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[Jason Glass]

As a radio frequency professional, I use a LOT of AA batteries.  Sometimes over 1000 per week, in a variety of device types.

I have mentioned in earlier posts some peculiar problems that I have been having with the new orange Procell AA batteries, including brand new batteries leaking fluid inside devices and having brand new, DMM tested batteries going dead shortly after installation, but testing good upon removal.  This has been happening to me mostly when using them in Telex TR-800 & 825 sleds and in PSM1000 receivers, but hasn't been an issue with handheld mics.  I believe I found the cause and hope some of you may benefit from the info.  I also hope that Duracell will read this post and correct it.

The new orange coating flakes off of the edge of the batteries at the + end when you "pop" them into place by engaging the - end into the receptacle's spring and then force the + end down into the compartment to engage the + terminals.  I have experienced numerous instances where these tiny flakes stick to the + terminal of the battery, or worse, to the + terminal of the device, and it was so tenacious that scratching it with a fingernail wouldn't remove it.  In several cases, it took scraping with a knife edge or standard screwdriver head to free it.

This is bad.  When the flake is just the right size, it doesn't insulate the terminal but rather acts as a capacitor.  This easily explains the leaking issues, as it could heavily load the batteries, and it can allow the device to power up for a few moments and fool you into thinking that all is well.

It has resulted in some embarrassing incidents for me and an engineer friend when we have handed artists IEM packs in which we had just changed the batteries and verified power-up, only to have them immediately fail as the artist plugged in and turned up the volume.

I hope you all will examine this and chime in if you have experienced something similar or if you do in the future.

[Thomas Lamb]

As a radio frequency professional, I use a LOT of AA batteries.  Sometimes over 1000 per week, in a variety of device types.

I have mentioned in earlier posts some peculiar problems that I have been having with the new orange Procell AA batteries, including brand new batteries leaking fluid inside devices and having brand new, DMM tested batteries going dead shortly after installation, but testing good upon removal.  This has been happening to me mostly when using them in Telex TR-800 & 825 sleds and in PSM1000 receivers, but hasn't been an issue with handheld mics.  I believe I found the cause and hope some of you may benefit from the info.  I also hope that Duracell will read this post and correct it.

The new orange coating flakes off of the edge of the batteries at the + end when you "pop" them into place by engaging the - end into the receptacle's spring and then force the + end down into the compartment to engage the + terminals.  I have experienced numerous instances where these tiny flakes stick to the + terminal of the battery, or worse, to the + terminal of the device, and it was so tenacious that scratching it with a fingernail wouldn't remove it.  In several cases, it took scraping with a knife edge or standard screwdriver head to free it.

This is bad.  When the flake is just the right size, it doesn't insulate the terminal but rather acts as a capacitor.  This easily explains the leaking issues, as it could heavily load the batteries, and it can allow the device to power up for a few moments and fool you into thinking that all is well.

It has resulted in some embarrassing incidents for me and an engineer friend when we have handed artists IEM packs in which we had just changed the batteries and verified power-up, only to have them immediately fail as the artist plugged in and turned up the volume.

I hope you all will examine this and chime in if you have experienced something similar or if you do in the future.

We have had issues too. Actually have switched to energizer industrials. Thx for figuring out the likely source of the issue.

[Kevin Maxwell]

We have been using the Duracell AA ProCells for a while the new orange ones since they came out and we have gone thru about 1000 lately but not 1000 in a week. We haven’t experienced any problems with them at all not one failure. We are using them primarily in Shure UR1 transmitters and to a lesser degree the UR2 transmitters and some Sennheiser EW transmitters. I don’t know if it is the devices that we use them in is making the difference. So you are saying that the orange plastic coating is flaking off. Have you checked for sharp spots on the battery trays or holders? I have a whole bunch of used orange AA ProCells sitting next to me and I just scraped at on with a pretty sharp knife and it took a lot to flake off a piece of the plastic.

At the moment I am looking seriously into seeing if it is practical and environmentally better to use rechargeable batteries for these mics. You can only give away a limited number of used batteries.

[Jason Glass]

Hi Kevin,

I agree that it is not easy to tear off the plastic coating (I did the very same experiment a few hours ago), although I only needed to use my fingernail to start them peeling at the edge.  I will also examine the edges of the battery compartments on these devices to see if this is a contributing factor.  After all, I did specify that the trouble has been with P10R's and TR-800 & 825 units, and not UR1's or UR2's.  However, I am quite certain that the "stuff" on the terminals is coming from the batteries, as the coating's edge always looks ragged or torn when I remove the batteries from failing units, and the color of the flakes perfectly matches the batteries.

FWIW, posting my observations of this, and my conclusions, is not something that I take lightly and I want to help others avoid similar trouble by suggesting that we all be careful while inserting them into our devices.  Also, I have been a loyal user and customer of this product for decades and wish to see the problem solved so that we can continue to rely on them.

[Jason Glass]

I pulled this out of a P10R this morning.  It didn't fail, but I've been watching for them so I could snap a photo.

[Jason Glass]

I always "spin" the batteries to make sure that they are seated in the + terminal, and this is what I found only moments ago when loading new ones.

