What is that whiteish stuff on bad batteries (ruins stuff)?

M

MNMikeW

Guest
What, chemically, is that whiteish crumbly powder on bad batteries?

We all have seen it, and most of the time you can just brush it off, but
I have it on a device deep inside that I can't get a brush on without
breaking stuff.

I'd like to use a solvent (I already tried water but I want to do a
better job) that dissolves the stuff so knowing the chemistry might help.

Do you have any idea what the chemical composition of that stuff is?
 
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:42:16 +0000, MNMikeW wrote:


Do you have any idea what the chemical composition of that stuff is?
Click to expand...

It's a mixture of potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate.

Check this article.

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/question/1000207/

Thane
 
On 08/13/2015 12:42 PM, MNMikeW wrote:
What, chemically, is that whiteish crumbly powder on bad batteries?

We all have seen it, and most of the time you can just brush it off, but
I have it on a device deep inside that I can't get a brush on without
breaking stuff.

I'd like to use a solvent (I already tried water but I want to do a
better job) that dissolves the stuff so knowing the chemistry might help.

Do you have any idea what the chemical composition of that stuff is?
Click to expand...

Potassium Hydroxide - an alkaline (Alkaline batteries after all). Wash
off with a mild solution (50/50) of white vinegar and water, scrub, and
rinse with clean water carefully.

http://flippers.com/battery.html

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
(604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
 
On 8/13/2015 3:42 PM, MNMikeW wrote:
What, chemically, is that whiteish crumbly powder on bad batteries?

We all have seen it, and most of the time you can just brush it off, but
I have it on a device deep inside that I can't get a brush on without
breaking stuff.

I'd like to use a solvent (I already tried water but I want to do a
better job) that dissolves the stuff so knowing the chemistry might help.

Do you have any idea what the chemical composition of that stuff is?
Click to expand...

What kind of device that won't let you
get near it?

Caig DeOxit might help. I got some for
a 1/8 phono jack, and surprise surprise!
Seems to help a lot. Might help with
battery corrosion, also.

Ebay for about $15 shipped. Well worth it,
in my case.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..
 
On 8/13/2015 5:50 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

Caig DeOxit might help. I got some for
a 1/8 phono jack, and surprise surprise!
Seems to help a lot. Might help with
battery corrosion, also.
Click to expand...

Caig DeOxit is the electronic technicians holy water.
 
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 14:52:36 -0500, Thane wrote:

It's a mixture of potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate.

Check this article.

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/questions/question/1000207/
Click to expand...

That was an interesting article, which also said that it could be a
mixture of ammonium chloride and manganese dioxide in the comments.

It seems that lemon juice or vinnegar (ie weak acids) are the way to
clean it up chemically, based on that article.
 
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:52:50 -0700, John Robertson wrote:

Potassium Hydroxide - an alkaline (Alkaline batteries after all). Wash
off with a mild solution (50/50) of white vinegar and water, scrub, and
rinse with clean water carefully.

http://flippers.com/battery.html
Click to expand...

That article was nice, but I'm always suspicious when someone suggests
idiotic things such as "pure water" (goes with "kosher salt" in my book,
or with "organic eggs", etc.).
 
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:50:27 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

> Caig DeOxit might help.

The MSDS is one of the most generic I have ever seen.
http://www.xerox.com/downloads/usa/en/i/i5008.pdf

No telling what it's made of.
 
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:54:43 -0400, Rachael Madcow wrote:

> Caig DeOxit is the electronic technicians holy water.

The MSDS didn't say what it's made of.
Any idea?
 
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:50:27 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

> What kind of device that won't let you get near it?

The AA battery was in a deep slot where you can't get a finger or brush
easily in there to clean the alkali, but you can get a liquid (such as
vinegar in there).
 
On 08/13/2015 9:35 PM, MNMikeW wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:52:50 -0700, John Robertson wrote:

Potassium Hydroxide - an alkaline (Alkaline batteries after all). Wash
off with a mild solution (50/50) of white vinegar and water, scrub, and
rinse with clean water carefully.

http://flippers.com/battery.html

That article was nice, but I'm always suspicious when someone suggests
idiotic things such as "pure water" (goes with "kosher salt" in my book,
or with "organic eggs", etc.).
Click to expand...

Oh, fine, then de-ionized distilled water if you want to get picky ;-).

