Introduction

Nickel-Cadmium batteries can save much time and money when they are used to replace other
non-chargeable dry batteries. They must however, be treated in a suitable manner or they could
become useless within just a few weeks. I have had many people come to me with their Camcorder
and handheld radio batteries totally ruined because they do not know how to take care of them. In
this article I will show you how to treat NiCad batteries so that you can use them for many
hundreds of charge cycles. I will also show you some techniques to revive dead NiCad batteries. I
will first present a little information about dry-batteries. I will only discuss the type AA battery
size when giving figures so that you can make a meaningful comparison between the different
types

Safety
All normal batteries have an electrolyte between plates and this stuff is quite dangerous. A battery
cell with a broken case must be thrown away for the sake of safety. On Deptember the 20th 1990,
the US Environment Protection Agency introduced a regulation that classified spent batteries as
"Hazardous Waste" under the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act". This means that you
can get into serious shit if you just dump them. Here in Sweden most battery retailers and
supermarkets have containers for disposing of spent batteries. Many other counteries have similar
systems, please use them!

Having got that over with, let us proceed with something we can do

Comparisons
Different batteries have different discharge properties and this can an impact upon the type you
choose for your equipment. In general, it is the terminal voltage, capacity and operating
temperature range that will affect your choice

The old Zinc-Carbon batteries have a nominal 1.5 volt from each cell but this dwindles rapidly as
the cell is used. Many devices may suffer a loss of performance due to this effect. Should your
equipment be designed for 12-volt (13.8-volt) operation then only nine cells are needed. Many
commercial pieces of equipment (eg. Trio 2200 transciever) have battery receptacles for ten cells.
One of the cell positions must be fitted with a dummy cell to allow operation from nine cells.
Typical capacity = 500mA/Hour.

Alkaline cells also deliver a nominal 1.5-volt per cell but the output is more constant during the
cells life. There will be still be a gradual reduction in performance but two or three times the
capacity of the Zinc-Carbon batteries. Again, should your equipment be designed for 12-volt
(13.8-volt) operation then only nine cells are needed and one of the cell positions must again be
fitted with a dummy cell to allow only nine cells to be fitted. Typical capacity = 1200mA/Hour.

Nickel-Cadmium batteries only have a 1.25-volt output per cell but this is somewhat more constant
than Zinc-Carbon and Alkaline cells. Ten cells would be needed to make up a 12-volt (13.8-volt)
battery pack. Typical capacity = 500mA/Hour.

Zinc-Carbon Batteries
They are cheap. The electrolyte used to leak but today they are usually much better protected. If
they should leak then they will corrode all the copper in your equipment. the corrosion will travel
down wires and eat its way through Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). At high temperatures (25
degrees or more) Zinc-Carbon batteries will give up to 25% more capacity but the shelf-life will
deteriorate very rapidly. Around freezing point their shelf-life can be extended by as much as
300% so one tip is to store them in the refrigerator.

Unfortunately they must be thrown away when they are exhausted. You can extend their life by up
to 60% by using "Dirty-DC" to recharge them but this will also reduce the shelf-life.

Rx = (24 - 15 - 0.7) / (3 x 0.035) = 79 ohms

Ry = (24 - 15) / (2 x 0.035) = 128

Ry should be about 1.5 x greater than Rx. The resistors are determined by the charging current you
want. With the circuit shown and size AA cells in a pack of ten cells, the battery voltage will be 15
volts. Discharge the battery to no less than 25%. To replace 350mA/H back into the battery over
10 hours we need to charge at 35mA.

You can also cook exhausted battery cells in the oven. About 80 degrees centigrade for five to ten
minutes, no more or they may explode. This technique was demonstrated on UK TV in the series
"Steptoe & Son" (här i Sverige i "Albert och Herbert"). I do not reccomend that you should try to
sell the cells again as new batteries!

