PX 625 lifespan?

[Espasol]

Hi!

I was given a Nikkormat FTN and Gossen luna pro. By my guess, both items have been in a storage unit for over a decade. There was a PX 625 battery in the FTN and another one in the luna pro. I suspect that when the original owner needed a replacement for the Nikkormat's battery, he pulled one out of the light meter.

Can I keep on using the batteries or should I look towards replacing them? The camera meter is still working and the tech says it is working properly. I am thinking of keeping the other PX625 as a spare.

Thanks

 

[trythis]

I wouldn't since most of the cameras I have found with those batteries were damaged from leaking. I've found a few like yours with good batteries but I toss 'em so they don't ruin the camera later.


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[Gerald C Koch]

The electrolyte of the PX625 battery is very corrosive. These batteries should be removed from any equipment immediately. A true PX625 contains mercury and should be disposed of properly as toxic waste. As replacement use a Wein cell. Do not use an alkaline version as a replacement since the discharge curve is not the same as the mercury cell.

 

[Xmas]

The Wein cells are open to the atmosphere and can leak don't store any batteries in cameras remove and store in small zip lock bag

The alkaline cells ditto.

Make sure that children do not have any access...

 

[Espasol]

Thank you for confirming my doubts about the batteries. They've been exorcised.