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Saturday, May 21, 2011
[The problem with batteries...]
About two years ago, I bought two packs of Duracell batteries. A pack of AA's and a pack of AAA's. I bought them because I switched to a wireless mouse and keyboard combo for my desktop and I would need batteries to power them up. All the batteries mentioned in this post are from these two packs.
Fast forward to this year.
The first time I noticed a problem was when my Arc mouse could not power up. I opened up the battery compartment and noticed a clear liquid leaking out from the bottom. There were also some blue residue on the battery contact points. I thought at the time it was due to some hardware issues so I contacted Microsoft and got a replacement mouse.
A while after that, I looked at the two packs of batteries in my drawer and realised that the cardboard backing seems to be wet. I've noticed it in the past but I did not investigate, thinking it was due to the material breaking down. When I examined it, I realised that about half of the AAA's were leaking. I tossed all of them away. Although some of them seemed fine, I did not want to take a risk with using them in my gadgets as they were covered with the leaked battery fluid and I don't know what would happen if I used them.
Fast forward again, to last night. My desktop mouse is complaining that its batteries are running out. I went and replace the AA batteries and found that it was leaking too. I have been noticing a weird mark on my mousepad for a while and now I realise it was from the leaking batteries. The mouse, while still functional (although one of the shortcut keys have been malfunctioning), was done. It was impossible to clean the mess within. Lucky for me, I had my keyboard replaced two years ago shortly after I bought the combo and when Microsoft sent me a new set then, they sent a complete set and I only returned the faulty keyboard. Hence I have an identical and brand new mouse. An instant replacement.
So, the total damage caused by these batteries - Two mice and a mousepad. And I tossed away quite a few of the unused and leaking AAA's.
I don't think I will ever buy Duracell batteries again. I'm not a battery expert, and a search on Wikipedia seems to suggest that leaking batteries is a common occurrence. But still...Too much damage caused. I will be buying my alkaline batteries from IKEA from now on. I've already bought a pack of AAA's. I haven't used them yet, but reviews from my father who used them for his cameras seem positive.
^^^ by Locksley @ 12:04 PM.
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