Alkaline Cells
I have been told that the Dirty-DC method also works for them but I have never tried it. Alkaline
cells will more readily explode than Zinc-Carbon cells so it is both pointless and risky. Cooking
them in the oven does work though! Alkaline batteries will deliver more current which makes them
a potential hazzard if shorted. When you next travel by air, notice how they make you semove
batteries from the safety of your shaver and put them in your pocket with your metallic keys and
money.
Unfortunately Alkaline cells are rather expensive so it is much more cost effective to consider
NiCad cells.

NiCad Construction

The rest of this article is dedicated to NiCad batteries. NiCads are composed of an anode (positive
terminal), a cathode (negative terminal) with two layers of porous separator material impregnated
with electrolyte. This is then rolled up in much the same way as an electrolytic capacitor.

The terminal of the plates are then welded to the outer case (negative) and a top-cap (positive
terminal).

Charging NiCads
NiCad batteries should be charged at the 0.1C rate where C is the total capacity of the battery. For
example, a 500mA/Hour battery will deliver 500mA current for one hour at 20 degrees centigrade.
It should therefore be charged at 0.1 x 500 = 50mA. It should also be charged for 10 hours plus
40% = 14 hours. THIS ONLY APPLIES to a cell that has been fully dis-charged.

NiCad batteries are best charged at a constant current rate. The above is such a circuit. Rx is used
to set the current through the battery and is calculated as R = 0.7 / Amperes. For 50mA this
becomes 0.7 / 0.05 = 14 ohms (14R). Ry will depend upon the transformer you use. With an 18-
volt transformer as shown and a "POWER ON" LED in series with Ry, then it should be about
3K9

NiCads should be charged at 20 degrees Centigrade room temperature. If they are too cold or
warm then they will only hold a smaller percentage of the charge given. If you have just dragged
them in from the cold then allow them to warm up naturally for a couple of hours before charging.

Overcharging NiCads
This is what most people do. In the 60's an electric shaver manufacturer introduced a brand new
shaver that was stored in a charger when not in use. The batteries were constantly charged twenty
three hours and fifty minutes a day (assuming one needed the other ten minutes to shave). So what
really happened to the poor old batteries? They got hot and they failed quickly. This company did
for cordless shavers what king Herod did for child welfare!

As a charge current is applied to a battery the current is stored. But as the charge progresses the
batteries begin to store less and less energy and dissipate more and more heat. If this situation is
allowed to continue then crystals will grow between the plates, the cells become short-circuit,
sometimes cells bulge and even leak, occasionally they will explode. It is because of this waste of
energy that cells have to be charged for about 40% more than their total capacity (C). If a battery is
charged at 0.1C then the battery will not dissipate so much heat and can be fully charged.

Some batteries are advertised and sold as "quick-charge" or "fast-charge" batteries. The same rules
apply, a long gentle charge is far better than a short stressful (and hot) fast charge. Quick-charge
batteries may last a little longer when charged fast, but be nice to them whenever possible and they
will last longer.

Discharging NiCads
Before you charge a cell it should ALWAYS be discharged. Each cell should be charged to about
1.00-volt to 1.05-volts. Since the terminal voltage of the cell is reasonably constant then it could be
discharged with a simple resistor and then you sit and watch the terminal voltage until it falls to
one volt per cell. If you have not got so much time to spare then you can make a simple discharger
for battery packs. Here is an example of such a unit.

Assuming we are using a 12-volt battery pack. The 250 ohm resistor is the load resistor and in this
case is designed to draw about 45mA from the battery. The LED takes the other 5mA. The LED
will illuminate as long as the load is burning power from the battery.

When the battery voltage falls to 1-volt per cell (10 cells = 10-volts) then the zener diode will not
allow sufficient voltage to turn ON the darlington pair. In practice, the LED will slowly begin to
dim a little before it goes out completely. Again, a slow discharge is far better than a fast
discharge. Measuring this discharge time is also an indication of the true capacity of the battery
NiCads will also discharge themselves, with time. In general, a normal NiCad battery will
discharge itself at about 2% per day. So don't expect to charge a battery after use and expect it to
be ready for your field-day six weeks later. Always discharge then recharge again before use. A
self discharged battery may be allowed to drop to zero volts per cell without damage.

