Exploded Battery in SB-600 Speedflash

anonymouscuban

So I was shooting some pictures of my dogs last night, just trying to get a handle on this flash which I just bought new about a week ago. After taking about 6-7 shots, not burst... maybe a minute or two in between photos, all of sudden, the flash won't fire. So I fire a shot while looking at the LCD on the flash and the ready light flashes but the flash does not fire. Then, it shuts off. So I'm thinking the batteries are dead. I open the compartment and find one of the batteries have exploded and now the contacts are corroded.
I was able to clean them off and install new batteries. The flash seems to be working fine now.

Do you think this was just due to a faulty battery or did the flash overheat the battery?

Thanks,
Alex

ziggy53

What sort of batteries were you using? (An exact make and model/power rating if possible.)

cmason

Do you really mean 'exploded' or did they just leak? If the batteries have been in your flash a long time, they can corrode and leak. I take the batteries out of my flash when I am not using it.

anonymouscuban

Leak is probably a better term to use. One of them leaked. The batteries were Duracell AA alkaline batteries. They were new batteries... put them in the flash a week ago when I purchased the flash. I had maybe taken 30 pictures tops with the flash and batteries since I installed them.

Like I said, aside from some minor corrosion on the contacts, the flash seems to be working just fine. I am more concerned with preventing this from happening again. Was it do to anything that I did?

Thanks for the help.

Alex

ziggy53

Alkaline batteries are not recommended for use in high-draw electronics like your flash. I recommend that you use NiMH batteries instead.

If you experienced corrosion then the battery had leaked some time before you discovered it.

anonymouscuban

Glad I asked... did not know this. I will be sure to buy this type of battery today.

Thanks,
Alex

ziggy53

anonymouscuban wrote:

Glad I asked... did not know this. I will be sure to buy this type of battery today.

Thanks,
Alex

These are rechargeable batteries so if you don't have a charger already you'll need that as well.

I tend to purchase batteries of 2300-2500 mAh as the batteries with higher capacity seem to be more likely to fail quickly, especially with a rapid charger.

anonymouscuban

I just got back from Costco. I purchased the Eneloop batteries and charger for my flash. According to their site, the AA are 2000 mAh.

cmason

anonymouscuban wrote:

I just got back from Costco. I purchased the Eneloop batteries and charger for my flash. According to their site, the AA are 2000 mAh.

Eneloop's are fantastic. Great choice. The reason they are so good is that unlike many other kind of NiMH batteries, they lose charge much slower. This allows you to charge your batteries and leave them in your bag, ready to be used when you need them. Other rechargables require you to charge them before use.

Note that there are other brands that use this Eneloop technology: Rayovac Hybrid and Duracell PreCharged are also of this class. They usually come 'precharged" ready to use, like any other battery. (note that Duracell also sells a 'Rechargeable' that is NOT made with this technology. The only way I have found to tell the difference, aside from the package that says 'precharged' is that the newer eneloop technology batteries have a typical 'copper top' while the older regular rechargables do not.

I have not seen any like this above 2000mAh, though I have found the work just fine my my 430EX and 420EX. I do have standard NiMH at 2400 mAh,but have not seen a difference in them vs the 2000mAh batteries.

Jaydubbs15

Exploded battery ...
A battery exploded inside my Canon Speedlite 430EX. What do I do to clean it? Suggestions? Called Canon but they said that they don't service this flash anymore and wouldn't recommend how to clean it.
Thanks.

Jay

divamum

Tenergy 2300. WONDERFUL batteries and a great equivalent/alternative to Eneloops (same technology).

ziggy53

Jaydubbs15 wrote: »

A battery exploded inside my Canon Speedlite 430EX. What do I do to clean it? Suggestions? Called Canon but they said that they don't service this flash anymore and wouldn't recommend how to clean it.
Thanks.

Jay

Hopefully, you mean that one or more cells leaked corrosive liquid into the battery compartment.

If that's the case, first use clean water on an old cloth and carefully wipe any of the battery fluid from all of the battery compartment surfaces. The cloth should be moist and not wet, and you should avoid any "puddling" inside the battery chamber. No water must ever get into your flash interior, and no moisture beyond the battery chamber. Rinse and repeat as necessary. (Use gloves if your hands are sensitive to battery acids, and rinse any skin exposure quickly.)

