On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 12:51:47 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

I had always read that nicads should be run down before being recharged.

Running them down before recharge is different from running them down
before storage. These batteries tend to have a limited number of
charge cycles so, yes, you're better off using the batteries than
charging them. Storage is another matter though. NiCds (NMH is a
very similar chemistry) like to be stored flat but *NOT* discharged so
low that cells get reversed. It's better to let them discharge
themselves during storage.

I've done that with my Dust Buster and gotten excellent battery life out of
it.

Dustbusters tend to get killed by constant charging in thier cheap-ass
charger. Things like DustBusters would work much better if they used
lead-acid batteries(SLACs).