Cordless Norelco shaver

[Hondaman]

Hello,

I've had a Norelco 7xxx series rechargeable shaver for about 6 years now. The instructions tell me to dispose of the NiCd batteries properly at the end of the product's life, and tell me how to take the unit apart to get them out.

It still works great -- and I plan to keep it as long as it keeps running. So how long will the batteries last? Would there be any problems switching to NiMH at some point? Would NiMH batteries overload the "wall-wart" charger? Any benefits to switching to NiMH?

(My 18-volt Makita cordless rechargeable drill is about the same age, and it won't run for more than a few minutes with a full charge -- far, far less than when it was new. So whether NiCd or NiMH, all rechargeables wear out at some point.)

Thanks in advance!

[Eagle2a]

Re: Cordless Norelco shaver

I would stay with NiCds. NiMH batteries are not capable of the high currents that NiCds can supply. There's no way to predict how long they'll last. It depends on the quality of the cells and how they're treated. Definitely don't overcharge them and try to run them full cycle as much as you can. There are several websites I've found on rebuilding battery packs for power tools, etc. Generally only one (or just a couple) of cells in a battery pack fail, causing the entire pack to fail. You can replace them after disassembling the pack and testing individual cells to determine which ones are bad. I've rebuilt smaller battery packs with good success and wouldn't hesitate to rebuild the larger packs for my power tools when they eventually fail.