Zap Ni-Cd Batteries with a Welder

[slobzs]

This trick saved me $80 in new batteries for my Ryobi. Used my car battery charger set to boost(100 amp).

[moviematcanada]

All I can say is thank you so much for this video, I was just about to buy 3 new batteries for my 18v Makita and the best deal I could find on the net was about $192. If I was in the same town as you I would buy you a beer right now!. I went to the garage got out my battery charger set it to boast, zap the 3 batteries and bang 2 worked again from stone dead they didn't even need to charge. The 3rd one shows it has power but is dead in the drill, further investigation needed on that one

[iakgia]

is it possible to be done with an ARC welding machine..??

[OhNoNotMyPenis]

would this work for all drill batterys my 15.6v battery is pretty weak on power even after a full charge

[MrKilo2000]

Yup it works, did 8 dead batteries 7 are fine one has no continuity, so saved 7 of 8. That was a month ago and all 7 still work. This is pretty cool.

[HavokOnePointZero]

dude....im gonna raise the dead with this technique!!!!!

[natealb]

This has to be done with dc out put. A car battery is dc so that should work. If you run off alternator make sure your on the right side of the regulator/rectifier or you will F$@k things up. In other words USE THE CAR BATTERY, NOT THE CAR CHARGING SYSTEM!!!

[Mcg974]

Hello! I am passionate hobby ever since. I did a lot of experience. But you're a madman ... :-) I love. Salut! Je suis passioner de modelisme depuis toujour. J'ai fait beaucoup d'experience. Mais toi tu es un fou furieux... :-) j'adore.

[dickson37055]

Can't recommend what antigen is saying. Get it wrong and you could fry your alternator.

[bigclivedotcom]

Old NiCd batteries often grow internal conductive whiskers inside that gradually short out the cell and stop it taking or holding a charge. What you're probably doing there is blowing those whiskers clear.

[ducklandwikeno]

I rebuilt my Milwaukee 18v cordless drill Batteries with my old milwaukee 12v batteries I got from ebay over 15 batteries . I zaped The old dead cells with a 18v batterie . It worked out fine it charged up fine . The batteries are the same sub-c cell nicad batteries .

[tusnturn]

the welder has an AC out put or a DC output

[TheError404]

Will this work with lead acid 7Ah 12v batery?????

[frank0067]

what if i dont have a welder like that.. what can i use around the house

[algy3289]

When zapping a battery it will reduce its battery life. But just give it a sudden boost for a short while.

If you do a full discarge it is good to reduce all cells to 0.0v by shorting all cells with resistors. This basicaly gets all cell voltages down and stops other cells overcharging and discharging. If the cells have different voltages then it can imbalance the cells,

[paradigmfox]

Will this work with an AC 120 Volt Arc Welder?

[thanxx]

Will this work with my grannys hearing aid battery??

the deaf twats been doing my head in lately with her 'what' what' what'

[TFMTraining]

OK so we all dont have an Arc welder laying around. What other methods will work? Can I use a Car battery? Can I use a Car Battery Charger? Should it be set to the 50 amp boost?

I cant think of anything else that will produce a DC high voltage zap. Can you?

[edua22]

Do you know how to do this on a diehard 19.2 volt battery?

[IMPERIALILLUMINAT]

Thanks Man you are genious.

Best regardas.

[matttorian]

Badass man, you just saved me from buying a new makita, i have that same exacta makita, used it everyday for 9 years at work. Just did this exact same thing with a battery charger on high, went from 9.3 bolts to 8.3 volts to 11.2 volts, now works like a champion. We'll see how long she lasts!! thanks dude, people are trying to sell this info on ebay, im like wtf is reconditioning a nicad?? beauty of youtube

[aleon1018]

I recall having seen some additive on the market for rejuvenating cell grounded? etc. car batteries. I also have doubts this would last long. It would make a good program for Mythbusters if they haven't already. ;D

I've heard proper battery maintenance such as completely discharging a battery first helps, but who does that?

I've heard it's cheaper to just buy a new drill or same model/batteries than buy the battery. Planned obsolescence. :(

Waiting for free energy technology as usual.

[dewalt23293]

this actually works i had a dewalt 14.4 that held a charge for 5 minutes i zapped them at 150 ah and it worked!!!!!!!! thanks man you saved me 100$

[krazeddrummer]

Just makes me laugh... you didn't "knock out the memory" by zapping it. LOL. You have to actually cycle it a few times to totally knock out the memory. I love people who think this gives them a new battery... sorry but like jumping a car battery IT DOES NOT! You have salvation build up on the plates, you zapping it just doesn't make it go away. This is just a quick temp which after a few more days of usage will end up dying again.

