Shocking Dead Batteries to Life at DVinfo.net

Mike Cavanaugh · May 17th, 2005, 01:16 PM

I have a BP945 that will no longer take a charge. I have heard that there is a trick that can sometimes revive the dead cells. Anything sound familiar to you guys or am I stuck with buying another battery?

K. Forman · May 17th, 2005, 01:45 PM

Don't think of it as being "stuck buying a new battery". Think of it as "having the opportunity to upgrade".

Spike Spiegel · May 18th, 2005, 08:42 AM

I think on a chemistry level, if your battery is dying from old age, its from the deposits of some chemicals accumulating at the anodes; in which case, nothing you can do about it, time for a replacement..

George Ellis · May 18th, 2005, 11:02 AM

If it was a Lithium Ion battery (which it is), I would not be very comfortable trying any sort of unregulated charging. They hate to be charged incorrectly in a nasty, property destroying way.

Ha! Typing this and Aloha Joe on internet radio is talking about the case of the cell phone that went through the washing machine (it exploded and burned), he has a song for it...

Boyd Ostroff · May 18th, 2005, 11:29 AM

AFAIK, the idea of "zapping" dead batteries relates to NiCad's and not LiOn or NiMH. My father, who was an engineer, liked to tinker with this sort of thing years ago. He had a huge capacitor the size of a coffee can which he charged up, connected to a battery, and then.... ZAP!. He said it worked in many cases. I can't remember the details, but I think the issue was one of internal shorts in the NiCad cells and zapping them vaporized the material which caused them.

Regardless, it was pretty scary, and I know the batteries had the potential to explode. So the bottom line is that I don't think this is something the average person should mess around with. If you need to ask how to do it on the internet then it ain't for you! ;-)

Ron Johnson · May 18th, 2005, 02:54 PM

Those Canon LiON batteries have circuitry boards inside (one of mine dropped, case broke - battery no more working). So, the idea of shocking it sounds like it would only hasten its ultimate demise.

rj

Mike Cavanaugh · May 18th, 2005, 08:48 PM

One more battery for the recycling can! Was in NYC today on business. Stopped at B&H (right near the train station - gotta love it!) and bought a replacement!

Glad I asked - Thanks all!

Mike Teutsch · May 18th, 2005, 08:58 PM

If I got anywhere near B&H I would be walking for the rest of my life!

Eric Stemen · May 21st, 2005, 12:42 PM

for nicd battaries check this out.

http://coldc.com/batthelp.html#cads

Dana Bergerstock · May 21st, 2005, 07:43 PM

Found a link for real cheap replacement batteries http://www.power101.com
the batteries usually have more AH than the ones that come with your equipment....but beware these batteries have a tendency to heat up...more power more heat....some say it can be bad for digital cameras...I use 2 bp-511's in my canons and they work just fine....would be curious to what others have to say on this topic.....Thanx Dana

Gints Klimanis · September 28th, 2005, 11:57 PM

For NiMH and NiCD, there are some battery chargers (LaCrosse BC-900) which will repeatedly drain and recharge batteries until their maximum capacity is reached. Apparently, for NiMH, you have to cycle them 3-4 times before they reach full capacity. Though, that has not been my experience with Energizer, Sanyo and PowerEx AA's NiMH batteries.

May 17th, 2005, 01:16 PM	#1
Mike Cavanaugh Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Albany NY Posts: 311	Shocking Dead Batteries to Life I have a BP945 that will no longer take a charge. I have heard that there is a trick that can sometimes revive the dead cells. Anything sound familiar to you guys or am I stuck with buying another battery?

May 17th, 2005, 01:45 PM	#2
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Don't think of it as being "stuck buying a new battery". Think of it as "having the opportunity to upgrade". __________________ www.SmokeWagonLeather.us

May 18th, 2005, 02:54 PM	#6
Ron Johnson Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 103	Those Canon LiON batteries have circuitry boards inside (one of mine dropped, case broke - battery no more working). So, the idea of shocking it sounds like it would only hasten its ultimate demise. rj __________________ Ron Johnson Portland, OR

May 18th, 2005, 08:58 PM	#8
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	Train! If I got anywhere near B&H I would be walking for the rest of my life!

May 21st, 2005, 07:43 PM	#10
Dana Bergerstock New Boot Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Marietta,New York Posts: 5	takes the shock out of your pocket !! Found a link for real cheap replacement batteries http://www.power101.com the batteries usually have more AH than the ones that come with your equipment....but beware these batteries have a tendency to heat up...more power more heat....some say it can be bad for digital cameras...I use 2 bp-511's in my canons and they work just fine....would be curious to what others have to say on this topic.....Thanx Dana

May 18th, 2005, 08:42 AM	#3
Spike Spiegel Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 429	I think on a chemistry level, if your battery is dying from old age, its from the deposits of some chemicals accumulating at the anodes; in which case, nothing you can do about it, time for a replacement..

May 18th, 2005, 11:02 AM	#4
George Ellis Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Suwanee, GA Posts: 1,241	If it was a Lithium Ion battery (which it is), I would not be very comfortable trying any sort of unregulated charging. They hate to be charged incorrectly in a nasty, property destroying way. Ha! Typing this and Aloha Joe on internet radio is talking about the case of the cell phone that went through the washing machine (it exploded and burned), he has a song for it...

May 18th, 2005, 11:29 AM	#5
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	AFAIK, the idea of "zapping" dead batteries relates to NiCad's and not LiOn or NiMH. My father, who was an engineer, liked to tinker with this sort of thing years ago. He had a huge capacitor the size of a coffee can which he charged up, connected to a battery, and then.... ZAP!. He said it worked in many cases. I can't remember the details, but I think the issue was one of internal shorts in the NiCad cells and zapping them vaporized the material which caused them. Regardless, it was pretty scary, and I know the batteries had the potential to explode. So the bottom line is that I don't think this is something the average person should mess around with. If you need to ask how to do it on the internet then it ain't for you! ;-)

May 18th, 2005, 08:48 PM	#7
Mike Cavanaugh Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Albany NY Posts: 311	One more battery for the recycling can! Was in NYC today on business. Stopped at B&H (right near the train station - gotta love it!) and bought a replacement! Glad I asked - Thanks all!

May 21st, 2005, 12:42 PM	#9
Eric Stemen Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 378	for nicd battaries check this out. http://coldc.com/batthelp.html#cads

September 28th, 2005, 11:57 PM	#11
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	For NiMH and NiCD, there are some battery chargers (LaCrosse BC-900) which will repeatedly drain and recharge batteries until their maximum capacity is reached. Apparently, for NiMH, you have to cycle them 3-4 times before they reach full capacity. Though, that has not been my experience with Energizer, Sanyo and PowerEx AA's NiMH batteries.