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How long can a nicad last

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Old 3rd Jul 2010, 15:59
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How long can a nicad last

Without air?,got a bit of kit powered by a nicad battery pack that has been sitting in a cupboard for five or six years without charging,twas reasonably new when put away,got the charger on it now but it is not showing much sign of life after three hours,do they die if unloved for so long?
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Old 3rd Jul 2010, 16:42
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Nickel-cadmium battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Especially the paragraph on "Dendritic shorting"
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Old 3rd Jul 2010, 17:02
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Thanks for the link Mr Mixture, looks like it is probably buggad then,will leave it on charge overnight and take a look again in the morning.
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Old 3rd Jul 2010, 23:43
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The effective service life of NiCads could be a large and complex complex topic. If you are working only with a single cell or two, it's probably best to replace it/them with new ones which will probably have a greater service capacity as a secondary benefit.

More likely than not you will be offered Nickel Metal Hydride cells as replacements for single cells anyway, and for most purposes they are an effective transplant where NiCads were in previous use. NiMh cells do have a faster self discharge rate when idle than their older cousins, although there are versions around now which claim to have overcome this problem. Low self-discharge NiMH battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have stretched out the life of NiCads to 8 or more years by various devious practices which I would not recommend for OH and S reasons . Some respond favourably to this treatment, whilst others clearly have had enough and need to be retired.

If you are using a pack of NiCad cells rather than individuals, a replacement or a repack is probably the only option.

Finally, in some applications, NiCads are still a better service option but it depends on their intended application.

As I said earlier, potentially a long and complex topic

Regards,
FoR
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Old 4th Jul 2010, 02:46
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I've been very happy with the Sanyo Eneloops: got the 20-cell charger with 100-cell storage unit, use the things in absolutey everything. The near-absence of self-discharge means they last ages in kit.
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Old 4th Jul 2010, 08:01
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If they are individual cells (ie AA, D,C etc) the you may be able to rig a device to short them out if the voltage is below 1V per cell . leave them sit for a while, then try rercharging. It may take some time to get the to charge up again. when (if??) they do charge, discharge again by using a 1 Ohm resistor and short out again. repeat a few times and they may come good. It works most times for A/C batteries.

Or method 2:- Dispose of in a responsible manner and buy new ones....

Knowing you tho Tony (FSL Sir) you will have the resistors n stuff in the shed and will give the recovery a go..
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