Zap and revive old NiCad batteries with a mig welder

Zap and revive old NiCad batteries with a mig welder

Nicad batteries often die in such a way that they won't take a charge and have zero voltage. This usually means they're shorted out by crystal dendrite growth. Here's a method of bringing them back to life by zapping those shorted crystal dendrites away with too much current and/or voltage. We'll use a welder as a power source. You could also use a car battery, a DC powersupply, or almost anything with some voltage. Charged-up capacitors are popular for this because you can get a very fast pulse out of them and still limit the power. it's a lot safer that way.

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Creator's Site: www.instructables.com
Curated By: bird crick

Comments

+1
jaxxxx 5/5/09 6:52 PM
I did this with a 24volt battery starter, could not believe it bough my 18v battery's back to life, I was going to put then in the dumpster, drill and all because I sure was not paying $80 pluse for 2 new battery's,,,,can't thank you enough!!!
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