Since the wall clock uses very little current, doesn't the run time
approach the shelf life of the cell? I thought alkalines were better
than zinc-carbon cells for shelf life. I use only alkalines for the
kids toys and flashlights and NIMH for the digicams.
GG
Decades ago, when zinc-carbon were the only thing available, they
certainly had a tendency to leak. I remember ruined flashlights,
and likely other things, because the batteries actually went bad rather
than just ran out of power.
So I know I avoided them as alkalines came along, and that's been
at least a couple of decades. Maybe it was just the process used back
then, and zinc-carbon don't leak these days, but I'm not sure I'd want to
risk them in something that was more expensive than a flashlight.
Micahel