Kestrel has been plagued by battery and battery door issues. Here is a statement from them awhile back when people were quiet upset with them. They have since quieted the angry masses but I thought I'd throw this out there in case some were unaware of this issue and kestrel response.
We have reviewed the threads relating to instances of battery corrosion in our Kestrel units and I am writing to outline what we know here at Kestrel and the actions we are taking in response to the completely understandable frustration around this issue. We recognize that a Kestrel ballistics meter is a big investment for each of you, and that having a $600 investment destroyed by $2 worth of batteries, as one member succinctly put it, is really upsetting.
All alkaline batteries are prone to leaking potassium hydroxide, particularly as they near full discharge. As batteries discharge, they release a small amount of hydrogen gas, which exerts pressure inside the battery and may eventually rupture its seals. Once a leak has occurred, the potassium hydroxide and carbon dioxide from the air form potassium carbonate crystals that grow and follow along the metal electrodes to the circuit board, causing oxidation of the circuit and components. Damage caused by leaking batteries is often irreversible, as some of you have unfortunately learned. If caught early, it is sometimes possible to clean the corrosion and restore the unit, and instructions for doing this will be posted here. We have tested many brands and manufacturers of batteries, including the various “pro” and industrial varieties, and have seen no difference in the rate of leakage. A small percentage will leak – sometimes in storage, but usually in operation. (We have definitely observed that the “no-name” batteries are much worse, which is why we ship only with name brand and try to source American made as well.) The AAA cells which can be counted on not to leak are lithium AAA cells. This is due both to chemistry, and to the fact that lithium is quite toxic so these batteries are constructed with a much high level of sealing. So,
ACTION 1: Today I directed that we immediately begin shipping all Kestrel ballistics meters with only lithium AAA batteries. Although these batteries are roughly eight times the cost of standard AAA’s, we are going to absorb this cost difference and not change the price of the Kestrel ballistics meters.
Despite the fact that alkaline batteries are prone to leakage, and manufacturers uniformly do not cover damage by leaking batteries (even for substantially more expensive items, like high-end cameras), it is clear to me that we need to do more to alleviate the financial pain caused by this problem. Accordingly,
ACTION 2: I have directed that we replace battery-corrosion damaged Kestrel ballistics meters returned to NK at a heavily discounted price of $279 for a non-Bluetooth unit and $333 for a Bluetooth unit. This price is a 55% discount off of retail and represents our actual manufacturing cost on the replacement unit. This price is only available when the unit is returned to NK and cannot be repaired by our staff.
Another Snipers Hide member also correctly pointed out that there is no discussion of battery corrosion prevention in the instruction manual. This is true.
ACTION 3: We will be adding a detailed statement to the user manual and our website providing guidelines on avoiding battery corrosion damage from alkaline batteries. A copy of this statement will also be added to this forum for user reference. Note, these are good guidelines for ANY product that uses alkaline batteries, not just a Kestrel meter.
We have already been gathering and evaluating data surrounding possible additional causes of this problem. All Kestrel meters function the same with respect to logging data while off, and there does not seem to be a measurable trend with respect to any model having this problem more than others. However, the sniper community is fairly unique in the information offered by this forum, so I have challenged our engineers to run further tests and brainstorm root cause with the additional information posted here.
ACTION 4: We will publish follow up information on the results of these tests as soon as they are completed.
We appreciate the information and feedback we get from the members of this forum. I hope these actions reassure the members that we at Kestrel do not ignore this, or any other reliability or product improvement suggestion we receive from our customers. We will continue to work to mitigate this issue as much as possible now and in the future. In the meantime, feel free to email me directly with problems or suggestions at
alixkestrel@nkhome.com.
Sincerely
Alix James, CEO
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Preventing Battery Leakage and Corrosion
Your Kestrel meter is shipped with two high-quality alkaline AAA batteries. All alkaline batteries are prone to leaking potassium hydroxide, particularly as they near full discharge. As batteries discharge, they release a small amount of hydrogen gas, which exerts pressure inside the battery and may eventually rupture its seals. Once a leak has occurred, the potassium hydroxide and carbon dioxide from the air form potassium carbonate crystals that grow and follow along the metal electrodes to the circuit board, causing oxidation of the circuit and components. Damage caused by leaking batteries is often irreversible, and is NOT covered under the Kestrel warranty. Therefore, it is important to take these steps to reduce the likelihood of a battery leak and resulting corrosion and damage:
· Use US-made, name-brand batteries wherever possible. Do not mix brands of batteries.
· Do not mix batteries of different ages or usage – replace both batteries at the same time with new batteries that have not reached their expiration date.
· Remove batteries for long-term storage (more than one month of non-use). Even when powered down, the Kestrel continues to log data and slowly discharge the batteries.
· To avoid fully discharging your batteries, try to change your batteries when below 20% capacity.
· Inspect your batteries occasionally (at least every three months) and remove immediately if you notice ANY moisture or white crystalline material at either end.
· Always store your Kestrel meter within the specified temperature limits: -22.0 °F to 140.0 °F | -30.0 °C to 60.0 °C. Be particularly careful not to leave a Kestrel meter with batteries installed inside a hot car in the summer.
· Consider using Lithium AAA cells which are virtually leak proof and provide up to 50% additional capacity in Bluetooth equipped models as well as improved cold weather performance.
If you notice you have a leaking battery, be careful not to touch it with your bare skin or allow it to come in contact with your eyes as the leaking material is very caustic. Remove and dispose of both batteries. If possible, loosen and vacuum out any white powder. DO NOT BLOW INTO THE COMPARTMENT TO REMOVE THE POWDER – it can cause eye or skin damage and will be driven further inside the unit. You may attempt to use a cotton swab moistened with white vinegar to clean the contacts and gently swab out the battery compartment. Do not exert any force against the contacts inside the battery compartment or you may bend or break them. Allow the battery compartment to dry completely and try installing fresh batteries. If your unit powers up – great! If not, you may contract Kestrel Support to inquire about our Customer Loyalty Trade-In Program which provides a significant discount towards a replacement Kestrel meter.
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