Expert Rebuilds NiCad Batteries
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“Like most guys with battery-powered tools, I had a bunch of NiCad batteries go bad, and I got tired of sales people telling me I should throw the old ones away and buy new ones,” says retired Michigan insurance man Steve Fredricks. “I decided to see if I could rebuild them myself, so I took a few of my batteries apart, figured out by trial and error which cells were bad, repaired them, and they worked fine. I worked on a few others for friends and before I knew it, I had a business going.”
Now Fredricks, his son Luke, and 2 employees rebuild about 200 to 300 NiCad batteries a month for customers all over the country. Their rebuilding fee is about half what new batteries cost and better yet, their rebuilt products typically last about 40 percent longer than the originals.
“The reason our rebuilt ones last longer is that we put in all new cells, not just replace a bad one or two. We also put in new contacts and a new thermister - that tiny radial bead thermostat protection device that lets a battery sit in a charger without melting down,” says Fredricks
When he started rebuilding batteries he was doing the work himself with one impulse welding machine. Now he has two welders and buys high quality supplies from a battery rebuilding company. “I was retired from insurance and figured if I could do 20 units a month I could cover my costs and make some money. Today the business has grown beyond my expectations.”
Fredricks says a lot of their customers are farmers and handymen who know there’s value in rebuilding something, especially if it makes the product as good or better than new, and they’re very happy to pay for that service. Great Lakes works on any brand of batteries from 3 to 24 volts, and everything in between. They sell aftermarket lithium batteries, but don’t rebuild them because they’re still patent protected. Fredricks says NiCad users should expect to get 300 to 500 charges from a battery if they care for it properly. “Never put a hot battery in a cold charger, and pull the battery from the charger as soon as it’s done charging,” he says. “Don’t throw the battery on a hard surface or drop it.”
The company charges $35 to rebuild a 1 to 12-volt battery, $45 for a 13 to 18-volt and $50 for a 19.2-volt. Fredricks says they typically send back rebuilt batteries within a week and include an invoice with the returned products. “You might say we’re old fashioned,” says Fredricks, “but that’s the way I started the business, because people trusted me to do the work and I trusted them to pay. We’ll take credit cards, but then we charge a fee to cover our transaction costs.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Great Lakes Batteries, 2901 W. Sass Road, Manistee, Mich. 49660.
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Expert Rebuilds NiCad Batteries FARM SHOP Miscellaneous “Like most guys with battery-powered tools I had a bunch of NiCad batteries go bad and I got tired of sales people telling me I should throw the old ones away and buy new ones ” says retired Michigan insurance man Steve Fredricks “I decided to see if I could rebuild them myself so I took a few of my batteries apart figured out by trial and error which cells were bad repaired them and they worked fine I worked on a few others for friends and before I knew it I had a business going ” Now Fredricks his son Luke and 2 employees rebuild about 200 to 300 NiCad batteries a month for customers all over the country Their rebuilding fee is about half what new batteries cost and better yet their rebuilt products typically last about 40 percent longer than the originals “The reason our rebuilt ones last longer is that we put in all new cells not just replace a bad one or two We also put in new contacts and a new thermister - that tiny radial bead thermostat protection device that lets a battery sit in a charger without melting down ” says Fredricks When he started rebuilding batteries he was doing the work himself with one impulse welding machine Now he has two welders and buys high quality supplies from a battery rebuilding company “I was retired from insurance and figured if I could do 20 units a month I could cover my costs and make some money Today the business has grown beyond my expectations ” Fredricks says a lot of their customers are farmers and handymen who know there’s value in rebuilding something especially if it makes the product as good or better than new and they’re very happy to pay for that service Great Lakes works on any brand of batteries from 3 to 24 volts and everything in between They sell aftermarket lithium batteries but don’t rebuild them because they’re still patent protected Fredricks says NiCad users should expect to get 300 to 500 charges from a battery if they care for it properly “Never put a hot battery in a cold charger and pull the battery from the charger as soon as it’s done charging ” he says “Don’t throw the battery on a hard surface or drop it ” The company charges $35 to rebuild a 1 to 12-volt battery $45 for a 13 to 18-volt and $50 for a 19 2-volt Fredricks says they typically send back rebuilt batteries within a week and include an invoice with the returned products “You might say we’re old fashioned ” says Fredricks “but that’s the way I started the business because people trusted me to do the work and I trusted them to pay We’ll take credit cards but then we charge a fee to cover our transaction costs ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Great Lakes Batteries 2901 W Sass Road Manistee Mich 49660
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