Battery Warning - Hawkeye Borescopes!

[p-man]

Guys, learn from my lesson learned - do NOT leave your batteries in your mag lite - I've been using mine for three years now off and on with not problems - just two weeks ago I used it in fact - today, light would not come on so I figured no problem, batteries need changing - well I did everything I could to get the back end cap off the mag lite, finally resorting to a padded barrel vise and a folded leather pad with pliers to get the cap off - corrosion everywhere !!!! now it's off to walmart to see if I can find another mag lite the same size - I hope that the hawkeye uses the standard one and that it takes the stainless adaptor. Will let you know. Call me dumb or dumbest, I honestly never thought about this happening because I never took it outside of the house even into the shop.

 

[Preacher]

What kind of battery's did you use ??
Seems like the cheaper ones will leak over time..
12 years now with the same Duracell's..

 

[Rustystud]

Believe me Duracells will leak too.
Nat Lambeth

 

[p-man]

Nat's right (as usual) - these are/were Duracells

 

[Dans40X]

Preventative Maintenance is the key-
Apply a dab of Super Lube Grease or Vaseline on the threads of the end cap.
20+yrs using Duracells & Ti's w/o a problem in mine.

 

[p-man]

Wouldn't have mattered - the batteries ruptured and couldn't be removed, and the corrosive material leaked down to the end cap - the most important thing is don't leave the batteries in - btw, the standard double AA battery, Mini Maglite (Model# M2A01H) is the same model that comes with the Hawkeye.

 

[Dans40X]

I've been using an LED unit in my MagLite for 15+ years that a buddy turned me onto that's in the NDI business.
Bright WHITE light!
I've used the EverRedy TI LWT AA batteries exclusively w/o incident.

 

[Tozguy]

Just went down and removed the batteries, thanks for the reminder.
Had a battery leak in a laser level and it took a couple of hours to get them out. Had to drill the batteries out then scrape the insides with a dental pick. Almost ruined the tool because of the d..... batteries.

 

[TheSnake]

Don't forget your range finders and red dot scopes on crossbows etc. Things you don't use that often and don't run the batteries down enough on to replace them every year. How about that 2nd set of car keys with the alarm remote hanging on the keys hanger you never use. Batteries are cheap.

 

[xs hedspace]

+1 on the LED insert in the Maglite. Got mine from Lowe's or Home Depot for around $16. Twice as bright, but I'll definitely check the batteries. They usually leak when the light comes on in storage, and totally runs down the batteries--happened with a LED penlite I use in my shop, swelled, and corroded the switch. The juice is nasty stuff!

 

[Tozguy]

+1 on the LED insert in the Maglite. Got mine from Lowe's or Home Depot for around $16. Twice as bright, but I'll definitely check the batteries. They usually leak when the light comes on in storage, and totally runs down the batteries--happened with a LED penlite I use in my shop, swelled, and corroded the switch. The juice is nasty stuff!

Picked up a LED conversion for an AA Maglight this week from Lowe's for under $8. It didn't fit well because the reflector is too long. After trimming the reflecter it works great.

 

[effendude]

As a guy who measures cathodic protection of underground fuel systems, I can tell you that all small batteries -AA, C, D, etc create their voltage through the discharge (corrosion) of dissimilar metals in an electrolyte (acid). All of these batteries will eventually leak and corrode whatever they are installed in. Take them out when not in use!
Scott