On Jan 9, 11:10 am, Steve Turner
wrote:
These days I'm to
the point where trying to track down "the answer" on Google just makes me
cross-eyed and grouchy, and I *still* don't trust the result.
With good reason. I used to remark or post in response to something
that was specifically in my field of work or experience if I knew it
was wrong. Now, I watch the tone of the thread and see if the OP is a
first time poster, or if the thread turns to politics. Then I don't
bother.
The internet is still a vast treasure trove of information, but it
still needs to be viewed with a suspicious eye. I am like to find
something that piques my interest that is presented as a "fact", just
to store it away in the back of my mind for further use.
I cannot imagine any other medium that has spawned more experts on any
subject than the internet.
Anyhow, at the risk of sounding like one of those know-it-alls, this
is a neat piece of work that details out some of the workings of a
NiCad battery. If you read this carefully, you can see why the NiCads
fail. The crystals that form inside the batteries from normal use
make it harder and harder for the battery to fully charge.
The crystals are formed at a much faster rate when the NiCads aren't
properly charged, then discharged through normal use, or stored, then
discharged and recharged. (See page three of the pdf).
http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~phiscock/p...ad-battery.pdf
The guys that claim to be able to revive a NiCad battery have had some
luck doing it.
http://www.roaddevils.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6005
They break down the crystalline structure inside the battery by
"shocking" the battery, restoring its ability to receive and hold a
charge. This blitz conditioning is supposed to work well about half
the time, depending on who you talk to. Interesting that someone
figured that out, but it held no interest for me. Money is tight for
me... but not that tight.
My guy Robert can be found he
http://www.kellysearch.com/us-company-350028810.html
I had no idea they had a website. Since you may wind up shipping them
out anyway, he might be a good source for you.
When you have your batteries rebuilt, there are a few criteria:
- you must be able to disassemble the battery by backing out security
screws. None of the folks I talked to will cut open a case any more
- you need to find out what mh hour rating they are building to. In
my case, I stuck with 2mh, as the 2.3mh upgrades were 30% more. Try
to get something similar to what you have if you have been happy with
the performance in the past
- make sure they rebuild batteries as a large portion of their
business. Old batteries or old rebuild methods aren't worth fooling
with
- make sure they use name brand or industrial type batteries. It
isn't unusual to be able to get better batteries than your original
equipment
- when they assemble your battery pod, make sure they spot weld the
batteries together. Soldering isn't as good, doesn't last as well,
and isn't as sturdy in the field. According to Robert, they solder
joints don't maintain their electrical connectivity as well either; I
am guess because the actual connection isn't as sturdy as a spot weld.
When I had my Makita 14.4 drill rebuilt, I switched from NiMh to
NiCad. (As a note, you should make sure that your charger will charge
the battery type you change to if you make that decision!) My Makita
charger works with both NiCad and NiMh, so I was set.
To have the batteries rebuilt, Robert's guys had them out to me in two
days. (Online guys - 3 - 4 weeks with shipping!). Cost was $36 per
battery. I have only been using them in the drill for about 2 months,
but they seem great.
Using that bulk rate USPS box, you could get both your batteries over
here to San Antonio for about $8.
Robert