Geoff Norfolk wrote :
Anyone any suggestions for getting longer life out of NiCd drill batteries.
Mine always seem to expire after a couple of years or is this normal life? I
only use the drill every couple of weeks for perhaps 10 minutes work and
only recharge when its completely flat.

Which will cause some cells to reverse charge and damage them.

When I've opened up a battery pack,
I usually find one or 2 of the 10 cells is really low on voltage, the
others being on about 1.2volts.

They will be the cells you have damaged.

They need to be recharged at the first hint of falling voltage. They
also need to be charged correctly, rather than just left on an endless
trickle charge. An automatic cut-off charger is the best way.


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Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk