 16th Jan 2022, 7:03 pm   #18
The Philpott
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Lithium Metal PP3's would be the best of both worlds but on a quick search-they're prohibitively expensive at the moment. (Far more expensive than they really NEED to be, and that's the annoying aspect)
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Old 16th Jan 2022, 8:10 pm   #19
Philips210
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Default Re: Do PP3 batteries leak ?

Hi.

I've also encountered a few alkaline PP3 batteries which had leaked. More often, I have seen corrosion around the terminals. Perhaps there's some outgassing that's caused this.

Interesting to read Techman's comments on exploding alkaline PP3s, quite alarming to know. Incidentally, can you recall what make of PP3 it was?

I agree that alkaline batteries seem more trouble than they're worth. When leakage occurs with alkaline cells the damage if often worse than zinc chloride cell leakage. Plus the risk of fire etc is much reduced with ZnCl cells.

Having being caught out on several occasions with leaking alkaline cells in equipment that hadn't been used for a while, I also now use zinc chloride cells for low demand applications. It's better to replace zinc chloride cells more often than to have wrecked equipment due to old leaking alkalines.
In my experience, zinc chloride cells don't seem to leak very often.

Regards,
Symon

Last edited by Philips210; 16th Jan 2022 at 8:28 pm.
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