if you buy cheap, you might get some "city water" electrolyte... that is
not the same as normal electrolyte... good luck.
                jk
> Steve, my simplistic picture is that 'open circuit voltage' is a function
> only of the electrochemical couple. Any instrument will present some load,
> so true open circuit voltage can't be measured.
>
> I don't like guessing, but cells/batteries are relatively simple. My guess
> is that they are starved for electrolyte and thus have high internal
> resistance. Incidentally, I do not understand the use of 'R' in connection
> with internal resistance.  Depending on how the batteries are tested at
> manufacture, I believe cells with high internal resistance could escape
> detection.  They may not be tested with the kind of load you have.
>
> I have not taken apart many cells, but have noticed wet aluminum
> electrolytic capacitors do not contain much electrolyte. I could not
> squeeze a drop from the separators in most versions of them.  I suspect
> manufacturers are trying to use the minimum amount of electrolyte that
> would get the job done.  It's what I would try to do.  Louis Hart
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steven Hackney
> Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2015 8:52 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [TN] Alkaline batteries
>
> I know that this is peripheral to the topic of electronics, so if this is
> a breach of etiquette I apologize But… we are having some challenges
> with alkaline batteries and I am wondering if anyone has had a similar
> experience at some point, and perhaps can give enlighten me.
>
> We are seeing dramatically short battery life, but the failure mode is a
> little unusual. Normally I see the open circuit voltage (Voc) drop
> steadily with use, at the same time as the internal resistance gradually
> rises, until eventually the combination reduces the voltage under
> operating load and the battery is effectively dead.
>
> Now I am seeing the open circuit voltage basically unaffected (i.e. 1.5V
> per cell), while the internal resistance is VERY high. So the batteries
> have no current-generating capacity, and can’t drive the operating load.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might cause this behavior? I
> can think of all kinds of things to do to kill batteries, but they always
> affect the Voc at least as much as the resistance.
>
> Some specifics:
> -	Alkaline D cells
> -	Brand name, from a reputable manufacturer, with a good track record in
> the past
> -	There is no problem on the application side (the devices being powered
> are within specification, consistent with past performance, no current
> spikes and so on)
> -	For reference purposes, we normally see starting Voc at 1.5V and
> internal resistance maybe 0.2R per cell. At end of life, we would expect
> Voc around 1.0V and internal resistance around 0.6R.
> -	In this case, we are seeing Voc at 1.5V and internal resistance 1.0R to
> 1.5R, with about 5% of what we would call normal life usage (i.e.
> 2000-3000 operating cycles out of a normal battery life of maybe 60k
> cycles)
>
> Any ideas? What would you do to alkaline cells to get them to behave like
> this? I suppose it could be a problem on the battery manufacturing side.
> But I would welcome any brainstorms or suggestions.
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Hackney
>
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