Alkaline batteries suck.

wiltw · Jun 30, 2021

mshchem said:
I probably misspelled whoring. Believe me it's a well known term. GE sold off their electronics brand decades ago to, I believe, Thomson electronics. They slapped the GE logo on everything. I worked in the appliance industry, it's rampant. If you go to Target, look at Kitchenaid branded junk hanging on hooks. All licensed.

The Meatball is the logo. The whoring is obvious.

May 2020
"For the first time in its nearly 130-year history, General Electric will no longer be making and selling lightbulbs. GE is selling its lighting business to Savant Systems.

GE was founded in 1892 by a merger between Thomas Edison's Edison General Electric Co., which made Edison's famous incandescent bulb as well as other inventions, and a rival business.

Throughout the 20th century, GE kept making lightbulbs — and carried on Edison's tradition of experimentation and innovation by perfecting the fluorescent bulb, halogen bulb and LED, among other lighting innovations.

But several years ago, GE announced plans to cut off its lighting business, which is only a small part of the modern company. GE may be best known to the public for its lightbulbs and appliances, but the massive conglomerate makes much more money as a lender, defense contractor and manufacturer of everything from jet engines and wind turbines to X-ray machines and ventilators."

mshchem · Jun 30, 2021

wiltw said:
May 2020
"For the first time in its nearly 130-year history, General Electric will no longer be making and selling lightbulbs. GE is selling its lighting business to Savant Systems.

GE was founded in 1892 by a merger between Thomas Edison's Edison General Electric Co., which made Edison's famous incandescent bulb as well as other inventions, and a rival business.

Throughout the 20th century, GE kept making lightbulbs — and carried on Edison's tradition of experimentation and innovation by perfecting the fluorescent bulb, halogen bulb and LED, among other lighting innovations.

But several years ago, GE announced plans to cut off its lighting business, which is only a small part of the modern company. GE may be best known to the public for its lightbulbs and appliances, but the massive conglomerate makes much more money as a lender, defense contractor and manufacturer of everything from jet engines and wind turbines to X-ray machines and ventilators."
Sad indeed. I bought a case of GE 7 1/2 and 15W US made light bulbs a few years ago. I still have almost all of them.

wiltw · Jun 30, 2021

I bet Jack Welch and Thomas Edison are both spinning in their graves.

Pieter12 · Jun 30, 2021

wiltw said:
lender, defense contractor and manufacturer of everything from jet engines and wind turbines to X-ray machines and ventilators."

...and hydroelectric power plants, you know, where the real (governrnent) money is.

mshchem · Jun 30, 2021

Pieter12 said:
...and hydroelectric power plants, you know, where the real (governrnent) money is.

You said it!
All the big US chase government contracts, or tax incentives. GE gets energy tax credits for wind, gas turbines, they used to get energy star tax credits for appliances made in the US. GE sold the appliance division to Haier of China. Of course it still says GE on the machine. Haier still has retained GE appliance engineers in Kentucky. They have to learn before they fire them.

wiltw · Jun 30, 2021

mshchem said:
GE sold the appliance division to Haier of China. Of course it still says GE on the machine. Haier still has retained GE appliance engineers in Kentucky. They have to learn before they fire them.

I was unaware that GE appliances are really Haier...that explains the fact that the last GE washer we purchased 3.5 years ago has failed, and would cost 65% of the new price to repair.

Pieter12 · Jul 1, 2021

mshchem said:
You said it!
All the big US chase government contracts, or tax incentives. GE gets energy tax credits for wind, gas turbines, they used to get energy star tax credits for appliances made in the US. GE sold the appliance division to Haier of China. Of course it still says GE on the machine. Haier still has retained GE appliance engineers in Kentucky. They have to learn before they fire them.

A little-known fact about foreign aid is it is often tied to contracts with US firms. So, the US gives X million to country Y, specifying a US company must get the contract (often using local sub-contractors) to supply or build a specific project in order for country Y to get the money. And all the bucks that fall through the cracks along the way.

CMoore · Jul 1, 2021

Pieter12 said:
A little-known fact about foreign aid is it is often tied to contracts with US firms. So, the US gives X million to country Y, specifying a US company must get the contract (often using local sub-contractors) to supply or build a specific project in order for country Y to get the money. And all the bucks that fall through the cracks along the way.

