Am always thinking about storing batteries and long term usage.
Things like polarity, contacts touching etc.

Was wondering if vacuum sealing them in a row or pack, say of 4, would be an acceptable idea?
Any thoughts?

It would let me pack them in the BoB without thought.

I'm thinking that, but have seen airtight tubes for storing batteries, thus....
Possible?

Are you storing lithiums or alkalines? I would use only lithium batteries where long term storage was contemplated. Alkalines are just too prone to leakage - a very bad characteristic in a BOB, or any serious purpose, for that matter.

If you're talking about alkalines, I don't believe they off-gas at all. No reason why you can't shrink wrap them.

Though that depends on what you mean by long term storage. I have cheapo alkaline AAs that have been sitting in their well sealed packets for 3+ years. No evidence of trouble. Do a visual check now and again just in case.

IME, it's the name brand alkalines that spew caustic goop without provocation. Especially when the voltage drops below 1.2V. Go figure. YMMV.

An alkaline with a voltage of 1.2 volt is mostly gone anyway. If it never has been used, and has dropped to 1.2 volt during storage, I would absolutely toss that one out.

I don't have much data to base my opinion on, and I very rarely had a leaking alkaline, but I believe that

a) leaking alkalines is a lottery. Brand or no-brand doesn't matter, or has only minor influence on the outcome.

b) Overall, quality has improved through better manufacturing processes. Which means the chances of loosing in the leak-lottery goes down, brand or non-brand.

if your storing them up you need to rotate stock which makes shrink wrapping a pain. I bought a nice pelican case and cut some cardboard dividers to keep them all in nice rows. But for BOB use I use low self discharge NiMH and have a good quality 12v/120v charger so I can use them and recharge them anywhere I can find power be it a generator or solar or car battery.

Hello Bishop and welcome,

Perhaps I'm not understanding the question. I normally leave batteries in their original packaging. For example, I buy D Cells (Duracell) in packages of 4. I normally go thru batteries fast enough that long term storage is not an issue. I don't have a package in front of me but as I recall they have an expiration date on them so as long as you keep that in mind and rotate them out I wouldn't think there would be a problem. I personally have never had an alkaline leak while in it's original package. Not to say that it can't happen, but the only time I've ever had a problem with leakage was when they were in a device that wasn't used for some time. They are already packaged quite nicely in a tough plastic package. I guess if space were an issue then you could trim off the excess plastic yet still maintain the part containing the batteries. No sense in re-inventing the wheel.

Best regards,
LW

^^^^^ Hi LoneWolf,
I may be mistakenly under the impression that batteries shouldn't be touching say end to end, vaguely remember something about polarities and to keep the contacts from each other, never was quite sure on that.

If that is an issue, was thinking to store them vacuum packed, 4 to a run, AA, AAA, 123. 9V is what my various lights and things use now.

When I buy them in bulk, say 40 AAs, now I have a mess once the package is open.

Thinking vacuum packing them in 4s, trimming up the excess, dating them may help and put them in several bags I'm setting up, BoB, First Aid, Range, as each one has its own light or lights. I use them anyway with everything so rotation wouldn't be a big deal, use some, replace them, as there's excess in the house in organizer draws that fit quite well, if the dates are older in the vacuum pack.

Navy life rafts have alkaline D-cells heat sealed into a poly bag with a dessicant packet with the cells lined up so the contacts can't touch. They are are stored in this manner for the five-year certification cycle of the raft. Instances of corroded cells are rare and usually are limited to cheapo batter brands.

After five years the output isn't as good as new, but there seems to be no reduction of the burn time.

In the not too distant future we'll be switching everything to CR-123A 3V lithium batteries.

Regards,

Tom A.

So I'm gonna guess its OK to do what I'm thinking.
This way they are protected, manageable, and quiet as well?

Get 10 pkts x4/6 of Energiser Lithium AAs, leave them in their packaging and put each pack of 4 or 6 into an individual freezer bag then place all 10 pkts into a Rubermaid food grade air tight sealed box. Put the Rubber maid container into a dry bag then wrap in duct tap then store in your Freezer. You should get around 20 years storage lifetime from the Lithium AAs.

Use only for real emergencies only. You want to make it difficult for yourself to get at them so you don't casually pilfer them.

Day to day use I would go with Eneloop or Infinium AA cells. These can be stored in plastic cases for AA cells such as;

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_3&products_id=100600

Also include a roll of sticky labels with your charger so that each pack of 4 can be dated with information stating when they were last fully charged.