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Fox5flyer
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 Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 5:24 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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Yesterday, I was tinkering in my shop and when I attempted to use my analog volt meter, I found the needle would not swing across when I touched the leads together to calibrate it. Actually, the needle moved about one third of the way. As I hadn't changed the batteries in over a year I took the back off and low and behold I found a huge mess. Three of the four AA batteries had leaked all over the inside of the meter which effectively destroyed it as the resulting corrosion ruined the battery contact terminals. I've used this meter (Amprobe) for more than 30 years and it has never failed me, but now it is now in the trash.
Never again with Duracells. Never...
Deke
[quote][b]
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n801bh(at)NetZero.com
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| Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:05 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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Take it back out of the trash. box it up and ship to directly to Duracell for a replacement. Several people have commented on this list that Duracell will replace damaged items when their cells leak.... Is this BS ? You can put this myth to bed for all of us. If they really do replace stuff leaking cells damage then two things will happen.
1- They will replace all items damaged, fix their manufacturing process and go on the be a premier battery seller.
2- They will go out of business for cramming crap down our throats.
Marketplace, and its side effects are a wonderful thing ya know.
do not archive
Ben Haas
N801BH
www.haaspowerair.com
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rjquillin
Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 123
Location: KSEE
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| Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:45 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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At 07:03 1/3/2010, you wrote:
| Quote: | | Take it back out of the trash. box it up and ship to directly to Duracell for a replacement. Several people have commented on this list that Duracell will replace damaged items when their cells leak.... Is this BS ? You can put this myth to bed for all of us. If they really do replace stuff leaking cells damage then two things will happen. |
Had a mouse with leaky Duracells in it, 'bout five years ago. Sent it in. As it was no longer a current model, I was sent a check for what they believed was it's replacement value. No hassle, other than the entire event.
Ron Q.
[quote][b]
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BobsV35B(at)aol.com
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| Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:45 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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Good Morning Ben,
Just as a single data point, I jumped through the hoops a few months ago and returned a four cell Maglite to Duracell following the procedures they specified. Packaging it and sending as they required was not convenient or cheap. However, a couple of months later, I received a check of a sufficient amount to replace the four cell Maglite and cover the cost of shipping.
I would prefer to never have to do that, but it did work as represented.
Happy Skies,
Old Bob
In a message dated 1/3/2010 9:24:07 A.M. Central Standard Time, n801bh(at)NetZero.com writes:
| Quote: |
Take it back out of the trash. box it up and ship to directly to Duracell for a replacement. Several people have commented on this list that Duracell will replace damaged items when their cells leak.... Is this BS ? You can put this myth to bed for all of us. If they really do replace stuff leaking cells damage then two things will happen.
1- They will replace all items damaged, fix their manufacturing process and go on the be a premier battery seller.
2- They will go out of business for cramming crap down our throats.
Marketplace, and its side effects are a wonderful thing ya know.
do not archive
Ben Haas
N801BH
www.haaspowerair.com
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[quote][b]
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ulflyer(at)verizon.net
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| Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:35 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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Deke,
The main reason I began using Durcell's long back is I could depend upon them not to leak in all my test and expensive equipment, they never leaked. This is why I raised the question if others were experiencing similar problems with them leaking. In the last few years I have observed an definite characteristic change of the Duracell product.
I might expect a very old battery to leak a little if left for years, but my experience with them is a definite change where their leaking in short period and without being fully discharged. Thanks for everyone's feedback, guess it's time for me to send a letter and some leakers to P&G and see what their response is.
jerb
At 05:18 AM 1/3/2010, you wrote:
[quote]Yesterday, I was tinkering in my shop and when I attempted to use my analog volt meter, I found the needle would not swing across when I touched the leads together to calibrate it. Actually, the needle moved about one third of the way. As I hadn't changed the batteries in over a year I took the back off and low and behold I found a huge mess. Three of the four AA batteries had leaked all over the inside of the meter which effectively destroyed it as the resulting corrosion ruined the battery contact terminals. I've used this meter (Amprobe) for more than 30 years and it has never failed me, but now it is now in the trash.
Never again with Duracells. Never...
Deke
[b]
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n395v
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 7:30 am Post subject: Re: Duracells again... |
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| Quote: | Is this BS ? You can put this myth to bed for all of us. If they really do replace stuff leaking cells damage then two things will happen.
1- They will replace all items damaged, fix their manufacturing process and go on the be a premier battery seller.
2- They will go out of business for cramming crap down our throats.
Marketplace, and its side effects are a wonderful thing ya know.