I remember, when i was a kid, if you bought an item made by XYZ, there was a factory, SOMEWHERE in the state or country you lived in, that employed people that made the thing and they all were employed by Company XYZ.
Even the "Small Town" i grew up in had a Meadow Gold ice cream factory.
We had Atari in the very beginning.

Now i just assume most major brands are simply trading on their name and the stuff is all made in Mexico, China, Vietnam, Etc etc

wiltw · Jul 1, 2021

CMoore said:
I remember, when i was a kid, if you bought an item made by XYZ, there was a factory, SOMEWHERE in the state or country you lived in, that employed people that made the thing and they all were employed by Company XYZ.
Even the "Small Town" i grew up in had a Meadow Gold ice cream factory.
We had Atari in the very beginning.

Now i just assume most major brands are simply trading on their name and the stuff is all made in Mexico, China, Vietnam, Etc etc

Parts/components can come from anywhere. Where the item has final assembly is what is on the label 'Made in XYZ'
My first job was a production supervisor for a semiconductor company. We made the semiconductor circuts, but the tested good circuits were sent to Malaysia to be put into the little IC packages with electrical contacts sticking out the sides...labeled Made in Malaysia although the actual working item which technicians wanted were made in USA.

mshchem · Jul 1, 2021

I just ordered a new Subaru. No cars on the lot. No cars in the showroom. Dealership has lost staff or been laid off. Subaru product line is microchip dependent due to all the safety features. If we (and Japan, really all the Western Democracies) had not followed cheap, regulation free, labor and manufacturing, stayed at home with new facilities and well paid labor, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in.

Pieter12 · Jul 1, 2021

wiltw said:
Parts/components can come from anywhere. Where the item has final assembly is what is on the label 'Made in XYZ'
My first job was a production supervisor for a semiconductor company. We made the semiconductor circuts, but the tested good circuits were sent to Malaysia to be put into the little IC packages with electrical contacts sticking out the sides...labeled Made in Malaysia although the actual working item which technicians wanted were made in USA.

That's why Apple puts "designed in California" on their products.

jim10219 · Jul 1, 2021

Oh. It doesn't matter where the battery was made. Batteries aren't hard to make. They don't need highly skilled people working top of the line machines to make a good battery. Even the brand of battery doesn't really matter. All a battery is, is chemistry. Usually, if you buy a cheap, off-brand battery and it doesn't last long, it wasn't because it was off-brand, but because it used an older chemistry (like the old "Heavy Duty" alkaline batteries used).

And that's the issue here. Alkaline battery chemistry is great for providing lots of power. It's really bad at providing steady power, or not leaking. If you want a battery that doesn't leak, don't change brands, change chemistries. Silver Oxide in the button cells are the way to go. Look for lithium batteries in the standard AA, AAA variety. They won't leak, have more power, and last forever (though they're not cheap). They even started making rechargeable lithium batteries in the AA, AAA variety in the last few years. But I don't have enough experience with them to recommend them. All I know is the old, one-time-use lithium batteries have lasted me fifteen years in a camera, lost in the back of a closet, and not only did they not leak, they still worked!

wiltw · Jul 1, 2021

jim10219 said:
They even started making rechargeable lithium batteries in the AA, AAA variety in the last few years. But I don't have enough experience with them to recommend them. All I know is the old, one-time-use lithium batteries have lasted me fifteen years in a camera, lost in the back of a closet, and not only did they not leak, they still worked!

Like these, but not cheap 4 AA 1.5V 1500mAh lithium rechargable for $30

https://paleblueearth.com/products/...6LEjVi5v-im8VhgwITB_hwCLnqsup49xoCGKwQAvD_BwE

I just found a different brand of lithium ion AA with 3200mW rating (near highest), about 2133mAh (the way NiMH capacity is rated, with 4-position charger for $15...hey cheap enough to give it a try because I have some items that do not like NiMH capacity and show 'low battery' even with freshly charged NiMH.

Huss · Jul 1, 2021

wiltw said:
I bet Jack Welch and Thomas Edison are both spinning in their graves.

