After a discussion with some friends about how poor the quality was of some "high profile" brands of alkaline cells I decided to do a test. I got a load of different alkaline cells from various sources and put them on my own improvised Ah capacity tester. The tester was made back when there wasn't such an array of sophisticated chargers/testers available, so it was simply a quartz clock enabled by a reed switch that had its coil forming part of a simple load designed to test cells at an average 500mA load. The clock is reset to zero and then runs until the connected cells voltage drops to around 0.75V which is conveniently the "end of life" voltage of alkaline cells. The result is read in mAh capacity with the clock face graduated in 100mAh increments corresponding to the minute positions. The hour hand has a longer pointer attached to indicate the result and the second hand is cut down for use merely as an indicator that the test is still running.
The results were as follows:-
Kodak zinc chloride (just for reference) 0.85Ah
Duracell "Simple" 1.7Ah
Kodak Extralife (Poundland) 2.0Ah
Duracell standard 2.2Ah
Powercell (Pound World) 2.3Ah
Fusiomax Endurance (Poundland) 2.65Ah
Things worthy of note. The first Duracell-Simple cell I tested had an unrealistically low result of 0.4Ah. It's partner cell in a pack of two dated to 2018 had a capacity of 1.7Ah.
Duracell came at the bottom of the list by a VERY long chalk in terms of value. They rather cheekily state "Last longer - MUCH LONGER" on their packaging and then justify this statement in very small print with "vs a zinc carbon cell." Well yes... ANY alkaline cell should outlast a zinc carbon cell. Although one of the Duracell ones didn't!
The winner for sheer single cell capacity was the Poundland Fusiomax Endurance which achieved the highest result I've ever recorded from an alkaline cell at 2.65Ah.
For sheer value in terms of energy to cost the winner was the Pound World Powercell which offered almost 14 Ah for your pound versus Duracell's scrawny 3.4Ah to the pound. (less than a quarter the value)
It's worth mentioning that although alkaline cells can leak if abused, they are not prone to electrolyte leakage in the same way that zinc chloride cells are. I strongly recommend against using zinc chloride cells in ANY application as they have a low capacity and will almost certainly leak when fully discharged.
Ignore the "heavy duty" or "high energy" text on packs of zinc chloride cells they are a kickback to the point in history where they were the "new thing" compared to the older zinc carbon technology. The only non-rechargeable cells I recommend are alkaline cells.
The results were as follows:-
Kodak zinc chloride (just for reference) 0.85Ah
Duracell "Simple" 1.7Ah
Kodak Extralife (Poundland) 2.0Ah
Duracell standard 2.2Ah
Powercell (Pound World) 2.3Ah
Fusiomax Endurance (Poundland) 2.65Ah
Things worthy of note. The first Duracell-Simple cell I tested had an unrealistically low result of 0.4Ah. It's partner cell in a pack of two dated to 2018 had a capacity of 1.7Ah.
Duracell came at the bottom of the list by a VERY long chalk in terms of value. They rather cheekily state "Last longer - MUCH LONGER" on their packaging and then justify this statement in very small print with "vs a zinc carbon cell." Well yes... ANY alkaline cell should outlast a zinc carbon cell. Although one of the Duracell ones didn't!
The winner for sheer single cell capacity was the Poundland Fusiomax Endurance which achieved the highest result I've ever recorded from an alkaline cell at 2.65Ah.
For sheer value in terms of energy to cost the winner was the Pound World Powercell which offered almost 14 Ah for your pound versus Duracell's scrawny 3.4Ah to the pound. (less than a quarter the value)
It's worth mentioning that although alkaline cells can leak if abused, they are not prone to electrolyte leakage in the same way that zinc chloride cells are. I strongly recommend against using zinc chloride cells in ANY application as they have a low capacity and will almost certainly leak when fully discharged.
Ignore the "heavy duty" or "high energy" text on packs of zinc chloride cells they are a kickback to the point in history where they were the "new thing" compared to the older zinc carbon technology. The only non-rechargeable cells I recommend are alkaline cells.
Another point, my experience is that most Alkalines do leak their electrolytes, specially some nicknamed as DuraLLeaks. I try to avoid them (Alkaline) the best I can.
I also experienced that Zinc-Carbon can leak too, but some ZINC CHLORIDE (or Heavy Duty” – IF true) are much LESS prone to leak, specially if continuously discharged and fully depleted, as one of chemical reaction “dries up” the water – check Wikipedia for more details of the following reaction:
2 MnO2 + ZnCl2 + H2O + 2 e− → Mn2O3 + Zn(OH)2 + 2 Cl−
Forgetting them in a remote control or clock or calculator then is much more forgiving for the life/health of the device.
