Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup

[BeeJ]

What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?

Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.

Chemical to use? Or ?

Thanks.



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[Guv Bob]

"John-Del" <ohger1s@aol.com> wrote in message news:09f242bd-aa47-43f1-969c-a7f28f8a03da@googlegroups.com...

On Sunday, September 23, 2012 5:46:50 PM UTC-4, BeeJ wrote:
What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method

for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?



Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.



Chemical to use? Or ?


Believe it or not, plain old H2O works better than just about any solvent you can try.

This is a timely posting, BeeJ. I have had 2 alkaline batteries show up leaking this year -- first time in 40+ years I have ever seen one leaking. One was inside a clock and the other in a camera.

I wonder if the standards have changed lately? I don't recall what brand these were, but they were name brands and bought at different places.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

I prefer household ammonia, followed by an isopropyl alcohol flush.

Ammonia is a base, as is the electrolyte -- like dissolves like.

 

[John-Del]

On Sunday, September 23, 2012 5:46:50 PM UTC-4, BeeJ wrote:

What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method

for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?



Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.



Chemical to use? Or ?

Believe it or not, plain old H2O works better than just about any solvent you can try.

 

[Rich Webb]

On Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:46:45 -0700, BeeJ <nospam@spamnot.com> wrote:

What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?

Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.

Chemical to use? Or ?

I use a pinch of "cream of tartar" (look in the kitchen spice rack) and
a few drops of water to make a thin paste. If it's really bad,
substitute white vinegar for the water. In either case, rinse well.

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA

 

[Cydrome Leader]

BeeJ <nospam@spamnot.com> wrote:

What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?

Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.

Chemical to use? Or ?

distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
Scrub with an old toothbrush.

regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:46:45 -0700, BeeJ <nospam@spamnot.com> wrote:

What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?

I use 409 household cleaner and scrub with an old tooth brush. When
409 is sprayed on the white crud left by a leaky battery, it foams and
fizzes. After that, I rinse with tap water, blow away the residual
water with an air compressor, and/or blot whatever is left with towel
paper. Sometimes, the white stuff is thick enough that I have to
scrape it off with a small dull screwdriver or piece of plastic. Not
much can be done to replace the chrome plating that is commonly used
on equipment battery contacts. Left alone, the base metal will rust
or corrode. I smear on some grease to slow down the corrosion, but
find that it's not really adequate. I wouldn't mind painting the
contacts with clear acrylic after masking the contact area, but that's
often difficult or awkward to accomplish.

Although it doesn't help for all types of battery leaks, I sometimes
wrap the batteries in household cellophane wrap (especially in
flashlights). It doesn't prevent leakage or do anything when it leaks
out the ends, but does help to limit the spread of the corrosive goo.



--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[gregz]

Cydrome Leader <presence@MUNGEpanix.com> wrote:

BeeJ <nospam@spamnot.com> wrote:
What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?

Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.

Chemical to use? Or ?

distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
Scrub with an old toothbrush.

regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.

I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.

Greg

 

[gregz]

gregz <zekor@comcast.net> wrote:

Cydrome Leader <presence@MUNGEpanix.com> wrote:
BeeJ <nospam@spamnot.com> wrote:
What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?

Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.

Chemical to use? Or ?

distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
Scrub with an old toothbrush.

regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.

I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.

Greg

That reminds me, your not supposed to use distilled water in stainless
pots. Deionized, ok. Maybe the coffee fixes that situation. I have a
stainless reservoir at home, glass at camp.

Greg

 

[Geoffrey S. Mendelson]

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Left alone, the base metal will rust
or corrode. I smear on some grease to slow down the corrosion, but
find that it's not really adequate. I wouldn't mind painting the
contacts with clear acrylic after masking the contact area, but that's
often difficult or awkward to accomplish.

Here in Israel amomonia based window cleaners were replaced years ago with
vinegar ones. They do a great job of removing the crud left by a battery.