Now make a weak solution of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and use that on the cloth to clean the battery compartment. That should neutralize any of the battery acid that might have remained. Rinse and repeat a couple of times. Again, the cloth should be moist and not wet, and you should not have any puddling of liquid inside the chamber.

Rinse the cloth with plain tap water again, and just use tap water on the cloth to get any residual baking soda out of the chamber. Rinse and repeat until everything looks clean as possible.

With a new cloth dry the compartment as thoroughly as possible and then let sit until completely dry. A cool hair dryer can speed the process of completely drying the chamber.

Now examine the contacts inside the chamber. If they are severely corroded they may need abrasion in order to make a good connection with new/fresh batteries. If you have to remove much material they may corrode more quickly in the future. If you cannot get them to stop corroding, the flash may be a loss.

Don't keep batteries in a flash for long periods between use. I don't recommend alkaline batteries or older technology batteries at all. Use only high-quality NiMH if at all possible, but alkaline cells may be useful in an emergency. Just be sure to remove any old cells before another leakage occurs.

Icebear

I'd keep a close watch on this unit. Nikon specifically recommends alkaline batteries for the SB-600, so you should not have had this kind of failure. You will get slightly better re-cycling times with Ni-MH batteries and marginally better life (for the same mAh rating) but other than that, there should be no reason to fear alkalines in the SB-600. I've recently switched to 2400 mAh Imedions which I really like, but used Duracell and Energizer alkalines for many years in my SB-600s and SB-800s.

You can also use lithiums. You will have slightly slower recycle times, but they'll give you twice as many full power flashes than either alkalines or Ni-MHs.

Zerodog

Good choice on the Eneloops. I have had great luck with them and have migrated to them exclusively. They last a long time and have been very reliable. And costco sells that sweet pack with the chargers. Some of mine are years old. I have seen sooooo many guys using alkaline batteries in flashes. That is like flushing money down the drain. Rechargeable is where it is at with flashes. Bummer about your 600. I doubt you hurt the flash by using it. Those things are bomber. I bet you just had a bad battery.

Art Scott

anonymouscuban wrote: »

So I was shooting some pictures of my dogs last night, just trying to get a handle on this flash which I just bought new about a week ago. After taking about 6-7 shots, not burst... maybe a minute or two in between photos, all of sudden, the flash won't fire. So I fire a shot while looking at the LCD on the flash and the ready light flashes but the flash does not fire. Then, it shuts off. So I'm thinking the batteries are dead. I open the compartment and find one of the batteries have exploded and now the contacts are corroded.
I was able to clean them off and install new batteries. The flash seems to be working fine now.

Do you think this was just due to a faulty battery or did the flash overheat the battery?

Thanks,
Alex

Jaydubbs15 wrote: »

A battery exploded inside my Canon Speedlite 430EX. What do I do to clean it? Suggestions? Called Canon but they said that they don't service this flash anymore and wouldn't recommend how to clean it.
Thanks.

Jay

Both of these are the exact reasons I use Quantum Batteries for all of my flash units...yeah they might be a bit cumbersome but there is never a battery inside of my flashes...this includes..Vivatar 285hv, sunpak 622 and Nikon 900sb's ...been using quantums for over 25yrs.....

if you are dead set on AA"s batts, then get a battery pack (they usually hold 6 - 8 AA) at least they cannot leak into the battery compartment.....

Icebear

Art Scott wrote: »

Both of these are the exact reasons I use Quantum Batteries for all of my flash units...yeah they might be a bit cumbersome but there is never a battery inside of my flashes...this includes..Vivatar 285hv, sunpak 622 and Nikon 900sb's ...been using quantums for over 25yrs.....

if you are dead set on AA"s batts, then get a battery pack (they usually hold 6 - 8 AA) at least they cannot leak into the battery compartment.....

That's generally a good idea Art. Trouble is Nikon, in their infinite wisdom, did not make provision for an external battery with the SB600, which is the unit involved here.