Counterfeit batteries in Traffic Light stores

I have seen a lot of everything, but for the first time I come across the fact that salt batteries are passed off as alkaline (Alkaline).

Yesterday I bought these batteries at the Traffic Light store on Kolskaya Street in Moscow, which say “Alkaline” and “Batteries with alkaline electrolyte.” That’s just a hoax.

A pack of 12 AA or AAA batteries Ergolux Alkaline PROMO is sold for 96 rubles 80 kopecks (8.07 rubles per battery).

The batteries clearly read “Alkaline”.

The packaging reads “Batteries … with alkaline electrolyte”, “Designed for use in appliances with high power consumption …”.

I compared these batteries with real alkaline batteries of the same brand, bought from Wildberries at 204 rubles per pack of 12 pcs (17 rubles per battery).

It is enough to remove one battery purchased from the traffic light from the package to understand that something is wrong here: the batteries are very light. Real alkaline batteries weigh about 23 grams AA and about 11 grams AAA, these weigh about 13 and 7 grams respectively.

If you look at the bottom of the batteries, you can see that it has the contours typical for salt batteries. Alkaline batteries have a flat bottom.

The initial voltage of batteries from the Traffic Light is also typical for salt batteries – about 1.69V (for alkaline batteries it is lower – 1.62-1.64V).

Of course I tested these batteries with a chemical current analyzer Yarostanmash ASK2.5.10.8 and compared them to real alkaline batteries of the same brand. All batteries were discharged with a load with a resistance of 3.9 Ohm to 0.9 V.

The results are expected.

The real Ergolux Alkaline AA alkaline battery was discharged for 400 minutes, the Ergolux Alkaline AA PROMO battery from the Traffic Light was discharged in 69 minutes.

The Ergolux Alkaline AAA battery was discharged for 150 minutes, the Ergolux Alkaline AAA PROMO battery from the Traffic Light was discharged in 43 minutes.

All test results in one table.

Comparison by the energy delivered (mWh).

If something looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. ©
Under the name Ergolux Alkaline PROMO, Traffic Light stores sell ordinary salt batteries, which have a much lower capacity than alkaline ones and are completely unsuitable for use “in devices with high energy consumption.”

PS In the same place I bought an LED light bulb of the same Ergolux brand, which says “15 W, replaces 120 W, 1425 lm, 4500K, color rendering index 80+, power factor> 0.7”. Guess which of this is true? 🙂 Soon there will be a test and results.

PPS Due to numerous requests, the batteries were opened. Those that were bought at the Traffic Light have graphite electrodes, typical of salt batteries. True alkaline has a blue powder in the center.

© 2021, Alexey Nadezhin

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