I usually put it on the tip of a cotton swab, and apply carefully. Battery
door covers that are removable and loaded with it get removed and sprayed
directly.

After they are clean, I dry them thoroughly. The part that actually makes
contact, I do a final cleaning with DeOxit (the red liquid on a cotton swab),
and remove any residual deoxit with a clean swab.

As part of a kit, I got DeOxit brand contact enhancers, and occasionally I
use them after the contacts have been cleaned and the device tested.

If you are in the EU, you can buy a better cleaner called Cramolin, which
used to be sold by the people who sell DeOxit. Post 9/11 the Cramolin
products can not be shipped by air in the US, so DeOxit was created by
their US distributor to fill the gap.

There is a competing product called Stabilant-22 made in Canada. I have
not used it becuase it is very expensive. You buy a small bottle and dilute
it with alcohol, so the per use price is low. Motorola sells it for
repairing LMR radios.

The price to me would be over $100 for the smallest bottle and shipping,
so I stick with the $5 tubes of DeOxit, which can be sent in a regular
envelope airmail.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM/KBUH7245/KBUW5379

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

gregz wrote:

Cydrome Leader ?presence@MUNGEpanix.com? wrote:
? BeeJ ?nospam@spamnot.com? wrote:
?? What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
?? for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?
??
?? Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.
??
?? Chemical to use? Or ?
?
? distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
? Scrub with an old toothbrush.
?
? regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
? plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
? anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.

I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.

And soup beans. Hard water ruins them.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

gregz wrote:

gregz ?zekor@comcast.net? wrote:
? Cydrome Leader ?presence@MUNGEpanix.com? wrote:
?? BeeJ ?nospam@spamnot.com? wrote:
??? What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
??? for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?
???
??? Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.
???
??? Chemical to use? Or ?
??
?? distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
?? Scrub with an old toothbrush.
??
?? regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
?? plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
?? anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.
?
? I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
? for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.
?
? Greg

That reminds me, your not supposed to use distilled water in stainless
pots. Deionized, ok. Maybe the coffee fixes that situation. I have a
stainless reservoir at home, glass at camp.

Then why do they make electric stills out of stainless steel?

 

[Anna Joshi]

The Do's & Don'ts of an Engineering student.

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Subscribe for more footage.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

gregz wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote:
gregz wrote:

gregz ?zekor@comcast.net? wrote:
? Cydrome Leader ?presence@MUNGEpanix.com? wrote:
?? BeeJ ?nospam@spamnot.com? wrote:
??? What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
??? for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?
???
??? Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.
???
??? Chemical to use? Or ?
??
?? distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
?? Scrub with an old toothbrush.
??
?? regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
?? plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
?? anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.
?
? I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
? for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.
?
? Greg

That reminds me, your not supposed to use distilled water in stainless
pots. Deionized, ok. Maybe the coffee fixes that situation. I have a
stainless reservoir at home, glass at camp.


Then why do they make electric stills out of stainless steel?

There are different stainless varieties. Some water baths and incubators I
used to work on said, don't use distilled. It leeches nickel and puts holes
in them.

That sounds like a reaction between the steel and other chemicals.

 

[gregz]

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote:

gregz wrote:

gregz ?zekor@comcast.net? wrote:
? Cydrome Leader ?presence@MUNGEpanix.com? wrote:
?? BeeJ ?nospam@spamnot.com? wrote:
??? What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
??? for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?
???
??? Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.
???
??? Chemical to use? Or ?
??
?? distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
?? Scrub with an old toothbrush.
??
?? regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
?? plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
?? anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.
?
? I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
? for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.
?
? Greg

That reminds me, your not supposed to use distilled water in stainless
pots. Deionized, ok. Maybe the coffee fixes that situation. I have a
stainless reservoir at home, glass at camp.


Then why do they make electric stills out of stainless steel?

There are different stainless varieties. Some water baths and incubators I
used to work on said, don't use distilled. It leeches nickel and puts holes
in them.

