Power tools are very useful. However, if they start showing signs of failing, that can be a frustrating situation especially if you need to use them. You may immediately think about buying new batteries for your power tools, but that can be quite expensive. You might as well buy a new tool.
It is a good thing that there is still a way to fix your power tool battery which won’t require you to spend so much as compared to buying new units. In this article, let us show you the steps on how to recondition power tool batteries.
The steps we will be sharing with you about how to recondition the battery of your power tool is quite easy really.
However, we would still advise that you proceed with caution as you will be handling power tools. Be careful in following the steps we will teach to avoid any accidents. When you are ready, let’s begin by understanding what type of battery is commonly used for power tools.
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What Type of Battery is Used in Power Tools?
Most power tools use rechargeable nickel cadmium or NiCad batteries. With this type of battery, you can use them and recharge them many times before they begin to fail. If you have this kind of battery and you think it has failed completely, don’t throw them away yet. There might still be a way to recondition it, so you don’t have to buy new ones.
Benefits of Reconditioning Batteries
Reconditioning power tool batteries is not only for dead batteries. You should actually recondition your batteries once a month so that they can maintain optimal performance. It is also important to recondition them when they are not in use so that the batteries won’t go into deep discharge.
This process of reviving a power tool battery is quite an easy project that you can do by yourself. By the end of this article, you will know and understand how to do the steps for the procedure, and you can confidently recondition the battery of your power tool.
What You Need for Reconditioning
The things you will need for this process are the NiCad battery, a power outlet, and a battery charger. When you have already prepared these things, you can start the process of reconditioning your battery. And here is where you can also read an article about how to revive NiCad battery we have written!
Steps to Revive the Battery
Use the power tool until such time that the battery has been discharged completely. If you have a drill for example, just let it run until it doesn’t turn anymore. You have to be sure though that the drill doesn’t drill into anything when you are doing this.
When the battery has been discharged completely, connect the power tool battery to the charger which is plugged into the power outlet. Allow it to charge until it is full. When the battery has been charged, run it again so you can see the capacity of the battery.
If the performance has improved, then the reconditioning process is a success. However, if the performance is the same, you may have to do the reconditioning process for a couple more times.
Maintaining the Battery’s Performance
Once the performance has improved, you can do the process again after one month. Remember to do it only once a month because the discharging and recharging can strain the battery and can damage it completely.
Check the status of your power tool battery month by month. If it continues to deteriorate, you can assume that the battery has already exceeded its limit in terms of its lifespan and you may have to start looking for a new battery for your power tools.
Some Things to Remember
This process of refurbishing is just one of the many ways to revive an old power tool battery. You can also check the manual of your power tool or battery as it may have information about the best way to restore it.
Remember to check the casing of the battery to see if there are any cracks or damage. If it has, it is best to dispose of it and purchase a new battery. With this new battery, you now know how to better take care of it through reconditioning.
Before you do anything else, check the battery if there are any leaks, cracks, or damages. If there are, don’t attempt to fix it. Simply dispose of it according to the environmental laws of your city or state. Tweaking a damaged battery can result in an accident, and we want to avoid that as much as possible when handling our power tools and batteries.
Next Step
We hope that by now, you are more confident about reconditioning the battery of your power tool. The step we have shared with you is quite an easy process. Of course, there are other methods on how to recondition a power tool battery that is much more difficult and complicated.
Always proceed with caution. Be careful in handling your power tools, batteries, and everything that is included in the process of rejuvenating batteries.
If you have any questions about the power tools, types of batteries, and other reconditioning methods that you want to learn about, don’t hesitate to send us an email. We’d be glad to share more of what we know with you!