Here in BRAZIL, there is a local factory of PANASONIC “Heavy Duty” that very seldom leaks.
For me, No Leaks is the MOST important factor. I use NiMH if the device accepts a lower operating voltage (1.2V x 1.5V); if not, then I use a Good-Brand Zinc-Chloride one (here= Panasonic).
Although I’m follower of your channel, I stumbled on this quite old video, as aí was looking for Alkaline capacity results (9V in special). I had thought to use exactly a cheap 1AA analog clock for that, and you comments about cutoff voltage were among my concerns – which somehow you solved.
Could you please SHARE the info / schematic how you did it?
I grew up with Ever Ready zinc-carbon batteries.
Simply shit 😂😂
I have a Duracell here that makes me wonder if the “flat” ones aren’t actually flat: I grabbed this “dead” battery, showed 0.025V, and decided I wanted to see what the construction was like. Rip off the cover, and the negative terminal is a plate that falls away, showing a sort of cardboard separator with a post in the middle; the post was corroded. Check the voltage on the post, 1.395V! So it wasn’t actually dead, just… had a little leak or something? It wouldn’t surprise me if this is a common issue. It looks normal on the outside, so no way to know that happened without dismantling it, which obviously bars it from normal usage anyway
The worst alkaline battery i ever used were wilko extra life alkaline batteries and they say on the pack 'full of juice' those were the worst performance i wouldn't be surprised if they had orange juice in them. they score 3.4 stars. In fact i get better performance from aldi own brand battery's and i get more for the same-ish price.
Way Better than prooject faarm , and no shouting everything like we're all deaf. Thanks Sir Clive
Quite clever of Duracell to put all the low-quality batteries into a separate branded package.Otherwise they would have to throw them away.
I suspect simply durecel are binned batteries that didn't 100% pass quality control
thank's, after 8 years, hihi
rubs crotch
I used to use duracell in everything. One day of cleaning a remote control they leaked in changed me.
I don't rate Duracell at all. I had two leak in a Radio Controlled Clock while the clock was still working. I will never buy Duracell again. I'll stick to £Land rechargeables.
365 comments, 365 days lol
(now 366)
I find Kodak alkaline ok but the zinc carbon ones are hopeless, you can squash the casings with your fingers, these remind me of those powercell brand ones that you got about twenty on a card, last two minutes then die then leak. Amonium chloride does eat contacts as I have seen, Alkaline potassium hydroxide also can do this but at a slower rate an the deposit is often a blue. The Ever Ready old type codes were SP special power HP high power, back in those days there was not much difference between the two. Nowadays battery technology has improved vastly. At the end of the day you get what you pay for. For high drain devices in constant use its best to use good quality alkaline batteries. They last longer an leak less. A chemical reaction is constantly taking place in a zinc chloride cell that eats the zinc casing over time, I find alkaline batteries leak less though, I have taken Mallory Duracell batteries out of old equipment to find them mint condition an in some cases still working, Mallory were an independent brand in there own right but had something to do with Duracell back in the early 1980s.
Hi Clive. Saw this video quite a while ago, but thought of it recently because I had to replace the battery in my wall clock and was surprised to be reminded that, at the time I moved in, I didn't have any alkaline batteries to hand, so I'd whacked in a spare NiMH battery, expecting to have to replace it in short order. Lasted the better part of a year because, without a 500mA load pulling the battery voltage down, the current draw from the quartz movement is so low that the battery never gets pulled below its recovery voltage until it's nearly depleted. Doesn't have to operate much below 1.2-1.3V because of battery chemistry.
I did enjoy seeing confirmation that battery brand is not a reliable indicator of quality. Perhaps mass? I'd give good odds that the average Stinkly Durasmell AA battery isn't much heavier than a typical AAAA cell.
I agree: The bottom line is, the cost per hour of use of your device. It doesn't matter if you get a cheaper cell, and replace more often, or, buy an expensive cell and use it longer. The question is, how many hours can you use your device per dollar, or, how many pictures can you take per dollar, or, how many hours of light can you get per dollar out of your flashlight?(torch) At low rates of discharge, sometimes, those cheap carbon-zinc or zinc chloride cells can be pretty cost effective. In high drain devices, like camera flashes, alkalines are your only choice, just because carbon zinc can't produce the current necessary for its power supply. A zinc chloride cell that will no longer power a flash may run an LED flashlight for another 10 hours!
Anyone with a Xbox could have told you Duracell are shit!