I no longer trust alkaline batteries. Sometime in the recent past they changed and I lost a flashlight to a copper-top battery that had not reached expiration but leaked nonetheless. Lithiums and rechargeables only.

right.

additionally, i lost a nice 'light to a bunny-made lithium primary so called the bunny company. i said i had heard the lithiums don't leak. there was a pause.... "well, they do sometimes".

moral: check lights often and don't leave any batteries in a 'light used for longterm storage (rubber-band them to the outside).

Thanks, I was unaware lithiums could also cause problems. Loosing a good light or radio to a consumable is a hard lesson. I'll pull the lithiums from the light stored in truck kit.

what is a "bunny-made lithium primary"? Brand name lithium primary batteries have an excellent reputation and record.

Eveready bunny, it keeps on going and going... and sometimes leaking.

that was the company that quietly admitted to me that they leak.

That is shocking to me. I've never before heard of lithium primaries leaking or destroying flashlights.

i'm not joking or making that up. truly. it doesn't happen often, but did to me. and it wasn't even short-dated.

I try not to leave Energizer alkaline batteries in anything that will sit for a while since I have quite a few of them leak on me over the years, but I never heard of their lithium batteries leaking.

i should have kept it or at least photographed it.

fyi - it was a single-cell 'light too (not mixed with other leaky alkalines, etc, in case you wondered).

If I gave the impression I thought you were making it up, I apologize, that's not what I was thinking.