Jack Welch?

https://theweek.com/articles/899343/jack-welchs-legacy-looks-different-than-did-20-years-ago

wiltw · Jul 1, 2021

Huss said:
Jack Welch?

https://theweek.com/articles/899343/jack-welchs-legacy-looks-different-than-did-20-years-ago

CEO of GE for 21 years, until he retired in 2001, he increase revenue from $26.8 billion to $130 billion. He rightfully had his detractors, and while I was there found his methods brutal, but increasing revenue 5 fold cannot be dismissed. Now GE is a shadow of its former self.

Don_ih · Jul 1, 2021

I once took a dead LR44 cell out of a camera and set it on a table while I put a new one in. It blew apart and half of it shot across the room.

That swelling seen in Post 1 is enough to crack the inside of a Pentax Auto 110 - I know, I had 2 of them that were broken due to it. If you have one of those cameras - take the batteries out when you're not using it. It has zero tolerance for that bulging.

Batteries are a pain. But they're also amazing.

CMoore · Jul 1, 2021

Don Heisz said:
I once took a dead LR44 cell out of a camera and set it on a table while I put a new one in. It blew apart and half of it shot across the room.

That swelling seen in Post 1 is enough to crack the inside of a Pentax Auto 110 - I know, I had 2 of them that were broken due to it. If you have one of those cameras - take the batteries out when you're not using it. It has zero tolerance for that bulging.

Batteries are a pain. But they're also amazing.

Wow..........this has been a very interesting thread.
Even the slightly "Off-Topic" stuff has been interesting.
My own experience with Alkaline batteries has been very good.
Looks like i am wrong.......i thought leakage (and damage from) was much worse 30-40 years ago.

Sirius Glass · Jul 1, 2021

If you are not going to use a piece of a battery operated equipment, remove the batteries. If I had done that instead of leaving the batteries in the Nikon SB800, I would not have needed to replace the SB800.

RalphLambrecht · Jul 1, 2021

Snowfire said:
Battery leakage has indeed seemed to get worse over the years. I routinely find batteries that have leaked in their original blister pack whereas this used to be an extreme rarity.

If you don't mind the expense, you can purchase the disposable lithium cells--they almost never leak and last many times longer than alkaline anyway.

lithiu-ion don't leak but explode instead; right?

Snowfire · Jul 1, 2021

I have not heard of the disposable cells exploding under normal use conditions. Lithium cells are very intolerant of getting caught in a fire, but so are most of the things in which they are used.

Don_ih · Jul 2, 2021

I have a digital p&s that takes a dedicated lithium battery. The battery died and swelled almost to the point where it could not be removed from the camera. Once I got it out, it swelled even more. A similar thing happened to a battery in an older cell phone - it swelled enough to pop the case open.

Snowfire · Jul 2, 2021

Don Heisz said:
I have a digital p&s that takes a dedicated lithium battery. The battery died and swelled almost to the point where it could not be removed from the camera. Once I got it out, it swelled even more. A similar thing happened to a battery in an older cell phone - it swelled enough to pop the case open.

But were those rechargeable Li batteries?
Not quite the same thing if so.

Don_ih · Jul 2, 2021

Snowfire said:
But were those rechargeable Li batteries?
Not quite the same thing if so.

They were - so true. And, now that I think of it, I don't recall ever seeing a non-rechargeable Lithium battery leak.

Born2Late · Jul 2, 2021

I've had so many Duracell batteries leak and damage equipment that I pull out every single one, tossed them and all new ones that I had. I've had no problems with Energizer alkaline batteries and love their lithium batteries.

Peter Schrager · Jul 3, 2021

It's so weird that in our lifetime we have to put up with so much B.S. from the offshoring of products. It's basically a huge scam which only rewards the large corporations and lines their pockets with more money. Duracell used to be right here based in Connecticut up the road from me and was always a quality product.
So many industries have been destroyed; entire cities which were based on manufacturing which paid decent wages and supported local business.
Does a washing machine now made in Mexico cost less than it did when made in Iowa? no it probably costs more and will work for less time.
it's just that most consumers are too stupid to realize they have been duped and keep supporting the Amazons and Walmarts of the world.
the treaties like Nafta don't serve you or the people making the products in far off lands. Don't even get me started about the clothing industry!

Alkaline batteries suck.

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency