NiCd Battery Pack Revival

[AXE]

Anybody ever try this (see link) with a battery pack for an electic drill or comapible pack?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Revi...with-a-Welder/

I might fire up the Miller and try it, I am tired of paying $60 for new packs. I figure the worst that could happen is burning the house down, maybe losing an eye or face.

Out!

[GMP]

I've done that, but with a less extreme method. I did a lot of shipwreck diving and used very powerful NiCad lights with expensive battery packs. What usually happens is only one or two cells at a time fail from going into a deep discharge and staying there, usually from the pack being stored discharged. You can find and access the individual cells with a DVM, and hit them with 12v from a car battery. If you cannot access the individual cells though, like in the Makita drill packs, give it a shot, it should work. In my experience though, this is only a somewhat temporary fix.

[dirkwrong]

Originally Posted by AXE

Anybody ever try this (see link) with a battery pack for an electic drill or comapible pack?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Revi...with-a-Welder/

I might fire up the Miller and try it, I am tired of paying $60 for new packs. I figure the worst that could happen is burning the house down, maybe losing an eye or face.

Out!

I"m confused. Do you apply DC voltage of the opposite polarity to the battery, or the same polarity? He went through it so fast in the video that I couldn't tell.

[AXE]

Well, I finally zapped my DeWalt, 12V NiCd battery pack with my welder without any drama. I arced it five quick blips for good measure. I used a couple of alligator clips on the battery leads to make the leads more accessible to the welder ground and wire feed tip.

Overall, I would say there is about 60-80% increase in performance in the battery. Prior to this, it would only work for a couple of minutes at a time and would not hold a charge overnight. Now after several 15 second runs and a couple of days it is still showing 12+V on my DVM. Prior to the zapping it would show 13+V after charging, but would quickly drop off to 10-11V with little use.

I haven't really used it hard core, so the jury is still out, but it is sure worth a try if you have some laying around.

Out!

[m900]

Originally Posted by dirkwright

I"m confused. Do you apply DC voltage of the opposite polarity to the battery, or the same polarity? He went through it so fast in the video that I couldn't tell.

step 4;

step 4 Zap the Hell Out of the Frickin' Battery!!
The title says it all.
Tap the positive end of your welder to the "plus" terminal of your battery
while holding the negative end to the battery's "minus" terminal.

You should see some sparks and nothing should get welded to anything.
No welding please. If you get killed by a poisonous explosion it means you did something wrong.
It should feel like something good is happening.