Poor mans lathe DRO's

[Kwick Aronson]

Electronics are wonderful but I am moving back to full mechanical. While I change all my batteries at the same time once a year I am phasing out electronic everything. There is much more peace of mind with a dormant mechanical instrument resting in a drawer. You can’t say the same thing for anything electrical. I can’t tell you how many devices have been ruined by Duracell batteries. They are complete crap. It took a while and the loss of some lovely tools but I finally caught on. I will never buy a Duracell anything. The company was purchased a few years ago and downgraded their manufacturing.

Duracell has been having problems with battery copies from China. Supposedly even Lowe's and HomeDepot have been stung by counterfeits. I have gotten a bunch on special at Staples that have leaked while still in the sealed packages with 2-3 years left on their date....stored in an air conditioned shop. Whether they are real or not, I do not know, but I now buy AmazonBasics batteries when possible.

[Saltfever]

Duracell has been having problems with battery copies from China. Supposedly even Lowe's and HomeDepot have been stung by counterfeits. . . .

Originally Posted by Saltfever. . . . I can’t tell you how many devices have been ruined by Duracell batteries. They are complete crap. It took a while and the loss of some lovely tools but I finally caught on. I will never buy a Duracell anything. The company was purchased a few years ago and downgraded their manufacturing.

I made my original post more than a year ago. You would think I would have learned by now. But as you can see Duracell has ruined another device. (not to mention a $1200 navigation instrument a couple of years ago). I thought I had found everything with batteries but alas, I was wrong.
Notice the expiration date!

Almost every Duracell I have had has failed in service. As soon as I realized the issue I removed them but I have so many seldom used devices (some tucked away into rarely visited cubbyholes) it has taken more than a year to remove Duracell completely from my life. Their warantee is useless. It only covers the cost of the battery regardless of how expensive the device is. Tell people you care about too. Remove them now or corrosion will be your next discovery.

[Toolmaker51]

Toolmaker51,
I have a 6" Mitutoyo model 505-637 dial indicator I bought in 1970 and it has worked very well and accurately until about three years ago. I check my dial, electronic and 1" and 2" mics every six months with a series of gage blocks to check for wear and for peace of mind. That is when I discovered the Mitutoyo dial indicator was measuring 0.0015" too large between 0.450" and 0.550". I think the precision rack used for measurement must be more worn in this range but it took many years before it made any difference. Three years ago, I replaced the dial indicator with a Mitutoyo 6" Absolute AOS Digimatic model 500-170-30 electronic caliper. It works very well, does not eat batteries, knows how to maintain zero without checking at zero, turns off automatically when put back in the toolbox and other than the back of the plastic display case showing signs of wearing from sliding on the work bench when it is picked up, I have no complaints.
The cost of your time, reputation and materials can be easily lost when not using quality measurement tools so I think it is worthwhile paying more for precision measurement instruments you will keep for a lifetime and you will trust. The worst thing is doing your machining by the book and discovering your craftsmanship was compromised by your measuring instrument.

Thanks for listening,
Paul Jones

I'm always listening, especially here at HMT. In no way could an individual amass a fraction of this spectrum in reasoning, experience, resources, and even failures. The knowledge/ open exchange of plain ideas is beneficial and entertaining. One has no clue timewise when a mere seed becomes a solution.
Physical quality [vice theoretical or administrative manipulation] one my favorite goals. My assemblage of instruments is kind of varied, so I utilize that which suits a task. Virtually, but not all were bought used; micrometers, calipers, gauge blocks, cylinder squares, calibration pyramids, zillions of indicators...each hand selected. Best feature of TAS? Tax deductible! Most are US, remaining 20% or so European & Japanese with full confidence in each one. Not one single item subject to calibration is or will be Chinese. While government sold us out of full manufacturing, they DID NOT buy my ability to produce.

In reference to micrometers, gauge blocks, and spindle orientation; varying that is not only a check of the threads but parallelism of the spindle to anvil. Calibration labs check with optical flats; sized to cause 4 spindle orientations. That can be corrected, done in a little dedicated lap. One setup would remind you of a disc brake lathe, another is a micrometer lapping plate. Either can accomplish flat and parallel less than twenty millionth of an inch (0.000020”) [0.5 micrometers]. Marv's description amplifies that; flat is meaningless without parallel. Also why some calibration standards are flat ended but surfaces measured [workpieces] are most often curved.
Calipers are lapped in the same manner, once the gib has been adjusted per that mentioned earlier. A commercially made tool of different measurement intervals is commonly used to verify calibration of vernier, dial, and digital models for inside and outside jaws. I don't believe depth rods and step features are beyond having a positive zero.

[Saltfever]

I am not angry, only disappointed in myself for being brand-phobic and hanging on too long. I have lost $$thousands in equipment to Duracell. The warrantee is not! All you can get is the cost of the batteries. Just one, of many examples; how about $3.00 for a $1,200 aviation GPS . . . I could go on. I post here only because I value you and this site too much to not pass on a warning. I will not bring up the issue again.

Notice the expiration date is irrelevant! 2017, 2023 all go bad!

[Wheels17]

I am not angry, only disappointed in myself for being brand-phobic and hanging on too long. I have lost $$thousands in equipment to Duracell. The warrantee is not! All you can get is the cost of the batteries. Just one, of many examples; how about $3.00 for a $1,200 aviation GPS . . . I could go on. I post here only because I value you and this site too much to not pass on a warning. I will not bring up the issue again.

Notice the expiration date is irrelevant! 2017, 2023 all go bad!

I have noticed the same thing with Duracell. I have had at least 10 Duracell batteries leak in the last couple of years. I think they have some sort of manufacturing problem. They are either unaware of the problem or will not acknowledge it. I'm starting to move to other batteries. I'm trying the Amazon Basics for now, but in my first test (computer mouse) they don't seem to have the life of the Duracells. More testing needed.

[metric_taper]

I am not angry, only disappointed in myself for being brand-phobic and hanging on too long. I have lost $$thousands in equipment to Duracell. The warrantee is not! All you can get is the cost of the batteries. Just one, of many examples; how about $3.00 for a $1,200 aviation GPS . . . I could go on. I post here only because I value you and this site too much to not pass on a warning. I will not bring up the issue again.

Notice the expiration date is irrelevant! 2017, 2023 all go bad!

I found a similar problem with a DRO, but compounded was the Mitutoyo was darn hard to change the batteries in, as considerable disassembly was required to access them. So my fix was to install and external battery pack. I just happened to find D size battery holder at a Radio Shack (when they still had electronic components). I installed a power connector on the case of the DRO display and then used a mating connector to inject the external battery power.



I used double sticky foam tape, but the weight of the batteries resulted in the zip tie fix. The rear view shows 2 screws that have to be removed to take the display head off the mount tray, then I believe the bottom is removed to access the internal batteries. I also found the life of the AA to be short in this unit.

[Saltfever]

Got it . . . non-repeating "orientation" is the important ingredient. Thanks

[Frank S]

There seems to be more of a reason for the old Batteries not included slogan now than ever.
I was hoping when the old Rayovac batteries disappeared that the leakage issue was put to rest.
.

[Jon]

I didn't realize the Duracell drama waters ran so deep. To be fair, most large companies are tangled in plenty of litigation, but there are two interesting Duracell class actions. One was over misleading statements surrounding superior battery life, and was settled in 2014 for $50 million:

In Joshua Poertner v. The Gillette Company and The Procter & Gamble Company, plaintiffs alleged that the Defendants participated in misleading and deceptive advertising and marketing of Duracell Ultra Batteries. Plaintiffs further claim that their advertising statements including the statements “Up to 30% Longer in Toys* *vs. Ultra Digital” and “Our Longest Lasting,” mislead consumers into purchasing the Duracell Ultra Batteries.

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...on-settlement/


And another lawsuit, explicitly over the leaking issue, was dismissed in 2016:

A federal judge threw out a lawsuit accusing Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) of misleading consumers by guaranteeing that Duracell batteries would not fail for 10 years, when in fact the batteries might leak when used or stored normally.

In a decision late Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, rejected claims in the proposed class-action lawsuit that P&G and its Gillette unit defrauded consumers in ads and packaging for Coppertop batteries containing "Duralock Power Preserve" technology.

Koh said reasonable consumers would understand that P&G's representation that the batteries were "guaranteed for 10 years in storage" was a warranty to repair, replace or refund batteries that failed within that timeframe, and not a promise that the batteries "have no potential to leak."

Lawsuit over Duracell batteries guarantee is thrown out | Reuters

Interestingly, the suit that settled for $50 million was the subject of considerable debate over the disproportionate amount of the settlement given to the attorneys (94%), vs. the amount offered to affected consumers - up to a whopping $12 cash if you kept the proof of purchase for your batteries: Supreme Court petition in Duracell class action spotlights fee abuses | Fortune.com.

[Saltfever]

. . . . two interesting Duracell class actions. One was over misleading statements surrounding superior battery life, and was settled in 2014 for $50 million.

Thanks Jon for the useful information. Sure wish I had know about the Druracell problem years ago. I imagine it must have taken a very large number of users and considerable damage over time to rise to the level of a class action suit. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way.