Batteries are one of the most ubiquitous storage devices in our world. They are used for everything from your cell phone to your laptop to desktops. A battery can last for hours or even days on a charge!
Most people do not realize that batteries can break down over time. This can cause trouble, such as insufficient power for devices to function properly. There are steps you can take to prevent this from happening, however.
There are two main ways to recondition your batteries. The first is through the use of a powerful battery pack recharger. These work by allowing you to connect and disconnect power from your batteries via a charger.
The second is through the use of a battery analyzer. These work by analyzing the capacity, thickness, and composition of your batteries.
Contents:
Check the voltage of the battery
When changing a battery at home, it is important to check the voltage of the battery. Most batteries come with a sticker that indicates the voltage.
When replacing a battery, make sure the sticker is up and down button is functioning properly. If not, then it must be lowered into a positive and negative condition to make it work.
To make sure the button is functioning properly, try to push and hold one side of the button for a few seconds and release. If that works, then let’s go!
Some old-fashioned batteries do not have a way to regulate their voltage. This can be problematic if you want to use a higher charge rate on your device than have to use low charge rates for.
If your battery does not have a way to regulate its voltage, you can checked with a trickle charger or by using an older device that has this feature.
If the battery is dry, put some salt on it
After a storm, look up to see if there was any rainfall on the battery. If so, it absorbed some of the water from the storm. If not, then add some more.
If you do this at night before you go to sleep, it can help create a natural charge in the battery next morning.
Try doing this every few months to keep your battery healthy. If you are not going to be using your appliance for a while, let the battery sit in a container of salt overnight to prevent any moisture from escaping during storage.
Mix up some water and salt
This is the most important step in how to put an old battery in a new battery situation. As mentioned before, some batteries cannot be re-conditioned. These include Baft and Li-Ion batteries.
Bafts are not designed to be put into a new housing without being re-processed. Since Bafts are long lasting and durable, they usually require a process of freezing and then heating up the battery before putting it in the charger.
Li-Ion batteries can not be put into a heated container for storage or processing. Li- Ion requires a completely different method of processing and storage to prevent damage to the cell.
Put the battery in the mixture
Most people understand the difference between a human-created mix and a neutral environment, but what does each have an impact on?
The human-created environment contains almost all of the same chemicals that are found in batteries, so as the mixture is added, it decreases the amount of positive and negative charges in the battery.
This decreases the probability that a cell will re-charge itself and store an electric charge. This is not good when you want to use your battery for an extended period of time!
The neutral environment does not have any human-made components, only affecting whether or not a cell will re-charge itself after being charged. The only question is whether or not you want to add new charged cells to your mixture or if you need to make new mixes.
Let it sit for 1-2 days
When working with batterys, it is important to let them sit until they are completely dried out. This allows the metal within the battery to harden and settle down, and allows you to disassemble and reassemble the battery later on.
This process can be done in several different ways, but the best way is by using a heat source. A hair dryer or heating pad can be used on low heat for this. You can also use a stove top oven or even a crock pot!
By leaving the battery sit until this time, you will have more control over how hot the temperature washenthe battery will have cooled down enough to stick together.
Check the voltage again
When working with rechargeable batteries, it is best to check the voltage again. Many times, battery manufacturers do not put a standard setting for voltage in their instructions, so you have to know how many volts the battery has.
Parallel-to-voltage convertors are a way to check the voltage on the battery. These are soldering stations that can convert any charge source into a standard charge level. Using this tool, make sure that the converter has the correct level of power for the size of battery you are working with.
Usually, less than half of the charge left when checking voltage is due to memory (or residual electricity from previous charges) and thus does not need to be wasted!
Lastly, try changing your light settings and see if they change anything about what bulb or charger you are using. If they do not, it was probably because of this happened.
Rinse and repeat until charged
Once your device is charged, you can start working on it! Using a drill bit or similar tool, you can actually router a hole in the top of your device to insert a rechargeable battery.
This allows you to do some periodic charging and cleaning, which is the main function of this process. You can also use a soldering iron to connect two separate chargeable batteries together, which gives you more power.
This process may sound complicated, intimidating, and even scary at first, but it is very educational and fun. After doing this for a few days, your kids will never ask you what you did for the day because they will want to do it! It’s such an invigorating way to work on things and get something back into your life quickly.
Test the battery with a charger
When charging a battery for the first time, make sure to have a nearby charger that can handle the battery. Some people have had success using their own charger, but then again, you could save money by having one from the start!
Some people have had success using specialized chargers to recondition batteries. These chargers are available online or in stores and are very cost effective.
If you want to try this at home, you can do it right away! You will need some sort of container to put your new battery in, as well as a source of power.