If you have been following us over the years, you may be aware that we have recently stopped populating our 1900S with alkaine batteries. It is very important to understand why you should strongly consider replacing your 1900s alkaline batteries with Energizer Ultimate Lithiums if you haven’t already done so.
We have been supplying the 1900S and other products since 2007–that is almost 18 years now, and up to very recently they have left here with alkaline batteries on board. We had never witnessed any issues with the alkaline AA batteries until relatively recently. Somewhere around 2020, we started getting reports from a few customers about battery leakage destroying the battery holders. We’ve replaced quite a few of the holders for customers over the last 3-4 years. Prior to that, there were literally no reports or complaints about them.
We looked into it. Something has changed in the process with regard to the way Duracell and other manufacturers are building their alkaline batteries. As another illustration, somewhere around 2022 we bought a pack of 12 Duracell D batteries. Within 4 months several of the batteries had started to leak, still in their original packaging! They are safely stored at normal room temperatures, so that certainly isn’t a cause. There is in fact no demonstrable reason why these batteries should leak, other than something has changed in the way the batteries are built. So we have chosen to discontinue using them in our products–not just AA, but D as well.
It isn’t clear that the brand of battery matters. We’ve witnessed leakage across multiple brands, including Chinese brands such as Evergreen. Some are worse than others by a long shot. But in addition, we have also seen electrical degradation worse than what is specified in the data sheets for these batteries. Everything we have experienced points to some kind of recent shift in the quality of alkalines in general. They may be ok for use in some inexpensive flashlight applications, but they are no longer going to find their way into our products. And we advise you to take a strong look at moving away from them for expensive electronic accessories and toys as well.
Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries are available in both AAA and AA sizes (like we use in the 1900S) and there are holders that will adapt multiples to the D size, if you choose to do so. Yes, they are expensive batteries, but not when you consider the damage that you will avoid by moving away from alkaline cells. Further, they are electrically superior to alkalines, and by a long shot. In fact, calculations show that they will last in a typical 1900S synchronizer application for probably close to 10 years! That is on the order of 2.5x what we experience with alkaline AA batteries in the 1900S. They are well worth the slight premium in price.