For many years an EE in our group used to do this when we had a failed battery but we ordered a back-up ASAP because the dendritic formation that had been 'zapped' was an indication of more bad things to come. - Dave R
An on-line reference follows: http://www.batterieswholesale.com/faq_nicad.htm Q: I've seen people talk about zapping cells to revive them A: Yup -- a quick fix it. When cells short due to dendrites, the piece of material that is actually shorting the cell is very thin. So, by forcing a huge impulse of current into the cell, one can vaporize the dendrite -- sort of blowing a fuse. This works, and can revive an otherwise shorted cell. However, it is a stopgap measure at best. First, the fact that one dendrite has formed means that another is not too far behind. Second, the material that was vaporized has now permeated the separator material, forming a resistor that shorts the plates. The cell may no longer be shorted, but will still have a poor charge retention. Besides, unless done properly, this can be dangerous as large currents are necessary. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
