1ko wrote:
Does anyone have any advice on how to revive ni-cad drill batteries?
I hate
to keep spending money on new batteries. I try to take cre of them,
but they
seem to only last a year or so. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank
you.

If you have a car battery charger, you can revive ni-cad batteries.

I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INJURY YOU MAY RECEIVE BY DOING THIS

What happens with ni-cad is that the "memory" they develop is because
of crystals that grow on the electrodes (internally, of course). As
the crystals grow, the space bewteen the two electrodes gets shorter
and shorter, and this is why the battery lasts for less time.

I've taken 1.5v batteries, and held a 12V charge on them for a second
or two at a time (The battery will get warm). From what I understand,
this will "burn" away the crystal inside, and will erase the "memory"
they've developed.

It sure seems to work, but don't hold the charge on there for a long
time or that battery could leak or explode.