Does Batteries expire?
Every battery loses charge sitting still, through internal chemistry rather than any external drain. Alkaline cells lose a few per cent a year; lithium primaries far less, which is why smoke alarms and cameras use them. The practical hazard is specific to alkalines: once fully discharged they generate hydrogen and potassium hydroxide leaks out, which destroys the device. That is why the advice is to remove batteries from anything being stored, and why a drawer of old remote controls so often contains one ruined one.
How to store it
- Cool and dry. The fridge is unnecessary and risks condensation.
- Take batteries out of anything you are putting away for a season.
How to tell it has gone
- White crusty deposit around the terminals means a leak — clean it with care, it is caustic.
- A swollen lithium cell should be treated as a fire risk and not charged.
"Use by" and "best before" are legally different. Use-by is a safety date and should be respected; best-before is about quality, and food is usually fine well past it. Where the two diverge matters, the page above says which applies.
Common questions
- Does Batteries expire?
- They self-discharge on the shelf, at very different rates by chemistry — and alkalines leak when flat.
- How long does Batteries last?
- Alkaline: 5-10 years. Lithium primary: 10-20. Rechargeable NiMH: 3-5 years of useful life
Related pages
- Does Eggs expire? Eggs stay usable for weeks past the date on the box, and the float test tells you about age rather than safety.
- Does Medicines expire? Most solid medicines keep much of their potency for years past the date — but a handful genuinely must not be used late.
- Does Petrol and diesel expire? Petrol goes stale within months, and ethanol blends go faster because they absorb water.
- Does Wine expire? The great majority of wine is meant to be drunk within a year or two. Very little of it improves.
- Does Chocolate expire? It keeps far longer than the date. The white bloom on old chocolate is fat or sugar, not mould.
- Does Household bleach expire? It loses strength within months and eventually becomes salt water. This surprises most people.
- Does Paint expire? Unopened water-based paint keeps a few years; opened tins depend entirely on how well they were sealed.
- Does Flour expire? White flour keeps 6-12 months; wholemeal goes rancid in 3-6 because the wheat germ oil oxidises.
- Does Honey expire? Does not expire
- Does Milk expire? Has a real expiry date
- Does Sunscreen expire? Unsafe or ineffective after the date
- Does Salt expire? Does not expire
- Does Frozen food expire? Indefinite if stored properly
- Does Canned food expire? Indefinite if stored properly
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place