On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 09:56:55 -0800, John Robertson
wrote:

I'm afraid my information was in a telephone conversation back in the
early 90s when I was investigating the best way to deal with ni-cad and
other alkaline battery corrosion and called a number of battery
companies (this was prior to the Internet). The advice given has been
tested subsequently on countless pinball and video game MPU boards by
many people and the results are positive. I wrote several articles in
our industry trade magazines to get the word out, and have subsequently
posted on my web site more info.

http://www.flippers.com/battery.html

First posted in 1997:

https://web.archive.org/web/19970412...om/battery.htm
(added the 'l' to 'htm' in 1998)

It doesn't always work, the corrosion can be too extensive for
economical repairs, but boards that have been treated as advised have
rarely failed if they worked after cleaning (and corroded IC sockets,
etc. replaced). Boards where traces are missing are normally too far
gone, but have been saved with extensive repairs.

John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.

While reading this thread, several questions keep coming up.

First, why cant the battery makers design batteries that cant leak? I
suppose cost is the main reason, but it would seem that there could be a
coating of something like silicone rubber or some sort of plastic that
could contain any leakage inside the battery's container.

Secondly, I often read on instructions "Do not mix battery types".
Meaning dont use both carbon-zinc and alkaline batteries together. I
have often questioned the reasoning for that. ??? I am aware that
Carbon/zinc batteries produce 1.5V and Alkaline produce 1.2V, so that
could be an issue with some electronics, but would probably not matter
in a flashlight.

I do sort of wonder if mixing battery types would cause corrosion and
leakage between the two dissimilar batteries, the same way connecting
copper plumbing pipes to a galv steel pipe does. I've seen the
dielectric corrosion occur mostly at the joint between the different
pipe materials, which is the first place for a leak to occur. (They do
make dielectric unions to isolate the metals),

Then the thought also occurs, what wouyld happen if both types of
batteries began to leak at the same time. Would one leaking chemical
neutralize the other, or would the two chemicals react and cause a
reaction, which may produce dangerous fumes, or create heat, which could
result in a fire? (I never studied chemistry, so I really dont know).

Lastly, Has anyone ever come up with a "Battery Pan", meaning an
enclosure around the battery compartment that would keep leakage
confined to ONLY the battery compartment? If not, why not?
In an ideal world, the battery compartment for all electronics would be
removable and replacable, with a universal battery holder (for each type
of battery). This would also be leak proof. I'm sure this could be done,
but once again, we're back to cost. And we live in a disposible world,
so I dont forsee this ever happening.