I was testing out the electronics in a transformer that I got the other day, and it made me think about the MISB guys that i have which contain batteries. If i have a bunch of MISB transformers (10-20) that are years old (some close to 10 years) that have electronics and batteries, should I be opening them to remove batteries to protect the investment? I'm sure there are others that have thought of this, what do you guys do? Thanks.
depends on what batteries are inside. Certain battery chemistries allows for storage up to 3 years or so, but if you are planning to store them, it is safer to remove the battery so it doesn't damage the transformer.
Current batteries like energizer and duracell have a shelf life of 5-7 years. I'm not sure how long after that they start leaking but if its an expensive toy I'd be removing them just to be safe. Hakka.
Thanks, probably should have thought of this before I picked up electronic transformers to save as MISB, kind of defeats the purpose now
I don't have any Tf's MIB or MISB, but my Tf's are starting to get older and I've begun the process of removing batteries. I don't want to take the chance that they start to corrode and leak. That would be a sucky way of ruining a $25-$45 toy.
I always take out batteries ASAP. Granted I'm not a MISB collector, but yeah. Better safe than sorry.
Button/cell batteries can be left in devices and figures with no problems. I bought a CASIO calculator 10 years ago and not used it too much. He still has his original battery inside.
When I purchased Kaltor, my calculator robot watch dude, the seller said it had a battery in it, and he removed it in order to prevent corrosion. When I received it, I put the included battery inside the watch, and the battery was dead. Replaced the battery, and the watch works perfectly. I also have Omega Supreme and Shockwave with batteries in them. I wonder how long those should be kept in.
Well, for one, battery capacity decreases over the years, so even if you keep them in, they will be "empty" after a few years of self-discharge at storage. The problem comes in when cheap cells are used, etc. I have had a few toys where I left the battery in them for quite a few years, and then the battery corroded inside, not only leaving a mess, but also endangers whether the toy's electronics will function in the future.
I bought an MISB Armada Megatron a bit ago, and the batteries were drained without them ever being used. I opened the battery compartment and what do ya know...all corroded. Now he's sitting in the garage waiting for me to do whatever I plan on doing. My advice would be to simply not buy anything MISB with batteries that you feel may be too old. It's much easier and cheaper to buy it out of box and ask the seller about the batteries. Of course in your situation, already owning the figures, I'd advise opening them up and cleaning out the battery compartments. Btw, anyone know the best way to clean out battery corrosion safely? EDIT: Razorclaw, my Megatron had Button batteries and they were corroded right out of the box, so that's not the case for all button batteries.
It will damage plastic and paint. Even after you clean it all away some acid will come back after a while. hakka.
That's good to know. I left the cell batteries in my Armada Unicron and Megatron. I will definitely get them out then.
this is actually one of the reasons why I hate light and sound gimmicks. Not only do they hinder articulation and better execution, they raise the cost of the figure and indirectly diminish other aspects, and not to mention, for collectors (instead of kids), we have to take out the batteries. If they want things to light up, just make lightpiping more common. I can make the noise on my own. For sound gimmick, unless its the awesome G1 transformation noise (ala Overload Armada), nty
I'm not going to mess with my MISB figures but in a couple of months time I'm planning a huge sort out in my TF storage. Removing batteries is one of the things on the to-do list for that.
Hmm, so Unicron uses button cells as well? That's odd, I recieved a loose Unicron recently that the people who I bought it from bought for their kid years ago and he never played with it, suggesting they never would've bothered to replace the batteries. Yet, he still works. His eye lights are kinda weak but he does work.