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Reviving knackered NiCads


hairyone

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The 12v nicad packs for my combo drill have been neglected / knackered for some time. Won't charge and only giving about 4.5V. Was going to buy replacements and came across this on the net, and found this Revive Nicad batteries by zapping with a welder. With a little trepidation I tried it out, and .... it works. Tried one pack first, now back up to 13.4 volts and now charging and holding a charge. Did the other pack today.

Apparently it can also be done with a car battery or a charged up capacitor, just need to zap a way the filaments that are shorting some of the cells.

Very pleased £80 saved

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Isn't that the coolest thing about it?

Si

Yep, sticking on the welding apron, gas mask, goggles etc make the whole thing worthwhile.

Sounds like the type of job to do on top of the wheely bin half way down the drive.

Steve

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I just tried it on a couple of knackered 14v batteries They would only get to 5v. They are now showing 13v and working fine.

No explosions, just a tiny little spark, a bit dull really.

Same here,

Rather than compete with the wire feed I just stuck an offcut in the end of the torch. Just about got a couple of sparks and briefly got the welding wire to glow (so I stopped). I was under the impression that the real danger comes from doing it too long which could overheat them.

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Cool B)

This is the best incarnation I have seen of the concept of "kill or cure" or Murphy's "if it jams force it, if it then breaks it needed replacing anyway".

Either the battery works or there is a colossal explosion/fire/smoke and you know there is no longer any point in keeping it "just in case" - fantastic and final B)

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Cool B)

This is the best incarnation I have seen of the concept of "kill or cure" or Murphy's "if it jams force it, if it then breaks it needed replacing anyway".

Either the battery works or there is a colossal explosion/fire/smoke and you know there is no longer any point in keeping it "just in case" - fantastic and final B)

LOL

i've heard that if you weld your battery whilst it's sitting on top of an open petrol container you'll get better results :)

G

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I wonder who came up with this idea, it's not something you would do everyday. "My batterys knacked, i'll just zap it with my welder and see what happens"

My mate is a good welder, i use him. Much safer than hiding behind some plywood!

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I wonder who came up with this idea, it's not something you would do everyday. "My batterys knacked, i'll just zap it with my welder and see what happens"

Actually, it's got a sound theoretical basis. Crystals build up on the plates inside the NiCads through their life. A short sharp shock with high voltage/current destroys the crystals leaving the NiCads working again.

I've heard of this before - a friends grandpa did it aeons ago with a couple of car batteries....

Has anyone had a wander around the rest of that site? Some interesting stuff on there...

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  • 4 weeks later...
I read somewhere that NiCads are about to be outlawed, sure that it was on a forum but i cant find anything searching the web.

Does anyone know more?

Cheers, Bal

They were banned last year although powertools, electric toothbrushes and loads of other things are exempt.

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Haven't tried it but someone also told me that if you have a battery that won't charge put in the freezer for a couple of hours first. Any thoughts on this?

I would be totally amazed if this would work (more than the welder) since most car batteries die in winter due to the cold.

Marc.

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