Burnin' Down the House

Generally, I use rechargeable batteries, but with the recent cold weather I'd switched to disposable, which are, maybe, not as durable. It is well known that French engineering is, how shall I say, "unique" and the battery case for my headlamp definitely qualifies.

As best as I can figure, noticing that the battery pack lid wasn't completely on when unpacking from a recent ice climb, I re-closed the lid, the shearing action of closing damaging one or several of the batteries. The lid closed, I left the headlamp on a desk apparently in a position where the alkaline did not leak.

On re-packing my bag several days later, the damaged batteries moved into a position where they began to leak. Having gone to bed I remembered, luckily, that I hadn't packed my flask only to find melting nylon about to ignite.

Obviously, the design of the battery pack has been rethought on newer models and I'm glad the house didn't burn down. Saved by Scotch!

1/15, F4.0, 35 mm, ISO400 © 2010 Shawn Boye