Those Blinkin' Lights!

RJSakowski

RJSakowski

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For years now, I have been constantly annoyed with intermittent flashlights as the batteries aged. Generally, a good shake or sharp rap would get them working again, only to crap out just as I was performing some critical task. I figured that it was something to do with the construction of the cell; probably the manganese dioxide depolarizer shrinking away from the central nail. Queries to battery manufacturers and on line searches were of no use.

Last week, I noticed that the batteries seemed loose in the flashlight so I pulled them out and measured them, They had shrunk! Well, not really but the cathode button on the end of the battery had become depressed. Unlike the old fashioned zinc carbon batteries which have a central carbon rod which extends through the case and is capped with a steel button, alkaline manganese batteries have .012" steel cap with a central boss which is spot welded to the case. This boss becomes deformed with any significant jarring.

To correct the shorter length I added a small button of solder to the cap. When the flashlight was reassembled, the intermittent lighting was gone. A quick fix to an annoying and persistent problem.
 
I remember the old batteries well. Many a flashlight was petrified and fossillized by them when they went dead. LOL
I also liked the Eveready nine lives logo with the black cat and the lightning bolt- this was before Duracell
Ray-O-Vac were the cheapest- and the worst
 
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markba633csi said:
I remember the old batteries well. Many a flashlight was petrified and fossillized by them when they went dead. LOL
I also liked the Eveready nine lives logo with the black cat and the lightning bolt- this was before Duracell
Ray-O-Vac were the cheapest- and the worst
Click to expand...
I take exception to that last statement. Ray O Vac was a regional company at the time and the smallest of the big three. To my knowledge, they are the oldest battery manufacturer, beginning in 1906 as the French Battery Company. They changed their name to Ray O Vac with the advent of the first vacuum tube radios in the 1930's. They ventured into national advertising in the early seventies with Jack Elam being the spokesperson.

I worked as analytical chemist for Ray O Vac from 1970 to 1976. The battery test lab was across the hall from our lab and they tested all their batteries plus those of the major competitors for longevity, leakage, etc. At that time, the Ray O Vac battery capacity was equal or better than any of the competitors.

Ray O Vac pioneered in encasing their zinc carbon batteries in a sealed steel can which reduced battery leakage significantly. Their marketing slogan was "sealed on steel". To my knowledge, Ray O Vac was the only company at that time to have an unconditional guarantee of replacement of any device damaged by battery leakage. This originated from the days when the primary usage was flashlights but the policy carried forward to things like transistor radios and other electronic devices. We used to salvage the damaged devices and clean up the leakage and give them to employees.
 
Maybe, because we bought more of them than other brands, they were the most noticed when they did leak- and they all leaked eventually
Interesting history RJ
I played with a number of the big #6 dry cells and opened them up- they had a huge 5" carbon rod inside
 
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Jack Elam? I thought he shoveled...I thought he worked in a stable!
 
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