I know everyone has this problem with rechargeable tool battery's Can they be rebuilt ? Will they last ? Or should I replace with new ? Thanks in advance
They can be rebuilt,some battery specialty stores can do it.a couple of things i learned are dont leave them in the charger, and let them run down before charging. Deucemanab
If you really insist, you can buy the ni-cad or whatever batteries that are in the case, and solder tabs on the end to connect them. This would be a pain in the ***. Also, opening up the cases that hold the batteries is difficult and they don't go back together well either. I'm thinking get the best internet deal you can and buy 'em!
here's one place that does it. I haven't tried them, I bought a lithium battery drill last year and gave the old nicd one to my kid. http://www.fixmybatteries.com/
I've been through this and this is what I've found, if you can get a proper DC power source (twice the voltage of the battery and several amps), you can "zap" them, by hitting them with double the battery voltage for a couple of seconds. The batteries start to go bad when cadmium "spikes" start to build up through the insulation in the cells and shorts the batteries. "Zapping" them can sometimes "burn out" these spikes, bringing the batteries back to life. I was lucky enough to get a heavy duty AC variable power supply from a friend a few years ago. The simple addition of a rectifier from Radio Shack, and I had a variable DC power supply. In practice, this method brings back about half of the batteries I've used it on. Some come all the way back, and others enough to make them usable for short periods. I have taken apart some of the batteries that wouldn't come back, and quite frankly, you can usually see the bad cells (leaking, etc.) and fixing the battery by obtaining and installing new cells looks like it would be more trouble than it would be worth. Plus, the cells not replaced would probably go bad soon after, so I never attempted replacement. BTW, from what I've seen, "used" batteries (on e*ay, etc.), are usually bad batteries brought back this way and aren't worth the time and effort.
Try your local Batteries Plus. I do not know if all the stores provide that service, but I tried it out about three years ago with my Makita and have been completely satisfied to date.
The method tubman was refering to can be done with a welder. Search youtube on this subject, there are plenty of instructional videos.
Had issues with my old Coleman 18V set. They went bad real early, so I found 18V batteries at flea market for $10 each. Took both old and new battery cases apart, and swapped the cells. Only thing I had to do was to swap red and black wires to the contacts. Put the cover back on and charged up. Pretty reasonable, considering the oddity of the Coleman battery cases and contacts.
To rebuild your NiCD (Nickel Cadmium) batteries you will need to buy sub-C batteries on either Amazon or Ebay or from a battery store. Get the sub-c's with tabs. This will cut your soldering in half. Get a soldering gun or quality iron with electronics grade solder (no plumbing solder). Dissa semble the case. Some use screws, some are glued, some are sonic welded. The glued and welded are a pain, use a thin blade hand saw, carefully cut it open around the perimeter. (CAUTION as you can ruin the case & need a new case too) Arrange your new bateries in the same physical configuration as the old battery pack. Use rubber bands to keep things in together. Follow the power flow from positive to negative & carefully solder your tabs in place. Test charge the batteries before your re***emble. If you have a glued or welded case, you can use RTV to rejoin the parts of the case. I have done 12 V & 18 V batteries. It's not rocket science but you must get the batteries to fit together the same as original or the case will not close. Depending on the cost of the sub-C batteries & your value of your spare time, you may just want to buy a replacement battery.
I have a Batteries Plus near me, they did my makita batteries a few years ago. They work better than the originals. I use the hell out of my makita drill, I'm pretty pleased.
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