Leave PRAM batteries in vintage boards ?

[smrieck511]

I've successfully recapped the board, installed a new CRT, resoldered the analog board contact points, installed a new HD, cleaned the floppy drive...

Everything is working 100%.

I now have it dissasembled and am retrobrighting today.

I'm wondering if I should put a PRAM battery on the logic board? Do you guys do that or is it bad luck with such a nice clean functioning logic board? If it was gonna leak it would take decades right? or do some just leak?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I got a deal on 10 of one type of PRAM bats on eBay that I've just about run through.

For my 4.5v Q630 and its descendants, I use AA battery packs made from three or four alkaline bat packs.

For long term storage I always take 'em out, but it's really annoying to deal with Date-n-Time constantly for Playtime Macs.

 

[Unknown_K]

I never had one of the Apple PRAM batteries leak on meso I just keep them installed (and have a dozen new spares for when I need a new one). The thing is I keep my Macs in the basement where the temperature is generally cool all year long and low humidity, I think batteries leak and explode when they see major temperature and humidity swings (stored in a garage or barn open to the elements).

 

[smrieck511]

Thanks for the advice....on a side note my retrobrite seemed to work great...just 3% h202, a little oxy and some good sunlight.

 

[Scott Baret]

I do have a few basic rules I follow on this subject based on many years of experience with PRAM batteries.

Baret's Battery Rules

1. A current PRAM battery should be installed in every machine pressed into everyday use. These batteries should be replaced every six years unless the battery dies before then.

2. No matter the condition, a battery should be removed from any computer in storage, as the duration of storage is often unknown when the computer is put away.

3. If computers are being stored in a basement, they should not be kept within four feet of a furnace. Fluctuations in temperatures caused by furnaces may cause batteries, regardless of age, to leak.

4. Any new acquisition of a used computer over the age of five should have its battery replaced upon receipt unless the battery is guaranteed new.

5. Always have at least one spare battery per three Macs on hand. This is more about being prepared in case of a sudden, non-damaging leak (sometimes discovered when working on computers).

6. If you are able to, solder a battery holder on a logic board which does not have one already (such as a pre-1989 SE or big-box II-series machine).

7. When buying a Color Classic, ask the seller if it has the 4.5V or 3.6V battery. Color Classics were made with two different logic boards, one of which accepts the more common PRAM battery.

I've only had one battery leak, and it was in a computer stored close to a furnace. I wound up scrapping the machine (a Classic) since I had caught the leak too late.