Cordless Power Tool Batteries and other batteries that contain Nickel Cadmium (N iCd) Cells can be Re-Conditioned

to perform as well as new or even better than new. Proper maint enance after the procedure will insure years of usable life. The First and most common procedure for Re-Conditioning a NiCd cell is by using a Technique called "VOLTAGE SURGING". Over time the crystals within a NiCd cell begin to co mbine and get larger. This causes them to loose capacitance and also break through the inner seals of the cell. Surging the NiCd cell using a higher voltage causes the crystals within the NiCd cell to shatter and become smaller. These smaller crystals have a greater surface area and therefor e contain a greater capacitance for energy. Crystals primarily grow larger during "OVER CHARGING". Over Charging is the enemy of a NiCd Cells so Remember to leave your batteries on the charger for only the minimum charging time OR LESS! This is usually an hour or less for Rapid Charge rs or 2 to 4 hrs for standard chargers. It is also best to only charge your batteries immediatel y before you use them. Storing your batteries with a full charge encourages crystal growth. Storing y our batteries on a low charge , but not dead, is best. To keep crystal growth under control, you must also perform the surge process below once every 3 months to keep you NiCd battery at its peak. F ollow these maintenance techniques to insure years of dependable use. The "VOLTAGE SURGING" Technique below may be repeated until the battery holds a dependable charge but wait at least 15 minutes between "SURGING" to allow for the vapors wi thin the cell to cool. Surging the battery without waiting will result in the cell EXPLODING! Mo st batteries will only require one or two "VOLTAGE SURGES" but extremely damaged cells may take up to 2 0 surges. For batteries up to 9.6 volts you will want to run two wires from a good 12 volt battery, such as a car battery or two 6 volt lantern batteries run in series. use like size cells and n ot a combination. Clamp the ground wire from the car battery to the negative side of the tool battery. Small alligator clamps work good for this application. The positive terminal on the tool battery is us ually golden in color and the negative is usually silver in color. Use a voltage meter to be sure. O ne end of the positive wire should be rigidly attached to the car battery and the other end of the posi tive wire should be stripped at the end. Then simply tap the stripped end of the positive wire agai nst the positive terminal on the tool battery for about 10 seconds tapping rapidly at a rate of 2 to 3 times per second. See charts below for exact recommended "SURGE TIME" for your battery pack size and your specific power source voltage. Check the voltage of the tool battery with a volt

age tester and if it does not give a voltage equal to or slightly higher than the tool batteries rate d voltage, then repeat these steps for a few more seconds until it does (waiting 15 minutes between sur ges). See Fig. A. For batteries of 9.7 volts to 19.9 volts you will need at least 24 volts. Four 6 volt lantern batteries run in series also works. It is also possible to use other tool batteries wired together in series as a power source, but if you are using two 18 volt tool batteries in series you will generate 36 volts and 10 seconds will be to long. Shorten re-conditioning process to 6 or 7 seconds. You can also use 2-18 volt tool batteries in series for re-conditioning 24 volt tool batteries. Using other DC power sources such as welders and battery chargers can also be used for the "VOLTAGE S URGING" but small transformers won't work because they don't deliver enough amps. Use lamp cord thickness wire or larger and always use safety goggles! STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS 1.) Using a voltage tester, determine the polarity of your battery (pos. & neg.) 2.) Use Tables E, F & G to determine the "Surge Time" for your particular battery size and power source. 3.) 'TapZap' your battery for the suggested time and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Then place on charger for 15 minutes. It may work again. 4.) After a short charging let the battery sit. After sitting 1hour check the voltage to see if it is slowly draining. A slow drain will indicate a short. 5.) If battery fails to charge, or hold a charge then repeat steps 3 & 4. This process can be repeated up to 25 times. The previous Re-Conditioning method will work 90% of the time but occasionally a battery will still not retain its rated voltage. For those of you who are mechanically inclined, there is another option. Remove the battery cell cluster as shown in Fig. C. Test each individual cell f or voltage with a voltage tester. If an individual cell fails to register at least one volt, that particu lar cell will need to be Re-Conditioned. There may be a fibrous insulator on top and/or bottom of the cells that will need to be drilled to reach the individual cells, but do not drill into the battery c ells themselves! NOTE: Each cell will have to be tested for Polarity (+ or -), the cells are rot ated so the positive end of the cell on some will be facing up and others will be facing down. Once you locate the bad cell(s) use a 12 volt car battery to Re-Condition the individual cell by holding

the Negative wire to the Negative side of the cell and then hold the Positive wire to the Positive side o f the cell for 2 to 3 seconds, but no longer. Repeat this process for each cell that doesn't register at least on volt. This process will work on 18v and 24v batteries as well as lower voltages becaus e the individual cells are the same. Another Method for Re-conditioning NiCd cells that is still in development is th e Freeze Technique. We are finding that some batteries that do not respond to the surging technique respond to the Freeze Technique. This is a simple procedure. All you have to do is freeze your batte ry pack in the freezer for 1 hour and then rapidly tap the bottom of the battery pack with something like t he but end of a screwdriver for about a minute. The freezing of the internal crystals makes the m more fragile and the vibration physically breaks them apart. This is hard on the cells and should on ly be performed after the surge process has failed. After you have tapped on the battery pack immedia tely place the battery back in your tool and turn it on. It won't work much because the pack is still frozen but putting a load on the battery in this condition will encourage the internal crystal structure t o break apart, which is good! Single cell batteries like A,AA,B,C and D batteries have been shown to re spond well to this technique using a hammer and giving the butt end of the battery a good solid hit , but not too hard as to break the battery housing. If you attempt to surge your batteries 20 times and then freeze your battery 5 t imes and you are still not getting your battery to charge then you are either performing the process improp erly or your batteries are just too far gone. One of the most common reasons for failure is improper p olarity surging. If you surge the battery backwards this process will not work.