Thought it might be a battery pack at first so I wasn’t going to touch it but it appears to be plastic.

Possibly broken at the top? Unsure.

  • @ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org
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    16 days ago

    Looks like a PJ996 lantern battery whose top cover broke off. It’s probably carbon-zinc, in which case you can recover a decently big graphite rod from each cell.

    • peto (he/him)
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      1616 days ago

      I’d warn against opening the cells if you don’t know how old it is. Modern ones are safe, older ones might contain heavy metals.

      • Tar_Alcaran
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        16 days ago

        I think these have basically always been carbon-zinc, or alkaline.

        Technically, zinc is a heavy metal, but basically harmless to humans unless you eat the whole thing. Alkaline batteries contain managous oxide, which is a heavy metal, but you’d need some serious chronic exposure to get into trouble from that.

        It’s still a good idea not to open random crap that washes ashore, because there are definitely FAR more dangerous things that come in small metal cylinders. Like unexploded ordnance.

        • @essell@lemmy.world
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          115 days ago

          Technically, zinc is a heavy metal, but basically harmless to humans unless you eat the whole thing.

          New Ticktok challenge! Get the word out.

    • Tar_Alcaran
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      16 days ago

      Yeah, also knows as a 4R25 6V battery, or the battery from a “24 hours lamp” (from way back when they still used lightbulbs, they last weeks now on LEDs). Those lanterns are used a lot in marine work and roadworks. Having one land in the sea is entirely common.