Battery storage question

The recent devastating earthquakes have prompted me to store some water, food and camping supplies away from the house in a storage shed on the property. Lights, lanterns, headlamps and radios will be stored in a clear plastic storage box without batteries but with one set of lithiums for each device. With the exception of one surefire and a couple of button cell devices, everything in the shed will run on AA.

For longer term and cost I'd like to store some of the copper tops, as the lithiums would be expensive to run devices on for several weeks. So my question is how to store a couple of the packages, 36 AA, of the coppertops and minimize the risk of them leaking? Would storing them in a small cooler help? Or any other ideas? The two packages I just picked up are packed in hard plastic, with 18 on each side so if one leaked it should only get the the 18 on each side. I could split them down further into either zip lock bags or containers, as nothing they would run requires more than 4 batts.

I've learned the hard way that the coppertops do leak, but these were a decent deal so I have them now, as well as a couple of packs purchased in the fall in the house. I'm in W. WA state with a moderate climate but we do have short-term heat and cold, and bringing them into the house during those periods sort of defeats my plan of having some supplies stored away from the house. The storage shed is easily accessible for rotation and checking on things and does have decent ventilation for a shed.

Over the last year, I've started collecting the eneloops and they are deployed in my home and auto kits. Really like them but don't have enough yet to sustain a long-term power outage. I do have a generator but using it to re-charge batts wouldn't be a very efficient (or cost effective) use of the limited gas that I can safely store and rotate. The gas in a separate very old shed over 500 feet from buildings. Gas is such a pia to safely store and rotate.

I'm storing one surefire in the shed, but it will be stored in a separate lock and lid box with the surefire batts, as I've read never to store different battery types together.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

For my purposes, the money spent on Energizer Lithiums is worth it. They last longer in storage, last longer in use, and do not leak. For emergencies, it's Engergizer Lithiums or high-quality 123A batteries for me. I like Eneloops but for emergency use I want to store things that require as little maintenance as possible.

If you're committed to alkalines, get high-quality batteries, store them in a cool dry place, and replace them at least annually.

I've done well with the 36 packs of Energizer Alkaline AA's that home depot sells. been using them for a few years now, but I rotate those, buy a new pack once or twice a year and put those in storage and give the old ones to the kids to burn away in toys.

I use eneloops for most things myself and have bought a half dozen packs to have for emergancy use. I have a pair of chargers, both of which can run from 12v so instead of running a generator I can put them in a car and charge that way (or remove the car battery and biring it in the garage and use an alagator clip on socket to power them). this gives a good recharge system that could last days before having to start a car to top off its battery.

Sanoy eneloop appears to handle storage pretty well. I did a small search and it appears that their claim of 80% after one year has been verified by independent testers. But the higher the temperature the more rapid self discharge. Cool is good.

One option for eneloops is to rotate sanoy eneloops between your every day usage pool of freshly charged batteries and your emergency storage. Say every 3rd or 6th month, or every year.

Also, buy a digital multi meter (voltage meter) and / or a battery tester. The best test to measure capacity is to measure voltage under load (which a good battery tester will do for you). But as far as I understand there is no fail safe way of telling 100% good alkaline batteries from crappy ones - if it's unused it can apparently have a high voltage.

For alkaline storage: Keep 'em cool. Handle with care - don't toss them about. Never mix batteries of different brands or different charge levels in a multi cell application. (Once the weakest alkaline is drained the current is reversed => instant leak. The device may actually still work if the other batteries are good and the device can operate at lower voltages). I don't know how long you can store them - batteries are less prone to leakage now than before, but it still happens. Apparently, good alkalines can be stored for several years, but if you're unlucky you will have a leak in just months. There is an expiration date, but I don't know if that is of any help. Never store alkaline batteries in the apparatus!

Lithiums are also affected by heat and cold, just much less so than alkalines. Investing in a 12V car plug adaptor for your Eneloop battery charger is a good idea. And of course a ZTS Battery Tester is essential. It tests batteries under load so the readings are far more accurate. I have both the mini-ZTS and the MBT-1, the difference being the MBT-1 can also test NiMH, Lithium AA, coin cells, etc.

Buy the lithium ones and be done with it. Rotate them out every ten years.

This subject deserves being reviewed and reconsidered regularly. Battery technology is changing. As are my needs and desires.

