Anyone here ever hear or try this? Supposedly, you can bring back any dead NICAD battery using some method that folks offer to sell… Seems too good to be true. Was wondering though…
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I don't know the answer, but it's kinda weird that you're asking this question right now.
Just this afternoon, I came across a website that claims to show you how to reclaim your batteries. I quickly read through the main points and was somewhat curious. I thought to myself "I'll have to do a search at BT to see if this has ever come up". 5 to 1 it's snake oil, but I'd like to hear from someone who actually paid for the info.
http://resurrection.uniquedynamics.com/
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Like Dan said, you can sometimes revive a nicad battery by applying a high current for a few seconds. I've done it myself, but it is kind of a tricky thing to do and not necessarily very safe. It also requires a variable current power supply that most people don't have sitting around the house.
Anything that seems to good to be true, IS. However, I recently "resurected" a Paslode battery simply by following the manufacturers instructions. The battery (about 2 yrs old) ceased to take a full charge so I stuck it in the gun and completely drained it by running the fan. Put the battery back on the charger, and left it until the green light said fully charged (about 30 min). Fully discharged the battery again, the charged it again. Used it yesterday and got a full day out of it, seems like it's as good as new. Apparently, this is a common method to recondition NICAD batteries. Sometimes though they just die.
The charge/discharge method works with all types of batteries to a degree, though it's important to never discharge LiIon batteries to dead flat (generally their internal circuitry will prevent this anyway). The reason for it working differs between the different technologies, but it's not that great mythological Satan "battery memory".
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With all the confusion about the big three types of batts, Nicad,nimh, and Lion, it'll be a real education exp. to teach folks how to treat the nano from DW and that same tech is what GM is putting in cars. There is/are some similarities to the other L-ions, but also some differences , so I hear.
And if L-ion doesn't perform well in cold temps, and heat kills batts, how are we ever supposed to drive?Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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Occasionally you can resurrect a dead nicad by running a high charge or discharge current through the bad cell. You need to open up the battery and do the treatment on just one cell, however, or you'll almost certainly blow the internal fuse.
And don't ever try it on a LiIon (though it might work on a NiMH) since the LiIon is almost guaranteed to catch fire or explode.
One added note on NiCd.
The blowing open of dendrites works well using just a car battery on a sub-C cell. Just barely touch the terminal for one quick spark and the dendrite is gone and the cell works again - for awhile<G>.
The problem with the method is that where there is one dendrite that grew across the plates there are others waiting. Typically a 'saved' cell will quickly grow another dentrite in a few weeks, and the proceedure needs to be repeated. As cheap as I am and as often as I used that proceedure in the past, I now find it more expedient to buy the 18V batt packs for $7 from HF and just replace all cells in a pack when any one cell goes bad. Have had good luck rebuilding DW packs with the Chinese subC cells in the HF packs. Dont solder directly to the cell though, save part of the spot welded tab as a solder tab.
Re: LiIon is almost guaranteed to catch fire or explode
Will disagree on the 'almost guaranteed' part of that statement, should be "MAY" or "can". 100% agree though that it is very foolhardy to try to overcharge a Li-ion unless you know what you are doing and know you will at least destroy the cell electrically.
I've purposely tried to blow a number of different type Li-ion batteries, from Dell laptop batteries to cell phone and digital camera battery packs to large hi-tech cells.
You need a sustained high current overcharge at high temp (or a nail penetration) to guarantee a fire or explosion. I am well aware of the 'burn down the building' large LI fires in '92 at EP in Joplin and at SP in Tucson this year as I have visited both plants. I also knew eng. who died when a very large Li-thional-chloride battery expolded in the 80's (just to not generate fear, be assured those 6 cubic foot missile silo batteries were not at all like the Li-ion in tools)
Try what RedfordHenry suggested first. As a last resort try slamming the battery hard against a wood surface. Not hard enough to break the case, but enough to upset the mud inside the cells. It has worked for me a couple of times. They will take more of a charge after being smacked around.
It works great for milking the last bit of juice from non-rechargables too.
P. T. Barnum sold me one of those books on eBay. Their "trick" is to take a higher voltage battery, ie 14.4 or 18 to "resurect" a 12v. and flash the dead one, like jump starting a car, +to+ and-to-. It says to do something like 4 flashes per second. I hads bought daughter a Craftsman 12v "industrial" drill and both batteries kept showint "soft start" and not charging.
I tried it on one and by golly it charged and got a green light in a little while. The other one did not take. This set looks like a Milwaukee one to me and I think their soft start is sort of like the method described above. I would be leery of hooking up a much higher voltage for more than a very brief time.
Back in the camera days there used to be a trick where you used a capacitor and blasted a battery to rejuvenate it. I did revive a few AA cells.
You can have them rebuilt by http://www.voltmanbatteries.com/