[Kevin Maxwell]

I pulled this out of a P10R this morning.  It didn't fail, but I've been watching for them so I could snap a photo.

Have you looked at them before you put them in? Have you seen any of them damaged before insertion? Do they run hot enough in these units that if a piece of the plastic wrap gets scraped off that it then melts across the terminal and could be creating the problems that you are experiencing. I wouldn’t have thought that the plastic would have the right properties to turn it into a cap or short anything out. But who knows.

I just looked over about 40 used ones with a magnifier and I found about 4 that looked like they had some minor handling damage near the negative end. And one that had a slight scrap, again handling damage at the plus end. They are all batch 4D27D097 (etched on the plastic on each battery) and labeled use before MAR 2021.

I also got to wondering why a glob on the plus terminal would cause a problem. I think that might be a misleading clue. I pealed a AA and the entire battery except of the bottom plate is the plus. See picture. So to have a physical problem that would cause an issue it would have to be on the negative side where there is a spacer (that looks like it could be some sort of fiber like material maybe even cardboard) between the rest of the body (plus) of the battery. If something were to short it out down there it would be a problem. Or if it was exposed down there to moisture that might cause issues if the plastic is scraped off down there.

Have you tried Talking to Duracell about this?

[Ryan Cecil]

Jason
I had a failure that maybe could be attributed to this at the show we were on this weekend, my cue pack which had new batteries put in prior to the show, died about 6 songs in.
Thanks for the tip!
Ryan

[Jason Glass]

Have you looked at them before you put them in? Have you seen any of them damaged before insertion? Do they run hot enough in these units that if a piece of the plastic wrap gets scraped off that it then melts across the terminal and could be creating the problems that you are experiencing. I wouldn’t have thought that the plastic would have the right properties to turn it into a cap or short anything out. But who knows.

I just looked over about 40 used ones with a magnifier and I found about 4 that looked like they had some minor handling damage near the negative end. And one that had a slight scrap, again handling damage at the plus end. They are all batch 4D27D097 (etched on the plastic on each battery) and labeled use before MAR 2021.

I also got to wondering why a glob on the plus terminal would cause a problem. I think that might be a misleading clue. I pealed a AA and the entire battery except of the bottom plate is the plus. See picture. So to have a physical problem that would cause an issue it would have to be on the negative side where there is a spacer (that looks like it could be some sort of fiber like material maybe even cardboard) between the rest of the body (plus) of the battery. If something were to short it out down there it would be a problem. Or if it was exposed down there to moisture that might cause issues if the plastic is scraped off down there.

Have you tried Talking to Duracell about this?

Hi Kevin,

Over the last few months, I have gotten into the habit of inspecting the + end of every battery when I open the flap on each 4-pack box.  I have not yet seen one damaged before insertion like shown in the photos.

I have not felt any unusual heating of the batteries upon removal.  I'm convinced that those bits that stick to the terminals are doing so because of their adhesive backing.

I am completely confident that an extremely small piece of it stuck on the face of the + terminal could easily hold the conductors just far enough apart to prevent satisfactory contact. 

It is actually quite easy to make a capacitor out of almost any dielectric thin film sandwiched between highly conductive materials, but it would indeed need to be stretched far thinner than the batteries' thick plastic to be of more consequence than its insulating resistance.  However, a tiny separation of the terminal metals due to a small flake leaves lots of area to become an air spaced capacitor.  This is not so far fetched when you pack 6 AA's into a TR-800 sled totaling 9V and packing considerable amperage punch.

I have not talked to Duracell yet.  I wanted to discuss it here with you and the rest of my fellow audio professionals first. ;-)

[Kevin Maxwell]

Hi Kevin,

Over the last few months, I have gotten into the habit of inspecting the + end of every battery when I open the flap on each 4-pack box.  I have not yet seen one damaged before insertion like shown in the photos.

I have not felt any unusual heating of the batteries upon removal.  I'm convinced that those bits that stick to the terminals are doing so because of their adhesive backing.

I am completely confident that an extremely small piece of it stuck on the face of the + terminal could easily hold the conductors just far enough apart to prevent satisfactory contact. 

It is actually quite easy to make a capacitor out of almost any dielectric thin film sandwiched between highly conductive materials, but it would indeed need to be stretched far thinner than the batteries' thick plastic to be of more consequence than its insulating resistance.  However, a tiny separation of the terminal metals due to a small flake leaves lots of area to become an air spaced capacitor.  This is not so far fetched when you pack 6 AA's into a TR-800 sled totaling 9V and packing considerable amperage punch.

I have not talked to Duracell yet.  I wanted to discuss it here with you and the rest of my fellow audio professionals first. ;-)

 Flaking off and insulating a terminal assuming that the device is most likely scraping the piece off I can definitely see. But as I showed it the picture it is solid metal all the way down to the negative side, the footplate. That has to be where a problem would happen anything sticking to the top (plus side) of the battery is most likely just going to insulate it and make it not make contact and that is bad but it will not cause any other issue at that end. My point is look at the bottom. And I will stress that look at the bottom at the negative terminal for any other problem you are having. You are looking at the wrong end if all you are checking is the + terminal. 

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