So this evening I was inspecting my safe and thought I would check out my EoTech 512. Didn't turn on. Okay, no biggie, time to replace the batteries. Except when I removed the battery box I could see a mucus connecting the batteries to the optics as I pulled it away. CRAAAAP one of the batteries leaked. Not sure how long ago it happened, but it was a right mess.
Soooo I take it out to the garage and start inspecting it. The good news is the terminals on the optics itself are in great shape. The battery box is awful. After some toothbrush scrubbing and alcohol soaking I got it pretty clean and put back together. Take it for a test drive, and lo and behold it works! I take it back to the garage to clean off some oil that I figured may have gotten up near the buttons from my CLP when I was last cleaning it. I used a compressed air can to move it around out of some crevices and then dabbed it with a cotton swab. It was red. Then it dawned on me: in the safe the gun sits with the muzzle facing up. The batteries leaked and naturally gravity played its role (lousy gravity) and the battery acid crap leaked down.
So my question is, has anyone else had this happen to them and how did you clean it up? I assume over time this is going to corrode away the insides (at the very least, the buttons). I am not sure the best way to clean it up so that it won't eat away at the scope and won't get traces of battery acid on my fingers every time I turn it on/off. I don't know much about batteries, but some folks were talking about the battery (being an alkaline) is that it's a base, and not an acid. So will this be a problem even other than possible skin irritation?
I've read that I should get Lithium batteries for the future (which is acidic). Sounds like I should keep the battery cap off, too, until I am ready to use. That's real convenient in the event I ever needed to grab it fast :-\
Any help would be appreciated.
J
Soooo I take it out to the garage and start inspecting it. The good news is the terminals on the optics itself are in great shape. The battery box is awful. After some toothbrush scrubbing and alcohol soaking I got it pretty clean and put back together. Take it for a test drive, and lo and behold it works! I take it back to the garage to clean off some oil that I figured may have gotten up near the buttons from my CLP when I was last cleaning it. I used a compressed air can to move it around out of some crevices and then dabbed it with a cotton swab. It was red. Then it dawned on me: in the safe the gun sits with the muzzle facing up. The batteries leaked and naturally gravity played its role (lousy gravity) and the battery acid crap leaked down.
So my question is, has anyone else had this happen to them and how did you clean it up? I assume over time this is going to corrode away the insides (at the very least, the buttons). I am not sure the best way to clean it up so that it won't eat away at the scope and won't get traces of battery acid on my fingers every time I turn it on/off. I don't know much about batteries, but some folks were talking about the battery (being an alkaline) is that it's a base, and not an acid. So will this be a problem even other than possible skin irritation?
I've read that I should get Lithium batteries for the future (which is acidic). Sounds like I should keep the battery cap off, too, until I am ready to use. That's real convenient in the event I ever needed to grab it fast :-\
Any help would be appreciated.
J