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A couple of data points to ponder.
I suspect the reason we see primarily Duracell quality being complained about is the fact that they probably supply 70% of the alkaline batteries that we use.
I once worked for Duracell and it is amazing to see how they are made at high speed. They go through the line so fast that it is hard to see even with the fastest strobe.
Given the noxious chemicals that they are made from it is amazing they do not start leaking day 1.
All of them are rigorously tested for leakage before shipment after several weeks of storage and aging.
Duracell has always had a policy (and has always honored it) of replacing or compensating for any damage their batteries cause. They even honored this policy when the customer has left the batteries in their camera, etc. for 10 years.
This pretty much no questions asked policy is the benefit of paying a bit more for a Duracell.
As to the el cheapos being a better deal( as in cheaper, longer life, less leakage)........
With the exception of Eveready I have watched pretty much every other brand of alkaline battery run down the assembly lines at the Duracell factory. This includes Ray O Vac and many of the brands mentioned in several of the battery life studies. My guess is when you buy any alkaline battery other than Eveready you are assuming a 50-60% probability that it came down the same assembly line as the Duracell you replaced with it. Only difference is that the marketers of the el cheapo ain't gonna replace your mag lite when it leaks.
Given the billions of batteries sold the number of leakers that leak within the expected battery life is miniscule. It just seems like a lot when it gets our favorite maglite.
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Fox5flyer
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| Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:24 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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Thanks for the feedback, Bob. That old volt meter was a good one and had sentimental value. It's still in my workshop trash can so I think I'll send it in to see what happens. It will only cost me the price of postage.
Can you point me to a link at Duracell that addresses this return procedure?
Deke
[quote][b]
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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
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| Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:44 am Post subject: Duracells again... |
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<snip>
| Quote: | With the exception of Eveready I have watched pretty much every
other brand of alkaline battery run down the assembly lines at the
Duracell factory. This includes Ray O Vac and many of the brands
mentioned in several of the battery life studies. My guess is when
you buy any alkaline battery other than Eveready you are assuming a
50-60% probability that it came down the same assembly line as the
Duracell you replaced with it. Only difference is that the
marketers of the el cheapo ain't gonna replace your mag lite when it leaks.
Given the billions of batteries sold the number of leakers that leak
within the expected battery life is miniscule. It just seems like a
lot when it gets our favorite maglite.
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Milt. Thank you so much for your insight on this topic.
A similar discussion on battery contactors came up many
years ago . . . don't recall if it was Compuserve AVSIG
or here on this List.
Folks were bad-mouthing the el-cheeso contactors that
I was selling which were descendants of the RBM Controls
that put batteries into the first S.E. TC aircraft back
in the 40s.
Ask any mechanic how many of these contactors . . .
http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Contactors/s701-1l.jpg
are replaced in comparison to these contactors . . .
http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Contactors/6041_Contactor.jpg
and they universally state . . . "Oh man! We replace those
tin cans 10x more often than the gold plated ones." What's
seldom asked and answered or even investigated is what are
the flight hours on both styles of device when replacement
is made . . . and what is the fielded population of both
contactors?
I'm certain that in the big picture, the el-cheeso
contactor does not suffer failure rates so great that one is
encouraged to replace it with a device that costs 10x as
much. It's a matter of cost of ownership versus risk in
a marketplace so large that perfectly ordinary failure rates
make the el-cheeso contactor look like trash.
I've suspected . . . and your own observations confirm . . .
that the Duracell folks who buy $millions$ in VERY effective
advertising are suffering from success. Their market penetration
is so huge (like comparing Cessna+Piper versus Beech+Mooney) that
taking a telescopic, narrow view of failure rates will
yield distorted perceptions.
We've had similar discussions on $value$ of various
brands of alternators . . . particularly those that are
artfully re-manufactured. I visited a reman operation in
California/Mexico a year or so ago. Once a particular
brand of alternator passes through a MPA facility, it's
now an MPA part no matter who manufactured it originally.
When I asked the chief engineer at MPA, "Who makes the best
stock alternator?", he admitted to not having a clue. He
said something to the effect, "We do the best we know how
to do on every part that passes through our facility. Once
it leaves here, it's OUR part. We don't see any extra-ordinary
failure rates that can be attributed to the original
manufacturers. So I cannot tell you nor would I even care
who is king-of-the-hill for new parts. My job is to make
every MPA product worthy of our customer's branding . . .
of which there are DOZENS."
I suspect that an artfully crafted study of the alkaline
battery market would produce similar revelations. Thanks
for sharing.
Bob . . .
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