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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Freezing batteries

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Dan in Ore

02-17-2008 08:19:59




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I have heard several times that if you have a rechargable battery that won't hold a charge and you freeze it then it will work again.

I have a Ryobi cordless tool set and one of the batteries will not take a charge.

Will freezing help any or not.




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guido

02-18-2008 13:18:50




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
Hello Dan
You did not say if the batteries are nicads.
Each cell voltage is 1.2 volts. * batteries 9.6volts A 12volt system will have 10 batteries.If one cell is open, /or bad you will not be able to charge them.
What voltage do the batteries have now?
You can try discharging them with a 1157 bulb untill the voltage is as close to zero as possible after you take the bulb off. You may have to repeat the process. But you there is any life left they will charge up.
Guido.

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larry in tn

02-18-2008 06:59:24




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
Freezing batteries dates back to the old zinc carbon cell"s. Freezing them would increase their shelf life considerably.
Heat on the other hand is hard on all batteries that I have worked with. My first use of nicads was with radio control model airplanes. The fast charger wasn"t around so the batteries lasted until common sense dictated changing them out.
With the advent of all manner of rechargeable throw away household electric tools, no one paid much attention to battery life. However, when tradesmen started using high powered/priced rechargeable tools, battery life/performance started to once again matter. Fast charging, over time, will ruin a good battery pack. Whenever possible charge at the slow rate(C-10/C20) which causes little or no heat in the pack.
Don"t leave your battery packs locked inside a hot truck cab. I have an Igloo cooler that holds five 12 volt packs with 6 small reusable freezer packs. I figure I increased the battery life at least threefold versus letting the packs cook in the heat of the truck cab.
Battery repair is possible in some packs and darn near impossible in others.
If you can repair, don"t mix nicads and NMH types. Buy replacement batteries that have solder tabs. The best inter-connecting conductor I"ve found is the flat copper desoldering "wick" sold at Radio Shack.

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1936

02-17-2008 21:17:50




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
Freeze a discharged battery and see which side pops out first. Found one under my hood one morning at about zero drgrees.



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circus

02-17-2008 18:23:12




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
There are ways but place it under a bucket, buried under sand bags with you out of the room.



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farmer boy

02-17-2008 17:52:14




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
Can you put epsom salt in a lead acid tractor battery and drop them? Thought I heard that would help but could be wrong.?



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KEB1

02-17-2008 08:41:54




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
There are lots of old wives tales floating around about reviving rechargeable batteries. I've never heard of freezing them.

None of the so-called "repair" techniques can make the battery new again. Might help for a little while, but in the end you'll have to replace the bad cell (or cells) anyway. Best bet is to either buy replacement cells and rebuild it yourself or send it to one of these places that rebuilds rechargeable batteries with new cells. One advantage of putting in new cells is that newer technologies have a lot higher energy density and you may be able to increase the capacity of the battery pack.

Keith

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eli fish

02-17-2008 08:41:14




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Dan in Ore, 02-17-2008 08:19:59  
I would say it's worth a try considering it's junk anyway if it won't take a charge. Although I've never heard anything about freezing a battery helping anything. I hope it does work.



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Jon Hagen

02-17-2008 10:01:45




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to eli fish, 02-17-2008 08:41:14  
I stored a shorted Ni Cad radio battery in an unheated shed for two years where winter temps hit -20 or colder. after reading about that freezing will sometimes break the "wiskers" that are causing the short, I retrived it and popped it in the charger. Yes it would hold a charge again, worked until the wiskers regrew and shorted it again. Have also heard of freezing, then slamming the battery down on a soft wood surface with a little less force than what will break the plastic case will temporarily fix shorted cells. Have also heard of hitting the battery with a momentary high current spike will burn away the wiskers shorting old cells.

I agree on rebuilding an old battery pak with modern cells. For about 1/2 price of a new battery, you end up with newer battery technology for much better performance than when the several years old battery was new.

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ldj

02-17-2008 11:04:59




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to Jon Hagen, 02-17-2008 10:01:45  
I tried the freezing and it didn't work. Did it again and slammed them down, still didn't work.



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Bob

02-17-2008 11:23:43




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 Re: Freezing batteries in reply to ldj, 02-17-2008 11:04:59  
Zap 'em with a capacitor, just for fun! GOGGLE "zap nicads" to MORE ways to try.



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