Leaking Battery Stuck in Mag-Lite

Last night I just added No. 4 to my collection of Mag-lights with batteries stuck in them. As I am poor I have decided that it is worth the labor to salvage them. I have come up with three potential procedures for doing this. Procedure 1: Using a 1/2 inch drill bit and wearing safety goggles I will remove material from the batteries until I am able to deform the battery casing enough to break them loose. May also end up involving a number of other special Dremmel attachments. Procedure 2: Place Mag-light in freezer for a few days. Then remove to a pot of very hot water. Theoretically this would cause enough differential expansion between the batteries and the aluminum tube to allow the batteries to come loose. If all else fails Procedure 3: Drill 1/2 inch hole approx. midway down aluminum tube. Introduce an appropriate amount of smokeless powder and reliable fusing mechanism. Retreat to safe distance and detonate. While this would potentially render the flashlight unserviceable I would at least have the satisfaction of knowing the I got the batteries out.

I just fixed my maglite using suggestions posted here.

Here is what worked: I removed the top and bottom, ran through a cup of hot vinegar followed by a quart of hot water. Then I forced an old windshield wiper rib between the stuck battery and the inner wall of the maglite, scraping it up and down to remove as much of the chemicals and corrosion as I could. Then I replaced the bottom end, and smacked it down on a hard surface. The batteries slid out one at a time. Then I removed the rest of the corrosion with a drum sander so that the new batteries would fit in.

Thanks for the suggestions. By the way, they were Ray-O-Vacs with expiration dates 3 years in the future, and still powered the light weakly while stuck!

this a history topic and how about now.

sus 431 my favor