Greg

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Distilled water is a really strong solvent, it just seems harmless
as it doesn't burn your skin off and smell bad like other stuff.

What is the chemical reason for the potency of pure water?

 

[BeeJ]

FWIW

I did some reading and found little advice I thought to be helpful.

So I got out the CLR and some cotton swabs and carefully dabbed.
As soon as the CLR hit the alkaline battery goo it foamed up.
I continued until the foaming stopped.
Then I rinsed with RO water and dried the equipment on a air purifier
in a room with a wall A/C unit so I had really dry air. So far so
good. The batteries were put in and the unit works!

Now that all the alkaline goo is gone, what to do about the corrosion?

In one case I just scrubbed more with the cotton swabs; they are pretty
good at scrubbing.

In another case I got out my Harbor Freight battery powered diamond tip
rotary pen and carefully de-crudded the electrical contact area. That
worked OK too but was a little rough on the surface.

But now I am wondering about use phosphoric acid on the contacts. That
will convert the corroded steel (at least) to iron phosphate
effectively stopping corrosion. But now the questions is, what are the
conductive properties of iron phosphate and will it make a reasonable
electrical contact surface? Anyone know about that? Not just iron
phosphate, but about electrical contacts made of what, converted to
whatever phosphate.

Strangely, all the electrical contacts that had goo on them were on the
removable cover and not in the deep innards of the units I am
repairing.
Well, OK, there was a little goo in there but not the corrosion.



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[Cydrome Leader]

gregz <zekor@comcast.net> wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote:
gregz wrote:

gregz ?zekor@comcast.net? wrote:
? Cydrome Leader ?presence@MUNGEpanix.com? wrote:
?? BeeJ ?nospam@spamnot.com? wrote:
??? What is the best Alkaline Battery Leak Cleanup (AA Copper tops) method
??? for the metal contacts that were exposed to the battery leakage?
???
??? Some contacts are easy to get to and some are not.
???
??? Chemical to use? Or ?
??
?? distilled water, was everything off that is corroded or wet if you can.
?? Scrub with an old toothbrush.
??
?? regular tap water can leave mineral deposits and corrode stuff as well,
?? plus distilled water is really eager to dissolve electrolytes from
?? anything. It's a good solvent and harmless and pretty cheap.
?
? I was surprised my big grocery carries distilled. Bought a couple gallons
? for camp coffee. Makes good coffee.
?
? Greg

That reminds me, your not supposed to use distilled water in stainless
pots. Deionized, ok. Maybe the coffee fixes that situation. I have a
stainless reservoir at home, glass at camp.


Then why do they make electric stills out of stainless steel?

There are different stainless varieties. Some water baths and incubators I
used to work on said, don't use distilled. It leeches nickel and puts holes
in them.

There must (and are) many types of stainless. Small PCB washers made from
modified (these do exist commerically) kitchen dishwashers have all sorts
of upgraded parts so they don't fail instantly. Distilled water is a
really strong solvent, it just seems harmless as it doesn't burn your skin
off and smell bad like other stuff.

 

[Uffe Bćrentsen]

Den 24-09-2012 21:54, William Sommerwerck skrev:

Distilled water is a really strong solvent, it just seems harmless
as it doesn't burn your skin off and smell bad like other stuff.

What is the chemical reason for the potency of pure water?

Very low surface tension.


--
Uffe

 

[Cydrome Leader]

William Sommerwerck <grizzledgeezer@comcast.net> wrote:

Distilled water is a really strong solvent, it just seems harmless
as it doesn't burn your skin off and smell bad like other stuff.

What is the chemical reason for the potency of pure water?

If it's not already filled with minerals or salts as all normal water is,
it will absorb them from whatever it touches- if they're soluble in water.

There's quite a bit of stuff dissolved in tap water- enough to ruin lead
acid batteries, leave water spots on glasses and photographic film and to
destroy electronics if left to dry in place.