It rarely makes much difference, at least for those of us who have rain
water as our supply (mountain runoff). If you have well water then the
alkalies in it could exacerbate the problem...

Consider that you have thin copper traces on your PCBs and they are made
by etching a coating of copper film with an alkaline solution to
generate the traces needed...you thus want to neutralize any alkaline
remaining (so no more etching occurs) and a mild acid is pretty good at
that. CLR works in a pinch...

John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
(604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
 
On 08/13/2015 9:40 PM, MNMikeW wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:50:27 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

What kind of device that won't let you get near it?

The AA battery was in a deep slot where you can't get a finger or brush
easily in there to clean the alkali, but you can get a liquid (such as
vinegar in there).
Click to expand...

You want to let it soak in for a while, and using a wooden skewer or
similar to dislodge any caked material is good...

Then rinse well with water (pure/distilled if possible, rain water is
not bad, well water may not be good).

John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
(604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."
 
Phil Hobbs wrote:

It's a mild organic acid dissolved in naptha, or something close to
that.
Click to expand...

I don't think I have ever heard of an "organic acid".
Any examples of mild organic acids you know of?
 
On 08/13/2015 09:35 PM, MNMikeW wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:52:50 -0700, John Robertson wrote:

Potassium Hydroxide - an alkaline (Alkaline batteries after all). Wash
off with a mild solution (50/50) of white vinegar and water, scrub, and
rinse with clean water carefully.

http://flippers.com/battery.html

That article was nice, but I'm always suspicious when someone suggests
idiotic things such as "pure water" (goes with "kosher salt" in my book,
or with "organic eggs", etc.).
Click to expand...

Yah, organic eggs, ROFLMAO!

Chickens fed GMO food (marinated in glyphosate) and tons of antibiotics are much better for your gut microbiome and autoimmune system.
You'll be fine, just take your pharmaceuticals.
 
On 8/14/2015 12:38 AM, MNMikeW wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:50:27 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

Caig DeOxit might help.

The MSDS is one of the most generic I have ever seen.
http://www.xerox.com/downloads/usa/en/i/i5008.pdf

No telling what it's made of.

It's a mild organic acid dissolved in naptha, or something close to that.
Click to expand...

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
 
On Friday, August 14, 2015 at 12:40:49 AM UTC-4, MNMikeW wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:50:27 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

What kind of device that won't let you get near it?

The AA battery was in a deep slot where you can't get a finger or brush
easily in there to clean the alkali, but you can get a liquid (such as
vinegar in there).
Click to expand...

Depending on the size of the slot, you might be able to use BBs.

I do that when I need to get the inside of a jug clean and can't get a brush inside. Pour in a handful of BBs and a little water and dish detergent, and swirl it around.

The standard BBs are steel, you can get 300 or so for $1.
 
John Robertson wrote:

You want to let it soak in for a while, and using a wooden skewer or
similar to dislodge any caked material is good...
Click to expand...

Would urine work?
 
On 8/14/2015 8:05 AM, Steven Bornfeld wrote:
Phil Hobbs wrote:

It's a mild organic acid dissolved in naptha, or something close to
that.

I don't think I have ever heard of an "organic acid".
Any examples of mild organic acids you know of?
Click to expand...

Citric, or ascorbic.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..
 
"MNMikeW" wrote in message news:mqiruo$n6d$1@news.mixmin.net...

What, chemically, is that whiteish crumbly powder on bad batteries?

We all have seen it, and most of the time you can just brush it off, but
I have it on a device deep inside that I can't get a brush on without
breaking stuff.

I'd like to use a solvent (I already tried water but I want to do a
better job) that dissolves the stuff so knowing the chemistry might help.

Do you have any idea what the chemical composition of that stuff is?


I believe it is faerie cum.
 
On Fri, 14 Aug 2015 04:31:50 +0000, MNMikeW wrote:

That was an interesting article, which also said that it could be a
mixture of ammonium chloride and manganese dioxide in the comments.

It seems that lemon juice or vinnegar (ie weak acids) are the way to
clean it up chemically, based on that article.
Click to expand...

I've used a Qtip dipped in tap water to remove the most of these
deposits. Vinegar should be used cautiously as acids may attack the
metals used in the battery contacts in the device you're trying to clean
up.

Thane
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Welcome to EDABoard.com

Sponsor

Back
Top