Alkaline battery leak in my humidor!

[MiamiE]

Get home today to find one of my oust fans' battery has leaked potassium hydroxide on a small area of the lowest level of the cabinet. Any ideas as to how I should clean this up? I took all my cigars out and they're in my cooler, but this sucks? Should I worry about the beads or the cigars?

 

[slave2theaxe]

That is why I never liked the idea of the Oust fans...unless you hard wire it to a dc power supply.

As far as the battery leak, I don't know if it will cause any permanent damage...but I certainly wouldn't be putting my sticks anywhere near that. Hopefully someone else can chime in with some better advise.

 

[dpricenator]

just lick it up, you'll be fine.

 

[SmokeProper]

Crap. Not sure. I'd probably let it air out and dry, then apply water and let it dry again.
Unique situation there.

 

[Fox]

Well, I am not a chemist by trade, but do use a lot of sodium hydroxide for making soap. Potassium hydroxide can also be used. It is a base pH. We neutralize sodium hydroxide with vinegar, but I suspect lemon juice can be used as well and will smell a lot nicer. Vinegar and lemon juice are acidic having a rating of 3 and 2, respectively. I would neutralize the acidic qualities before attempting any cleanup. The goal is to achieve neutrality of the pH value of the spill. But, you might want to talk to a chemist. . .:smile:

 

[MiamiE]

Well here is what I did. Dont know if this resolved it, but it looks clean and smells fine. I blotted up what I could with a paper towel. I then used a vinegar/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. Did that and blow dried the whole area till it was absolutely dry. Waited a bit and then used a baking soda/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. This was to remove the vinegar smell, whatever was left of it. I cleaned it up, blow dried it good, and vaccummed the remaining baking soda. All seems to be alright now...

 

[bdc30]

Well, I am not a chemist by trade, but do use a lot of sodium hydroxide for making soap. Potassium hydroxide can also be used. It is a base pH. We neutralize sodium hydroxide with vinegar, but I suspect lemon juice can be used as well and will smell a lot nicer. Vinegar and lemon juice are acidic having a rating of 3 and 2, respectively. I would neutralize the acidic qualities before attempting any cleanup. The goal is to achieve neutrality of the pH value of the spill. But, you might want to talk to a chemist. . .:smile:

ladies and gentlemen, Tyler Durden :applause:

 

[jayro75]

ladies and gentlemen, Tyler Durden :applause:

Lol that was my thought as well.

 

[TADD]

I am jack's leaky battery?

 

[Ed Monton]

I don't get it. Do I need to watch Fight Club again?

 

[Strickland]

Well here is what I did. Dont know if this resolved it, but it looks clean and smells fine. I blotted up what I could with a paper towel. I then used a vinegar/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. Did that and blow dried the whole area till it was absolutely dry. Waited a bit and then used a baking soda/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. This was to remove the vinegar smell, whatever was left of it. I cleaned it up, blow dried it good, and vaccummed the remaining baking soda. All seems to be alright now...

Baking soda and water was the right answer. It should be fine once it dries, and some activated charcoal will get rid of any odd smell...

 

[vivalanation734]

I am jack's leaky battery?

You win!

 

[Thecatch83]

That is why I never liked the idea of the Oust fans...unless you hard wire it to a dc power supply.

As far as the battery leak, I don't know if it will cause any permanent damage...but I certainly wouldn't be putting my sticks anywhere near that. Hopefully someone else can chime in with some better advise.

+1

I've never understood the importance of circulating 1-2% (at best) of RH inside your humidor............now we can add battery leakage to the list!

 

[Fox]

Baking soda and water was the right answer. It should be fine once it dries, and some activated charcoal will get rid of any odd smell...

For the final cleanup and odor removal, yes, but not for initial cleanup. Baking soda is a base pH. You cannot neutralize one base with another; you need an acid to offset the pH properties.

 

[Danilo]

+1

I've never understood the importance of circulating 1-2% (at best) of RH inside your humidor............now we can add battery leakage to the list!

It's not the percentage of humidity that you are circulating, it's air, so you don't have stale areas or humidity pockets... If you don't open your humidor every once in a while, you can have some issues without air circulation.

 

[TommyGunz]

batteries have been known to "off-gas" noxious fumes for quite some time. Especially when in high humidity environments.

I have been diving rebreathers for many years and this has been proven that these fumes have had the potential to be released in the closed loop for designs that had the battery pack within the loop. For this reason, many rebreather designers have redesigned the battery source to be outside the breathing environment.

All of this occurs prior to corrosion of the battery, so if you looked at it it would still look normal.

Will this gas be enough to cause harm in a humidor, I don't know. Will it be enough to change taste, I don't know. I just wanted to share the knowledge and let you decide. As for me, I prefer to not have metal based gas permeating my humidor air space.

 

[Thecatch83]

It's not the percentage of humidity that you are circulating, it's air, so you don't have stale areas or humidity pockets... If you don't open your humidor every once in a while, you can have some issues without air circulation.

If you're using enough humidification beads, and they are placed strategically throughout your humidor or coolidor, you don't need a fan IMO and you won't have "stale areas" or "humidity pockets". :chat:

 

[Coop]

I think this thread makes a lot of members remove their oust fans ASAP!!!

 

[Jfire]

If you're using enough humidification beads, and they are placed strategically throughout your humidor or coolidor, you don't need a fan IMO and you won't have "stale areas" or "humidity pockets". :chat:

RonC (Probably the most knowledgeable botl here on humidification) will be the first to tell you that air flow in anything bigger then a desktop humidor is not only needed but a necessity. Does the oust fan make enough air movement for big humidors? Maybe not. I can tell you that with the front facing off they move significantly more air then with the front plastic face on while in use.

I think this thread makes a lot of members remove their oust fans ASAP!!!

Not me because I use dry rechargeable betteries in all my oust fans.