What Is the Shelf Life of an Alkaline Battery?

Function

• The purpose of an alkaline battery is to power electronic devices until the charge within the battery runs out.

Composition

• Alkaline batteries, also known as dry cell batteries, have a steel outer casing. Fabric inside the core separates the electrodes from the anodes. The electrolyte is a potassium hydroxide solution in water that carries the ions within the battery cell.

Process

• Alkaline batteries produce power through a chemical reaction that begins to occur when you put the battery in a device, complete the circuit and combine the electrodes and anodes. The battery produces electrical energy because the battery contains the chemical reaction.

Shelf Life

• While an alkaline battery is reliable, it has a shelf life of about 7 to 10 years. Around that time, the chemicals within the battery become stagnant and no longer produce a chemical reaction to power the battery.

Considerations

• Some people believe that placing unused batteries in a freezer extends their shelf life. While the chemical reaction within an alkaline battery does slow at lower temperatures when in a device, there is no documentation available to support the assumption that a disconnected battery has a longer shelf life when kept cold.