MYTH. Please, don't be stupid & think this really works.

[jomarcavalcanti]

I just did with my car charger and reversed the polarity first to zap it up.. droped the voltage reall good them put it to charge on it.. for a few minutes and them on the original charger for my 24 v bat and it's just like new, .... lol cool stuff.

[bigjim10011]

Hi, I have a 9.6 v makita and I read that I could do the same thing with a 12v car battery. Do you think I should do a reverse zap then a regular zap like you did with the welder? Or does using a car battery make it dangerous for the battery to use reverse polarity? Great video!

[sklarm]

Good question about reverse or not on a car battery. I honestly don't know and would be curious to hear your results. I say go for it and be careful.

[1Rowdy1derful]

@sklarm The welder is crazy and increases the danger of or likelyhood of blowing it tremendously and you should wear a face shield. I prefer a good DC power supply, constant current regulation and you can push the cells one cell at a time (the only accurate way and yes disassembly). individual cell rejuv run the voltage up slowly to see where the current runs will tell you the condition of the battery overall. then increase current until battery is getting warm. -continued-

[sourdough2674]

it works to jump start, I have done it at 3 amps from a 300 amp machine. I don't know about the longevity of it.......

[antigen4]

@bigjim10011 you don't use the car battery... use the cables going TO the battery from the alternator - that's what charges the battery... the gnd cable is your gnd and the cable that goes to the POS on the battery is your pos.

[antigen4]

@bigjim10011 you don't use the car battery... use the cables going TO the battery from the alternator - that's what charges the battery... the gnd cable is your gnd and the cable that goes to the POS on the battery is your pos. and make sure you have the engine running or there will be zero juice...

[turbo50mike]

Will this work with Ni-Mh batteries?

[sklarm]

No, just Ni-CD.

[meade9166]

@sklarm why will it work only with n-cd batteries?

[lukkyjay]

Does it matter what type of welder you use? I'm looking at getting one.

[sklarm]

I'm using a small MIG welder. I believe other types work such as ARC based. Any welder putting out 26-40 VDC would be a good candidate.

Don't buy a welder just for this. There are other ways to repair batteries.

[lendoggtheking]

is there no danger of detonating the battery?

[sklarm]

I wouldn't say "no danger". Just that it has not happened to me (yet).

[jojuma91]

I will try this in my Ryobi 18 v. battery tomorrow morning , I 'll let you know guys whats the result later

[sklarm]

A desulfator does a similar sort of zapping.

A charger that can pull the load down then trickle charge (like .1A) would also work.

A resistor can be used to pull the load down.

[33siae]

is there something else I could use if I dont have a welder ???

[Spiros321]

IS IT WORKING?

[sklarm]

yep, the batteries are still working well. I've been doing this trick for almost two years on my old power tools.

[panzarw]

for how long will it last ?

and this method works for any volt battery i mean the NiCd's ?

[sklarm]

It lasts for quite a well if you start using the batteries again. NiCD is a extremely robust battery chemistry. These things are good for 1000's of cycles and can handle extreme temperatures. Any typical battery voltage for Ni-CD power tools will work. I've done from 9.6V - 18V+

[fishernate450r]

This is Awesome! Just tried it on an old 18v battery that would not charge and was reading 10.73v. After zapping it the battery read 17.54v. Then after recharging it the battery had 19.78v and seems to work great. Thanks!!!

[sklarm]

Great. I've had excellent results as well. You will need to regularly charge/discharge that battery to keep it in good working order. Occasional zapping if left neglected again.

[Vintabilly]

Neat. :)

Great information.

[groovetubez]

okay this may be a stupid question but would this work on a car battery as well?

[sklarm]

I would not use this on lead-acid chemistries. Car batteries have long slow charge times. If you want to fix car batteries use a desulfator which sounds 50V pulses and with very low current. There are many commercial products or you can make your own.

[AquaponicDave]

This is frickin' COOL if it really lasts. I have several batteries that I am going to try this on, what the heck, they're dead anyway. I'm glad I didn't toss them!

Where did you learn to do this?

[pabbananna]

very interesting. perhaps you are shoking it with such a high current that the internal crystals redissolve? Treating batteries with high voltage does cure this as i recall but it is temporary. I guess you arent out anything.

I would be concerned about rapid outgassing building up internal pressures at a rate greater than the valves can release though. I dont claim to be a battery expert but I wouldnt try this without at least goggles on.

[sklarm]

I am under the same impression as you that high voltage DC with plenty of amps will breakup the crystals inside the battery cells. These crystals should not form again until the voltage falls below a certain level. Probably 9.8V for a 9.6V battery.

I've found that zapping will last for years assuming you have a regular usage and charging of the batteries.