On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:37:41 +0000, Peter Fairbrother
calmly ranted:

reposted, original seems lost in the aether, apologies if double posted

It came through, too.


Larry Jaques wrote:

Who here has rebuilt packs and how did you attach the cells?

I've never _re_built packs, but I have soldered them together.

OK, I'll see what I have in real solder and give it a try on the
old dead cells. I don't need the double head because I'll keep the
tab on the good cell to affix to the new pack.


You really need at least a 40 watt iron, although it can be done with a
smaller one. Wait for it to get hot

I have a brand new 100w stained glass iron, temp controller, and flux,
but I'll probably use the Weller soldering gun.


People who make up a lot of packs tend to put the cells in the fridge before
soldering, use 60/40 tin/lead solder rather than the leadfree type (naughty,
but then the cells are full of cadmium ...), and make up a frame so the
cells slide easily into the right position. You heat up the ends of two
cells at once, make sure they are wet with solder, remove the iron and
quickly slide one cell to meet the other.

Then cover with heatshrink for mechanical strength.

It comes with a plastic cover and a fiber/mica shield on top. Both
are reusable.


Never had a problem once I figured out how to do it - and you could of
course practice with the hootered cells first.

Hootered cells? I didn't know there were male and female NiCads.
g (See www.Hooters.com for our idea of what that word means.)
chuckle


However, Tim's point about reversal during discharge sounds relevant. I've
always been a good boy and never tried mixing cells tho'. Perhaps you could
try to find the set of cells whose capacities match best.

Both packs were in the same kit originally and may even be from the
same batch, so that may not be a problem.

Thanks, all. (But where are the fake spotwelder recipes?)



--

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has
become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by
an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.
But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who
among us has the capacity to govern someone else?
All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the
burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one
group singled out to pay a higher price.

-President Ronald Reagan
First Inaugural Address
Tuesday, January 20, 1981