I like lithium batteries. Long life, increased capacity, relative temperature insensitivity are all in their favor. Even minor factors like their light weight are good. Their one major problem is cost.

On the other hand all the strengths of lithium cells are relative weaknesses of alkaline cells. Over time alkaline cells have improved. And even the basic chemistry was a major advance over the old chemistries. Looking back I'm always amazed that anyone got anything done using lead-acid and chloride cells. But they got us through WW2 and Hippies. We used them because they were all we had.

Alkaline cells were a big advance and they have gotten better. The one exception here is that they seem to leak more than they did. A leaking alkaline cell typically destroys whatever it is used in. Something to keep in mind when you stuff them into expensive, or critical, electronics.

But alkaline cells are still a bargain. For about $12 I buy a pack of 30 that lasts me a couple of years. They don't store for more than a few years but rotation is simple to accommodate at home because I have a scad of remote controls, battery powered clocks, and a couple of small flashlights that get a lot of use.

I suspect I will be moving to all lithium cells. In high turnover devices I might use rechargeable cells but recharging is still an issue and rotation of lithium batteries might eliminate much of the need for rechargeable batteries.

I've tested lithium against eneloop and there is maybe a very slight advantage to lithium, my gps runs over 24 hours on either for example with maybe a few minutes more on lithium depending how many months the eneloops have been sitting between charge. Same with my radios and such. Also the cost of eneloops and lithium is about the same. So far eneloops do much better in the cold than traditional so there isn't much lithium advantage there, maybe someday I'll put some side by side in the freezer and test but any cold that I could stand to be in they did fine.
I see little point in lithium now a days.

When you cost out runtime, lithiums are actually cheaper to operate than most alkalines, and they do not have the issues of leaking, etc. that plague alkalines. I would not put alkalines in anything that I value very highly. It is either Eneloops, for regular use where recharge is an option, or lithiums for items that are stored away or used intermittently. If you want to save money, rechargeables are the only way to go.

Temperature can be significant. If you store a radio or flashlight in an arctic environment would like them to have runtimes of more than a few minutes, Alkalines are not for you.

Lithium batteries can be hazardous. Li-ion secondaries seem more prone to this, but even AA primaries can fail catastrophically.

The good thing about lithiums is that that they require no maintenance and can be fully depleted. You cannot fully drain a NiHM cell. Okay, you can, but with seriously decreased capacity/lifespan.

The Low self discharge NiMh AA Cells such as Eneloop or Panasonic Infinium are probably the way to go.



For AA NiMh cells the iSun BattPak is a useful addition. It works as a Battery Charger designed to work directly with portable Solar PV panels such as a Silva II portable 4W panel shown above (it also works well with a 25W folding solar PV panel). Once charged the BattPak will then function as a portable power pack via its own Cigarette car type 12V connection. The Battpak can also be charged using a regular AC-DC supply or suitable DC supply such as SLA or lead acid car battery. There are bound to lots of working lead acid car batteries in non working vehicles available after an earthquake. A small 12V DC-DC switching regulator could also prove to be very useful.

Primary Lithium such as Energiser and Ultralife are pretty specialist cells, they are pretty much unsurpassed (at the moment) for portability i.e. low weight, excellent cold temperature operation, long life and storage lifetime. They are expensive but $20-30 worth of Energisers AAs could prove to be invaluable in the next 10-20 years. Keep some alkalines around as well, just so you are not tempted to open the packets Enerliser Lithiums if the TV remote needs feeding.

I sure appreciate all sharing their knowledge. For sure I'm going to buy a car charger and probably a battery meter as well. For most of my battery use the eneloops seem to be a better deal. Lithiums do have the advantage for a device I want to have handy, but seldom use. Again, many thanks.

That's my real life experience with eneloop as well, but I haven't done much in therms of lithium testing. But the laws of physics can't be ignored: Lithiums are less affected by cold and hot temperatures than any other battery technology. The "others" (alkalines, ordinary nimh and eneloop) doesn't like to be stored in hot temperatures and will have reduced performance if you drain them in the cold.

Notice that performance in the cold is also a question of how much you're drawing from the battery. High drain applications will have significant reduced performance: Catastrophic bad with alkalines, quite bad with ordinary nimh and probably noticeable with eneloop. Low drain applications will be much less affected, although run time will be reduced.