NiCad Capacity
Today there are AA sized cells that are so-called "high capacity". They function in exactly the
same way but perhaps have a larger surface area with thinner materials inside the can. The same
rules apply as for the ordinary NiCad batteries. You could charge them with a higher current or
charge them at the same current for a proportionately longer time. NiCad batteries also change
their capacity to deliver power with temperature. They also change their charge capacity with
temperature as shown below.

The charge and discharge graphs are very similar and they will compound each other. It is for this
reason that NiCads are first brought to room temperature (assuming you are not an alien) of about
20 degrees Centigrade.

A battery with a rated 500mA/Hour capacity may not in reality store the 500mA/Hour, it all
depends upon how you use it. If you discharge the battery at 50mA then you may realise
580mA/Hour capacity or more. If however you discharge it at 500mA then you may only see only
450mA/Hour.

Memory Effect
Most people have heard of the "Memory Effect". This is where a NiCad battery has been
repeatedly "topped-Up" after only a partial discharge, usually by those who have never heard of
"the memory effect"!. What happens is that the battery can only be used for the part of the capacity
that has been exercised. In many cases the memory effect is blamed for failure when the real cause
is gross overcharging. Fully discharging to 1.0-volt per cell before charging again will prevent this
from happening. If you should have a battery that genuinely suffers from the memory effect then a
few FULL charge/discharge cycles should remedy this.

Reviving Dead NiCad cells

In some cases a NiCad cell can go down completely, but the chances of a full revival are quite
good. I use two techniques together to bring dead batteries (short-circuit) back to life.
 Give the cell ONE good "thwack" with a hammer, square on the bottom. Be very carefull
not to hit it so hard that it causes a dent. Make sure that you hit it square on the bottom with
the flat part of the hammer.

Charge the cell for 1/4 second at 20 times the rated capacity (10 amperes for a
500mA/Hour AA type cell). Wait a minute for it to cool down then repeat until the battery
voltage comes up to 1.25-volts. Give up after about 10 - 15 attempts have failed.

Conductive crystals build up between the battery plates and these make the cell a total short-
circuit. These two techniques can shatter these crystals so the rest of the cell will function again. A
cell may develop these metalic crystals on overcharging when the plates are stripped of coating
and fine conductive hairs or crystals grow between the plates.

If a cell is found to be open-circuit then the chances of revival are much lower. The application of
a small current (10mA limit) at 30-volts or more may often cause the cell to begin to draw current
again. Allow this to continue until the battery voltage has fallen to under 2-volts, then charge in the
normal way. Cycle charge/discharge two or three times, checking the capacity at each discharge. It
should be seen that the capacity increases with each charge/discharge cycle.

Battery Packs Using NiCads

This can be a real minefield. It seems that battery packs for many household items, such as
cordless drills, handheld radios and Camcorders are nicely sealed so that you cannot get into them
without breaking them open. Not only that but they are so damn expensive to replace. But I
suppose it is good business for companies such as Alinco, Icom, Sony and Philips.

The basic problem with battery packs is that all the cells are not 100% identical. If one cell then
becomes discharged before the others and you continue the discharge, then the cell that has given
up first will be reverse charged by the good cells. This reverse current charging can cause weaker
battery cells to become totally dead. With a little patience it is possible to neatly smash apart most
battery pack cases to gain access to the individual cells. Replacement cell must have the same
capacity (or more) than the others remaining cells in the pack. The memory effect has the positive
effect of equalising cell capacities during normal use. Do not forget that a new replacement cell
should also have the same state of charge as those remaining in the battery pack.

The Future ??
The future or rechargeable batteries could prove to be rather exciting. The general population want
pocket telephones and other equipment that will operate for days with only one charge. The
general public also try to "top-up" batteries or overcharge "... till thy kingdom come ...". Nickel
Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries could be a solution. When I have learned more about them I will
update this article.