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Recondition cordless batteries? Dan_Musicant 04-22-2007
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Posted by Dan_Musicant on April 22, 2007, 10:35 am


I have a couple of cordless drills I bought a bit over 5 years ago, a
Dewalt 9.6v and a Panasonic 12v. They both came with two NiCD batteries
and I've been using them lightly and the batteries (it seems to me) are
not holding much of a charge. Very often, when I reach for one, the
battery is on the verge of dieing. Every time that happens I fetch the
alternate battery and put the dieing one in the charger and that battery
(again, it seems to me) charges too quickly! It's just my feeling that
the "charged" signal goes on on the charger too quickly.

I know that some battery chargers feature a reconditioning feature, but
of course my cordless drill chargers have nothing of the sort. I'm
thinking I can go through several cycles and recondition these
batteries. For instance, put the drills on Low and rubber bands around
the trigger and let the motors run until I can hear the battery's losing
power and then let the battery sit 5-10 minutes (maybe not necessary, it
really doesn't seem hot), and then charge. I figure if I do this 4 times
or so for each battery, it may well restore most of the capacity. Has
anyone tried something like this?

Dan

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Posted by Joseph Meehan on April 22, 2007, 10:02 am


Dan_Musicant wrote:
> I have a couple of cordless drills I bought a bit over 5 years ago, a
> Dewalt 9.6v and a Panasonic 12v. They both came with two NiCD
> batteries and I've been using them lightly and the batteries (it
> seems to me) are not holding much of a charge. Very often, when I
> reach for one, the battery is on the verge of dieing. Every time that
> happens I fetch the alternate battery and put the dieing one in the
> charger and that battery (again, it seems to me) charges too quickly!
> It's just my feeling that the "charged" signal goes on on the charger
> too quickly.
>
> I know that some battery chargers feature a reconditioning feature,
> but of course my cordless drill chargers have nothing of the sort. I'm
> thinking I can go through several cycles and recondition these
> batteries. For instance, put the drills on Low and rubber bands around
> the trigger and let the motors run until I can hear the battery's
> losing power and then let the battery sit 5-10 minutes (maybe not
> necessary, it really doesn't seem hot), and then charge. I figure if
> I do this 4 times or so for each battery, it may well restore most of
> the capacity. Has anyone tried something like this?
>
> Dan

Chances are after five years, it is time to replace or rebuild the
batteries.

What you suggest is not exactly the same thing the company rechargers
do. What you suggest worked well with the early nicd batteries in the 70's
but not with today's batteries.

I suggest stopping by Batteries Plus or some like place for new
batteries or have them rebuild (replace the batteries in the original case)
the batteries. Unless you are getting a great deal on them elsewhere, you
will likely find they have better batteries or a better price for you.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit




Posted by Red on April 22, 2007, 1:40 pm


wrote:
> Dan_Musicant wrote:
> > I have a couple of cordless drills I bought a bit over 5 years ago, a
> > Dewalt 9.6v and a Panasonic 12v. They both came with two NiCD
> > batteries and I've been using them lightly and the batteries (it
> > seems to me) are not holding much of a charge. Very often, when I
> > reach for one, the battery is on the verge of dieing. Every time that
> > happens I fetch the alternate battery and put the dieing one in the
> > charger and that battery (again, it seems to me) charges too quickly!
> > It's just my feeling that the "charged" signal goes on on the charger
> > too quickly.
>
> > I know that some battery chargers feature a reconditioning feature,
> > but of course my cordless drill chargers have nothing of the sort. I'm
> > thinking I can go through several cycles and recondition these
> > batteries. For instance, put the drills on Low and rubber bands around
> > the trigger and let the motors run until I can hear the battery's
> > losing power and then let the battery sit 5-10 minutes (maybe not
> > necessary, it really doesn't seem hot), and then charge. I figure if
> > I do this 4 times or so for each battery, it may well restore most of
> > the capacity. Has anyone tried something like this?
>
> > Dan
>
> Chances are after five years, it is time to replace or rebuild the
> batteries.
>
> What you suggest is not exactly the same thing the company rechargers
> do. What you suggest worked well with the early nicd batteries in the 70's
> but not with today's batteries.
>
> I suggest stopping by Batteries Plus or some like place for new
> batteries or have them rebuild (replace the batteries in the original case)
> the batteries. Unless you are getting a great deal on them elsewhere, you
> will likely find they have better batteries or a better price for you.
>
> --
> Joseph Meehan
>
> Dia 's Muire duit- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I've had 3 battery packs rebuilt by Batteries Plus and have been very
satisfied with the results. Plus they saved me about 30% over the
cost of new battery packs.
Red


Posted by C & E on April 22, 2007, 6:15 pm



> Dan_Musicant wrote:
>> I have a couple of cordless drills I bought a bit over 5 years ago, a
>> Dewalt 9.6v and a Panasonic 12v. They both came with two NiCD
>> batteries and I've been using them lightly and the batteries (it
>> seems to me) are not holding much of a charge. Very often, when I
>> reach for one, the battery is on the verge of dieing. Every time that
>> happens I fetch the alternate battery and put the dieing one in the
>> charger and that battery (again, it seems to me) charges too quickly!
>> It's just my feeling that the "charged" signal goes on on the charger
>> too quickly.
>>
>> I know that some battery chargers feature a reconditioning feature,
>> but of course my cordless drill chargers have nothing of the sort. I'm
>> thinking I can go through several cycles and recondition these
>> batteries. For instance, put the drills on Low and rubber bands around
>> the trigger and let the motors run until I can hear the battery's
>> losing power and then let the battery sit 5-10 minutes (maybe not
>> necessary, it really doesn't seem hot), and then charge. I figure if
>> I do this 4 times or so for each battery, it may well restore most of
>> the capacity. Has anyone tried something like this?
>>
>> Dan
>
> Chances are after five years, it is time to replace or rebuild the
> batteries.
>
> What you suggest is not exactly the same thing the company rechargers
> do. What you suggest worked well with the early nicd batteries in the
> 70's but not with today's batteries.
>
> I suggest stopping by Batteries Plus or some like place for new
> batteries or have them rebuild (replace the batteries in the original
> case) the batteries. Unless you are getting a great deal on them
> elsewhere, you will likely find they have better batteries or a better
> price for you.
>
> --
> Joseph Meehan
>
> Dia 's Muire duit
>

Also, try http://www.primecell.com/pctools.htm

and http://www.voltmanbatteries.com/



Posted by Don Phillipson on April 22, 2007, 10:22 am



> I have a couple of cordless drills I bought a bit over 5 years ago, a
> Dewalt 9.6v and a Panasonic 12v. They both came with two NiCD batteries
> and I've been using them lightly and the batteries (it seems to me) are
> not holding much of a charge.
> . . . pur the drills on Low and rubber bands around
> the trigger and let the motors run until I can hear the battery's losing
> power and then let the battery sit 5-10 minutes (maybe not necessary, it
> really doesn't seem hot), and then charge. I figure if I do this 4 times
> or so for each battery, it may well restore most of the capacity. Has
> anyone tried something like this?

It was normal for the charge-holding capacity of
1990s NiCad batteries to dwindle after 5 years or so.
So why not make this experiment and post results
here, whether good or bad?

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)



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