For me, it is a question of the eneloop will work where I live and for what I do. So far, the answer is a resounding YES. Lithium is for long time storage (the "DO NOT OPEN" labelled package). Eneloop is what I use on a regular basis. Alkalines are for low drain devices (remotes etc) and toys, gradually shifting toys that are used towards eneloops as well. But I detest and hate one-time only use items...

As a side note: If more devices accepted rechargeable li-ion I would use them - but not for long time storage (they don't store too well fully charged). So far, only a few exotic flashlights will eat li-ion batteries in my house...

lithium ion has its own issues, for one thing less standard sizes (I know the cells are standard sized but the packs they build from them are not) and every lithium ion device needing its own sharger (I'd have a rats nest of chargers if I went lithium ion) and they loose more of their life per year, usually hitting 80% life after 2-3 years where I have NiMH that went 10 years before dropping below 80%.
I avoid Lithium ion for thse reasons.

Whilst lithium and eneloops have much to commend them, standard alkalines have the advantage of low cost.

IMHO the best way to store alkalines is in a "cooler" which of course does not really cool at all.
Articles placed in such a thermally insulated box will reach the same average temperature as the suroundings, but will be protected from extremes of temperature.

Reputable alkaline cells keep for 7 years from production, or about 5 or 6 years from purchase.
The risk of leakage is reduced by storing at an even temperature.

I keep cells in the suppliers packaging, and have had very few leak.

Despite the simplicity of only one cell size, it might be worth stocking D cells in addition to AA.
D cells contain about 7 times more energy than AA for only about twice the price, and are therefore preferable for any longer term emergency such as the aftermath of a bad earthquake.

I keep two cubes of 30 standard alkaline AA in the basement, which I use as needed and replace when I get to one cube. The shelf life is five years if kept cool. The intended emergency use is a lantern, two-way radios, flashlights, FM/weather radio. I have never had a battery leak in storage, but I did have a leak in a little-used flashlight and a AAA powered remote once. Here is a link to some technical information: http://www.greenbatteries.com/batterymyths.html

I've had a couple alkalines leak in the original packaging, they were in the 30 packs from home depot so I've quit buying them and am buying the energizer now. It could be that they were dropper or somehting, hard to say but had leaks in more than one pack.

Alkaline batteries have the advantage of lower initial cost, but are ultimately more expensive than rechargeables. Lithium batteries, because of their higher energy density, are usually cheaper as well, depending upon how good a price you get for the alkalines (buy the Costco brand for the ultimate low price).

I would like to quote a recent Consumers Reports study (Dec 2009) on this topic, but I can't get my hands on it right now.

I still keep some alkaline batteries around and they are OK for something that will be used regularly with prompt battery replacement, like a GPS receiver, but I use them less and less.

When you factor in the cost of the items they damage through leakage, alkaline batteries are surprisingly pricey.

So far I've only had a couple kids toys have a leak, was from some of those rayovac packs. most of my good gear has bee using eneloops since 2006 or 2007 whenever they were first out in stores.

I often find alkaline batteries in clocks and remotes that are years past the expiration date still going strong. Haven't had one leak yet. I use mostly duracell but I don't think it matters much.

Totally drained alkalines will probably leak within months of being drained. Healthy alkalines with a good charge will most likely not leak for many, many years. Don't store them inside your flashlight for a long time and you should be fine. The consequences of any leak will then be very minor.

This thread prompted me to do a battery check. Open each item and remove or rotate the batteries for examination.

5 flashlights scattered around the house: all fine.

Flashlight in bag and 3 in car: all fine.

5 remote controls: Ah, HA! One battery has suspicious stickyness along the seam. Replaced both.

Wall clock: no problem.

Beard Trimmer: well, carp. I obviously hadn't thought of this one. Haven't used it in a couple of months, battery leaked all over the inside. Half an hour with a pencil eraser and some fine sandpaper got it working again, but I'm going to have to replace it.


Moral: ANYTHING that doesn't plug into the wall needs to be checked.

I go on a set schedule. Buy a bulk pack every spring/fall and put those in all my gear. Then what was in the gear goes in the toy supply. That way my batteries are never more than 6 months old.
Some devices with electronic power switches will drain batteries left in them and can drain them too far and help cause leaks, but anything with a mechanical power off I've not had any leak problems.