Best alkaline batteries?

[dmeek]

I have bought Duracells exclusively for decades because they never leaked, lasted longer and were all-round better than the others. Over the last few years my opinion has changed completely, I will never buy them again.
They leak all the time. Just a few days ago I was holding my TV remote when it felt like an explosion in my hand. I thought maybe one of the Duracell AAA cells had bulged out but no. They looked OK but one cell measured 1 volt ,
the other was reverse polarity by about .5 volt.
How the mighty have fallen!

[Axtman]

I, too, was a Duracell fanboy. I only put Duracells in my equipment and gear. Duracell was the best battery, hands down. I think they changed the formulation because they are now leaking. So, as I said before, I removed them from my equipment and installed Everady Max batteries.

I, too, will never buy or use Duracells again!

[Tom Phillips]

Duracell, for some reason, still has the most shelf space presence in the local stores here in California. (Supermarkets, pharmacy, home improvement stores and more) It's a hoot when you see batteries that are already leaking as they sit in the package waiting to be purchased. They seem to have inherited the shelf life of raspberries.

[Chuck H]

Just yesterday I was replacing batteries in some home appliances (code door locks and fire alarms) for a family member. All their batteries (we all keep reserve batteries) were Duracell. I advised them on avoiding the brand for the time being. But I installed them anyway rather than telling them they had to purchase new and different batteries.

Tom... Are you actually seeing failing batteries in the packaging? That IS what you said. But it raises some questions/issues. Who leaves failing/leaking batteries on the shelf? And how long have they been hanging there before failure? Batteries in store displayes usually move pretty fast so how old could they be? What might be the minimum failure time for these questionable Duracells and how could this have happened? Seems like a serious failure in consumerism/corporate relationship and understandings. Then again... Corporations will sooner sell faulty product rather than take a hit if they can do it legally. That's been proven.

[Tom Phillips]

...Tom... Are you actually seeing failing batteries in the packaging?....

Yes. However, I didn't take a photo. I started paying close attention to the situation a few years ago. At the time I was still using AA cells from my stash when I noticed that Duracell AA cells that were marked good through 2010 were still good but others dated good through 2022 were bad. Now I can't find the folder with the data but there seems to have been a serious design change around 10 years ago. I read that the old chemical formula used a small amount of mercury and a new formula that doesn't use mercury is partly (or entirely) the cause of the current problems.

[Chuck H]

Yes. However, I didn't take a photo. I started paying close attention to the situation a few years ago. At the time I was still using AA cells from my stash when I noticed that Duracell AA cells that were marked good through 2010 were still good but others dated good through 2022 were bad. Now I can't find the folder with the data but there seems to have been a serious design change around 10 years ago. I read that the old chemical formula used a small amount of mercury and a new formula that doesn't use mercury is partly (or entirely) the cause of the current problems.

Wow! And thank you.