Battery cell source

[luddite]

I've been intending to replace the cells in some of my dead batteries but until now I haven't found a cheap source... today I was at the local dollar store and found some cordless phone batteries that have 3 AA cells for a buck a piece... at that price I can afford to experiment.

 

[defor]

most cordless phone batteries are NiCad, just don't mix them up with NiMh or Lithium

any data on the batteries or are they generic unlabled and unmarked?

 

[luddite]

most cordless phone batteries are NiCad, just don't mix them up with NiMh or Lithium
any data on the batteries or are they generic unlabled and unmarked?

NiCad, 3.6v (so 3 x 1.2v, I assume), 600mAH... the Duo battery I cracked open has 10 cells, so that would be 12v... well, I might give it a try this weekend. What's the worst that could happen? I mean apart from setting my house on fire...

 

[tomlee59]

The Duo batteries are NiMH. They are similar to NiCds, except for the way they behave near full charge. A NiCd's voltage just maxes out as you keep charging it. A NiMH's voltage actually peaks, then droops. Charging logic is tailored to the chemistry, so if you change chemistries, you can run into some trouble. In this case, you'll run the risk of grossly overcharging NiCds if you use it in place of the NiMHs that the charging logic probably assumes, because it may continue to charge while it waits for a voltage dip that never shows up.