This is a handheld shaver , typeGRUNDIG BETA G8234
I would say late 80s vintage, a relative dug it out recently after
about 8 years' nonuse and found it wasn't working.

I plugged it in and the charge light comes on, but the unit would not
react in 'on' mode, even with the mains lead connected. Having opened
it up, the two NiCad cells have deteriorated. I have two questions:

1. is this likely to be JUST a matter of changing the cells? if so,
why did the thing not work off the mains? Is it normal in certain
shavers for the power not to be connected to the motor in any way, but
the motor to be wired via the charging circuit ?

2. Are these cells likely to be 'standard' 1.2v cells? no voltage ref
is visible.

here's hoping....
-B.

On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:30:45 -0800, b
wrote:

This is a handheld shaver , typeGRUNDIG BETA G8234
I would say late 80s vintage, a relative dug it out recently after
about 8 years' nonuse and found it wasn't working.

I plugged it in and the charge light comes on, but the unit would not
react in 'on' mode, even with the mains lead connected. Having opened
it up, the two NiCad cells have deteriorated. I have two questions:

1. is this likely to be JUST a matter of changing the cells? if so,
why did the thing not work off the mains? Is it normal in certain
shavers for the power not to be connected to the motor in any way, but
the motor to be wired via the charging circuit ?

2. Are these cells likely to be 'standard' 1.2v cells? no voltage ref
is visible.

here's hoping....
-B.

probably will work if the batteries are replaced. The charger doesn't
deliver enough current to drive the motor is my guess why that didn't
work.

On Nov 11, 3:09 pm, PeterD wrote:
On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:30:45 -0800, b
wrote:





This is a handheld shaver , typeGRUNDIG BETA G8234
I would say late 80s vintage, a relative dug it out recently after
about 8 years' nonuse and found it wasn't working.

I plugged it in and the charge light comes on, but the unit would not
react in 'on' mode, even with the mains lead connected. Having opened
it up, the two NiCad cells have deteriorated. I have two questions:

1. is this likely to be JUST a matter of changing the cells? if so,
why did the thing not work off the mains? Is it normal in certain
shavers for the power not to be connected to the motor in any way, but
the motor to be wired via the charging circuit ?

2. Are these cells likely to be 'standard' 1.2v cells? no voltage ref
is visible.

here's hoping....
-B.

probably will work if the batteries are replaced. The charger doesn't
deliver enough current to drive the motor is my guess why that didn't
work.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Agreed, the charging current has 24 hours to charge the batteries for
a 5-minute shave, so figure out the current ratios. New nicad cells
should solve the problem.

"b" wrote in message
ups.com...
This is a handheld shaver , typeGRUNDIG BETA G8234
I would say late 80s vintage, a relative dug it out recently after
about 8 years' nonuse and found it wasn't working.

I plugged it in and the charge light comes on, but the unit would not
react in 'on' mode, even with the mains lead connected. Having opened
it up, the two NiCad cells have deteriorated. I have two questions:

1. is this likely to be JUST a matter of changing the cells? if so,
why did the thing not work off the mains? Is it normal in certain
shavers for the power not to be connected to the motor in any way, but
the motor to be wired via the charging circuit ?

Yes. If a cell is shorted, the power supply won't be able to deliver full
voltage to the motor with the cell in place. The power supply is designed
to survive this, since it's a common failure mode, but it won't work until
the cells are changed and at least partly charged up.

2. Are these cells likely to be 'standard' 1.2v cells? no voltage ref
is visible.

Yes.

(I'm speaking on the basis of experience with Norelco (Philips) shavers.)

You might consider replacing the cells with NiMH cells. They'll take longer
to charge, but they'll run longer.

thanks very much for the responses. will replace those cells. they
have spot welded contacts for pcb mounting so normal AA won't work.
will look into NiMh cells - but price is a major factor, as the guy
doesn't want to spend more than the bare mimimum on an old device like
this!

-B

"b" wrote in message
oups.com...

thanks very much for the responses. will replace those cells. they
have spot welded contacts for pcb mounting so normal AA won't work.
will look into NiMh cells - but price is a major factor, as the guy
doesn't want to spend more than the bare mimimum on an old device like
this!

-B

Measure them carefully before committing, as sometimes, the cells in shavers
are not *quite* the standard size that they *appear* to be ...

Arfa

Arfa Daily wrote:
"b" wrote in message
oups.com...

thanks very much for the responses. will replace those cells. they
have spot welded contacts for pcb mounting so normal AA won't work.
will look into NiMh cells - but price is a major factor, as the guy
doesn't want to spend more than the bare mimimum on an old device like
this!

-B

Measure them carefully before committing, as sometimes, the cells in shavers
are not *quite* the standard size that they *appear* to be ...

Arfa

good point Arfa, thanks.

-B