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Exploding Duracell ProCell alkaline battery

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Jeff Liebermann

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Jan 25, 2011, 2:47:04 AM1/25/11
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Compliments of friend, we mow have a good example of what happens
when one shorts the terminals of a 9V Duracell ProCell alkaline
battery.

<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/Duracell/Duracell-01.jpg>
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/Duracell/Duracell-02.jpg>
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/Duracell/Duracell-03.jpg>

He mentioned that the battery sounded like a small firecracker when
it exploded. The white debris scattered around the desk is probably
the paper battery plate spacer material.

--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeffrey Angus

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Jan 25, 2011, 7:33:14 AM1/25/11
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On 1/25/2011 1:47 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> Compliments of friend, we mow have a good example of what happens
> when one shorts the terminals of a 9V Duracell ProCell alkaline
> battery.

That's interesting, they make 9 volts with 6 cylindrical cells.
I remember taking 9V batteries apart in the '60s and they were
a flat stack of rectangular cells

Jeff

Bob Villa

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Jan 25, 2011, 8:09:36 AM1/25/11
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Once I thought it was safe to put 2 9 volts together...they started
smoking and crackling in my pocket!

Jeff Liebermann

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Jan 25, 2011, 12:29:21 PM1/25/11
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Those were carbon-zinc batteries.

I have a red laser pointer that uses overpriced AAAA batteries.
Tearing apart a 9V alkaline battery provides me with a cheap supply.
<http://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/aaaa-cells-inside-a-9volt-battery.htm>

Meat Plow

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Jan 25, 2011, 2:49:53 PM1/25/11
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:29:21 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:33:14 -0600, Jeffrey Angus
> <jan...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
>
>>On 1/25/2011 1:47 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>> Compliments of friend, we mow have a good example of what happens when
>>> one shorts the terminals of a 9V Duracell ProCell alkaline battery.
>>
>>That's interesting, they make 9 volts with 6 cylindrical cells. I
>>remember taking 9V batteries apart in the '60s and they were a flat
>>stack of rectangular cells
>
> Those were carbon-zinc batteries.
>
> I have a red laser pointer that uses overpriced AAAA batteries. Tearing
> apart a 9V alkaline battery provides me with a cheap supply.
> <http://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/aaaa-cells-inside-a-9volt-
battery.htm>

1. Was this done on purpose?
2. Do all 9v have AAAA inside?

My green laser pointer uses AAAA.

--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

Phil Allison

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Jan 25, 2011, 11:41:14 PM1/25/11
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"Jeff Liebermann Misinforms Again "

>
> Compliments of friend, we mow have a good example of what happens
> when one shorts the terminals of a 9V Duracell ProCell alkaline
> battery.
>
> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/Duracell/Duracell-01.jpg>
> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/Duracell/Duracell-02.jpg>
> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/Duracell/Duracell-03.jpg>
>
> He mentioned that the battery sounded like a small firecracker when
> it exploded. The white debris scattered around the desk is probably
> the paper battery plate spacer material.


** An alkaline cell will not explode just because it's terminals are
shorted.

But it very likely WILL explode if it is charged with a significant
current - this is why there are warnings on all such cells against
charging and installing them in reverse.

By shorting a 6 cell battery, the above rule was breached - cos soon as
one cell became flat, the others began forcing charge into it at a very high
rate.


..... Phil

Jeff Liebermann

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Jan 26, 2011, 10:36:47 AM1/26/11
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:49:53 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
<mhy...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:29:21 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:33:14 -0600, Jeffrey Angus
>> <jan...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
>>
>>>On 1/25/2011 1:47 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>>> Compliments of friend, we mow have a good example of what happens when
>>>> one shorts the terminals of a 9V Duracell ProCell alkaline battery.
>>>
>>>That's interesting, they make 9 volts with 6 cylindrical cells. I
>>>remember taking 9V batteries apart in the '60s and they were a flat
>>>stack of rectangular cells
>>
>> Those were carbon-zinc batteries.
>>
>> I have a red laser pointer that uses overpriced AAAA batteries. Tearing
>> apart a 9V alkaline battery provides me with a cheap supply.
>> <http://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/aaaa-cells-inside-a-9volt-
>battery.htm>
>
>1. Was this done on purpose?

No. My friend lives in a small apartment and does everything on his
desk. It's a huge mess, full of tools, parts, junk, and debris. He
doesn't know exactly what shorted the terminals, because the battery
bounced around the desk.

>2. Do all 9v have AAAA inside?

I don't know. I know that the cheap carbon-zinc 9V batteries do not
have cells, but I suspect that the others qualify. I've torn apart a
few others and found AAAA cells. There are many web pages and You
Tube videos that show what's inside.

More:
<http://blog.xkcd.com/2007/08/20/testing-the-9v-battery-hack-or-assault-on-battery/>

Actually, they're not quite AAAA cells but are about 1mm shorter. I
had to put a blob of solder on the + terminal to make up the missing
length.

Someone posted a video claiming that you could get 32 AA cells from a
lantern battery:
<http://www.snopes.com/photos/humor/batteryhack.asp>

>My green laser pointer uses AAAA.

I'm borrowing a green laser that uses two AA batteries. Much cheaper
to operate and lasts much longer. We were comparing green lasers (for
dish antenna alignment) at the last radio club meeting. All present
were allegedly 5mw green lasers, but there was a HUGE difference in
brightness when pointed at the wall. The one I'm borrowing was the
brightest. Everyone complained that they killed batteries quite
rapidly. One of them would drastically reduce brightness after about
10 seconds. All of them got hot.

Mark Zenier

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Jan 30, 2011, 3:22:19 PM1/30/11
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In article <ave0k61q1fca12j9v...@4ax.com>,

Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:49:53 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
><mhy...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>2. Do all 9v have AAAA inside?
>
>I don't know. I know that the cheap carbon-zinc 9V batteries do not
>have cells, but I suspect that the others qualify. I've torn apart a
>few others and found AAAA cells. There are many web pages and You
>Tube videos that show what's inside.

A week or two ago, I ended up with several dead 9V alkalines and decided
to scrap off the end piece with the connectors.

Both Duracell and Energizer have cylindrical cells inside. Duracell
spotwelds them together with metal strap. Energizer just has a metal
contact pattern with jumpers on a spacer and uses the metal outer case
crimp to put pressure onto the cell contacts. My guess is that a 9V
Energizer would be more likely to go bad if dropped too hard, but it's
easier to get individual cells out of it.

Mark Zenier mze...@eskimo.com
Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

Ron

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Jan 31, 2011, 10:08:51 AM1/31/11
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Which is exactly the reason we don't use Energisers in radio microphones!

Ron (UK)

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