It worked for me. I had 2 batteries that I just left on a shelf because they wouldn't hold a charge at all. I zapped both of them with a rechargable car jumpstarter. One works great. the other is about 1/2 way back. I will zap it again. These were 9.6 volt Makita batteries. I drove a lot of screws and drilled several holes over a several day span before I had to recharge it.
Bill
Save your worn out ni-cads
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flashbacpt
- Gold Member
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- Location: Concord, Ca.
Worn Out Ni-Cads
Count me in too! I was somewhat hesitant to try this but the fact that I had two batteries that were causing me problems was wearing me down, just thinking of the cost of buying two expensive replacement batteries. A Craftsman battery that would not charge, and would register "Defective Battery" in its charger, and a Makita battery that simply refused to take a charge.
When I read about using the rechargeable jump start unit, I decided to take a chance since I had one of those!
After determining proper polarity, I zapped the batteries. In both cases, I did not get a "spark", but found out that I was still successfull! The Craftsman's battery went into it's charger, without the Defective Battery light coming on, and completed a full charge. It now runs just like new!
The same was true of the Makita battery. Needless to say, I'm a happy camper:D
Thanks a Lot!!!
John
FlashbacPT
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foxtrapper
- Gold Member
- Posts: 439
- Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:05 am
Bill,
There's a pretty good chance you'll find the bit you need in either this set:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=91310
or this set:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=93388
There's a pretty good chance you'll find the bit you need in either this set:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=91310
or this set:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=93388
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JPG
- Platinum Member
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- Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:42 pm
- Location: Lexington, Ky (TAMECAT territory)
Check for quality b4 purchasing!;)billmeyer wrote:Hey thanks Foxtrapper! I'll pick up a set next time I am in Joplin. I really didn't know what to call the driver. This helps a lot. The price is good too.
Bill
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Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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mickyd
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I figured I'd bring this older thread up to the top because, well, I'm going to try bringing two older spent 18V Ryobi One+ NiCd batteries back to life as shown in post 1.
Any words of wisdom before I try it? My safety equipment will include chemical goggles, respirator, long sleeve jacket, and bible.
Any words of wisdom before I try it? My safety equipment will include chemical goggles, respirator, long sleeve jacket, and bible.
Mike
Sunny San Diego
Sunny San Diego
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JPG
- Platinum Member
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Depends upon which half baked scheme you are contemplating.
The one using 120v ac is definitely a not so good method!
You need a voltage source usually greater than the battery's normal output voltage. With the recent proliferation of batteries with higher voltages, this is becoming more difficult as well as increasing the inherent hazard(s).
What occurs internally to the battery is the development of 'whiskers' that eventually cause the cell to short out. This reduces the available output voltage and increases the charging stress on the remaining cells. Since the battery consists of cells connected in series, the increase in the voltage in the recent batteries increases the potential for this 'problem'(higher voltage = more cells in series - 12v = 10; 18 v = 15).
The 'resurrecting' procedures rely on a 'blast' of energy to eliminate the 'whiskers'. It is a good idea to limit the duration of these 'blasts'. I usually rely upon a capacitor(large capacitance) discharge to do that. I will charge the capacitor to a voltage higher than the battery. I have found that it is more effective to determine which cell has the 'problem ' and blast that one and individually charge that cell prior to charging the entire battery. Unfortunately this requires power supplies etc. that are not commonly found in most folks abode.
The one using 120v ac is definitely a not so good method!
You need a voltage source usually greater than the battery's normal output voltage. With the recent proliferation of batteries with higher voltages, this is becoming more difficult as well as increasing the inherent hazard(s).
What occurs internally to the battery is the development of 'whiskers' that eventually cause the cell to short out. This reduces the available output voltage and increases the charging stress on the remaining cells. Since the battery consists of cells connected in series, the increase in the voltage in the recent batteries increases the potential for this 'problem'(higher voltage = more cells in series - 12v = 10; 18 v = 15).
The 'resurrecting' procedures rely on a 'blast' of energy to eliminate the 'whiskers'. It is a good idea to limit the duration of these 'blasts'. I usually rely upon a capacitor(large capacitance) discharge to do that. I will charge the capacitor to a voltage higher than the battery. I have found that it is more effective to determine which cell has the 'problem ' and blast that one and individually charge that cell prior to charging the entire battery. Unfortunately this requires power supplies etc. that are not commonly found in most folks abode.
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╟JPG ╢
╚═══╝
Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
╟JPG ╢
╚═══╝
Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
[quote="tdubnik"]One of the batteries on my Porter Cable 19.2v drill wouldn't hold a charge anymore. Straight off the charger it wouldn't even drive a single screw. Checked around for a replacement and they cost anywhere from $50 to $80 even on eBay. I decided to Google ni-cad repair and found this.
What have I got to lose? I decided to try the "fix" and much to my amazement]
this does work most of the time. my youngest son and i raced electric cars in the mid 80's. at that time all we had were ni-cads. care and feeding started right after the race on that pack. we hooked up a car headlight bulb to the battery and left it on for the next week. sat morning early, i would get up, start coffee, read the paper then go out and put the first "heat" race pack on a 4 amp charge. as soon as it peaked and shut the charger off, the next heat race pack went on. and so it went to the main event pack. these were six cell packs and in 1985 we paid dearly for a "factory matched" pack!!! after all the packs were peak charged, we headed to the track and when there, i put the first practice pack on peak charge. after that race i put the next heat race race pack on "peak" charge and in the car it went. and so it went the day until the main event. during the two years he drove and i was the crew chief and builder, we had packs that went soft. i took the covering off each pack and, using a car battery, i "shocked" each cell with 12 volts from that battery. the battery manufacturers stated that a ni-cad developed small "bridges" between the plates and the "shock" of 12 volts on a 1.2 volt battery would "knock the bridge off". they stated this would do until the "shock" treatment didn't work any more which would mean the cell was history. the shock treatment was a very quick touch of leads to the post and never hold the lead on the post. i still do this today with ni-cads and it still works......
What have I got to lose? I decided to try the "fix" and much to my amazement]
this does work most of the time. my youngest son and i raced electric cars in the mid 80's. at that time all we had were ni-cads. care and feeding started right after the race on that pack. we hooked up a car headlight bulb to the battery and left it on for the next week. sat morning early, i would get up, start coffee, read the paper then go out and put the first "heat" race pack on a 4 amp charge. as soon as it peaked and shut the charger off, the next heat race pack went on. and so it went to the main event pack. these were six cell packs and in 1985 we paid dearly for a "factory matched" pack!!! after all the packs were peak charged, we headed to the track and when there, i put the first practice pack on peak charge. after that race i put the next heat race race pack on "peak" charge and in the car it went. and so it went the day until the main event. during the two years he drove and i was the crew chief and builder, we had packs that went soft. i took the covering off each pack and, using a car battery, i "shocked" each cell with 12 volts from that battery. the battery manufacturers stated that a ni-cad developed small "bridges" between the plates and the "shock" of 12 volts on a 1.2 volt battery would "knock the bridge off". they stated this would do until the "shock" treatment didn't work any more which would mean the cell was history. the shock treatment was a very quick touch of leads to the post and never hold the lead on the post. i still do this today with ni-cads and it still works......
Brick1
Titusville, Florida