Battery pack rebuild?

I

iwannadie

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Gilbert, Az
I have an older Skil 14.4 volt cordless drill that I bought several years ago and it has been rarely used. It is a nice drill(wasn't a total cheapy), the two battery packs it came with just won't hold a charge now.

I was talking with someone and they said to just have them rebuilt that they are nothing fancy, just normal batteries inside a pack.

Has anyone had any luck sending batteries off to be rebuilt? I saw this site actually show the rebuilding process and it is not something I would want to try(no spot welder and would rather not risk using solder). I'm not even sure the type of batteries that are in the packs, I'm guessing nicad.

At this point I would like to revive the old drill to have around but the cost of new packs just isn't worth it. Rebuilding the packs is tempting me however. Someone also said to ask around the local RC crowd that someone would likely rebuild them on the cheap locally.
 
You could go to Batteries+,but that would probably cost as much as factory packs.
 
Open the pack to be sure they are Sub-C cells and either NiCd or NiMh, then pick up some comparable loose cells from one of the battery sites and solder up a new pack. As long as you have a decent soldering iron (40w+) you shouldn't have any issues.
 
tommyr said:
Like Destroyer said, but instead buy some Harbor Freight battery packs & cannibalize them.
Click to expand...

this would certainly be a cheap option, but if you want them to last you should buy some quality nicads to replace them with. I think Sanyo is about the only top tier manufacturer left in the NiCad game. Ebay, straight from hong kong, it will take 3 weeks, but it's the cheapest way to get the Sanyo batteries. Otherwise about the only place to find them is a hobby shop, or Tower Hobbies, but the prices are grossly inflated.
 
87manche said:
this would certainly be a cheap option, but if you want them to last you should buy some quality nicads to replace them with. I think Sanyo is about the only top tier manufacturer left in the NiCad game. Ebay, straight from hong kong, it will take 3 weeks, but it's the cheapest way to get the Sanyo batteries. Otherwise about the only place to find them is a hobby shop, or Tower Hobbies, but the prices are grossly inflated.
Click to expand...

I refuse to step foot into harbor freight so they are not going to be used ha. I have recently got a bunch of sanyo nihm AA's I herd they are the best out there. I will consider doing one battery myself and see how it goes. I guess solder should hold up just fine I don't throw or bang around my batteries at all.
 
batteries with tabs will make it easier for the first timer. Just try not to get the cell too hot wit hthe iron. they're pretty tolerant, but if you see/hear the cell vent while you're soldering on it then it's ruined.

Personally I do bateries without tabs, and instead of using wires replace that with some thin brass stock, it's much more rigid and easier to deal with than wires when you're working with such short lengths between batteries. Flux is your friend, and about the only way you'll get things to stick to the nickel/whatever plating on the batteries.
 
It helps a ton to scuff the areas to be soldered. When building RC packs, I always hit the battery bars and cell ends with the Dremel first. Then clean the areas with brake cleaner before pretining (thin solder bed) those areas. Then lay the bars down and lay the iron on top melting the two solder beds together quickly so not too much heat is left on the cell for too long.

40W + is right. And I never had any luck with soldering guns either!
 
AdamGriffiths said:
It helps a ton to scuff the areas to be soldered. When building RC packs, I always hit the battery bars and cell ends with the Dremel first. Then clean the areas with brake cleaner before pretining (thin solder bed) those areas. Then lay the bars down and lay the iron on top melting the two solder beds together quickly so not too much heat is left on the cell for too long.

40W + is right. And I never had any luck with soldering guns either!
Click to expand...
couldn't have said it better.

Also pre-tin the metal strips or wires you are using and it will be very easy to solder everything together. Hold it where you want it, hit it with the iron, release, done.

I've done this with my 50W Weller iron (WES-51) with no problems.
 
It is not hard to do yourself at all. Just keep the original pack soldered together and use it as a pattern on how to arrange the cells that you are using. I would take the opportunity to get some better cells while you are at it, there is a HUGE variety out there. NiMH or NiCad work on the same charger, but my NiMh replacements require a second round on the quick charger sometimes. It is amazing the power and stamina increase they offer though.
 
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