New life for old battery

[matt]

Hi all.

I'm sure there was a thread on this a long time ago, but darned if I can find it.

The battery in my mobile phone is starting to hold much less charge.

I was reading that there's a process involving putting it in the freezer to increase its capacity.

Can anyone remember the process or point me in the right direction for some extra reading?

Cheers:)

[Ric]

Hi Matt, I have read that as well.
Apparently you discharge it until it's flat as a tack then wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a few days. It gets rid of the memory lock that causes the battery to only partially charge.
It does work but after a few weeks the memory lock seems to return again so I dont think it's effective as a long term solution.

Cheers

[vindictive666]

Ive Just Stuck my cordless Phones batteries in the freezer overnight

and they seem to be working ok, ive allso read from other forums its supposed bring them back, but they didnt say for how long :)

[matt]

Thanks guys.

Much appreciated

[snowyskiesau]

According to the manufacturers, putting batteries in the freezer will have no effect - other than to make them cold. A charged battery may retain it's charge for longer at lower temperatures but it won't have any effect on the battery life.

[mojo]

Interesting if it's true. I thought that was something from the days of Nicads?

There's one for Mythbusters :)

[xstream]

I was under the impression the newer Lithium batteries don't retain a memory, so it doesn't matter if the battery is partially charged or fully discharged before recharging.

[h0ughy]

MYthbusted.......:rofl: :shrug:

[Ric]

My mobile is a Nokia 1610 which is a NiCad battery. They were the first of the digitals and the size of half a house brick :lol: , but it still works fine.:thumbsup:

Cheers

[Dujon]

NiCd batteries can indeed be rejuvenated, though I've not heard of the 'night in a freezer' solution. In many instances the decline in NiCd performance is due to the creation of dendrites within each cell of the battery. These can be burned off by a very short burst of over-voltage and high current. Dendrites, in effect, produce a leakage current path which precludes a battery pack from charging to its normal capacity.

I have used this method with good results. In my case I have used a 30 volt transformer with a three ampere (peak) capacity. The batteries treated in this manner varied from 4.8 volts to 9.6 volts (i.e. four to eight cells). The idea is to connect either the negative or positive of the transformer/power supply to its mate on the battery. The other pole of the transformer is then 'flashed' across the other battery terminal. I usually 'flash' two or three times with a few seconds between each.

You might see a spark as you flick the free wire across the battery terminal - but if you do not don't worry. Whatever you do, don't hold the two connections on together.

It is not guaranteed to work (after all a dead battery is a dead battery) but it certainly does so more often that it does not.

Oh yes: Don't do this with an SLA battery.