Reconditioning an aged battery is
quite easy. Reviving or rejuvenating a battery, which to all
intents and purposes is dead, can be successful up to 70% of the
time. Obviously you need to learn how to recondition and
rejuvenate a battery, but with the right instructions it doesn't
take very long. And the great thing is you don't have to spend a
fortune on testing and repair equipment.
Battery Reconditioning Is Cheap
Battery reconditioning will
normally cost you a few cents of electricity per unit,
frequently nothing at all. Apart from saving money on batteries
you use yourself (which can amount to certainly hundreds if not
thousands of dollars), battery reconditioning is actually a good
small business opportunity. Some people do it just part-time and
turn a very tidy profit. Supposedly dead batteries are thrown
away, so even if you can only rejuvenate one in three, you are
making good money for free, and with a minimum of effort.
Do It As a Business, If You
Want, Full-Time or Part-Time
Should you decide to make money
(rather than just saving) from battery reconditioning and
rejuvenation, it is really just a matter of finding sources
and/or spreading the news. You can find good sources of defunct
batteries, revive or overhaul them, and sell them for a good sum
on ebay, to your local garage, auto parts dealer or the like.
(By the way, you will always be able to offload seemingly 'dead'
batteries from garages and mechanics for free or for very
little.) Option two is to find customers - you will probably
need to advertise - and fix their batteries for them for a
service price. Or do both!
Cordless Power Everywhere /
Batteries Need Fixing
So many appliances are cordless
nowadays there is no end of business for a battery doctor. Cell
phones, Blackberries, iPods, laptops, power tools, fork lifts,
golf carts, and so on, all rely on cordless power. Then you have
automotive, motorcycle, marine and motorized wheelchair
batteries. And new batteries are expensive; take a look at your
local store or online. Often the battery is the most expensive
part of a power tool. (In the not too distant future it is
likely that hybrid cars will become a mass product. Think about
it.)
Recovery Success Rates
Some batteries really are
beyond recovery. Lithium batteries are notorious for being
non-correctable if left too long without attention. Once they
reach a certain point there really is no return, so it depends
on whether you catch them quick enough. Other batteries have a
much higher success rate for rejuvenation and reconditioning.
Nickel based and lead acid batteries are usually winners.
Costs
A professional battery
reconditioning guide will set you back around $45. They are
available for download via the net. On top of that you should
anticipate an outlay of about $150 for a computer controlled
battery analyzer. You can make do without, and just use a
voltmeter, if all you want to do is mend one or two batteries of
your own batteries from time to time. More than that, and you
really will have to consider investing in an analyzer.
Customers
The International Battery
Federation estimates three quarters of batteries are
unnecessarily thrown away. Offering a battery doctor service
will never see you short of customers, even if it is just
family, friends and friends-of-friends. The word will spread
quickly. One of the great things about battery reconditioning is
that you can analyze precisely how much of the battery's
original charge you have restored and pass that information on
to the customer. So it is never the case of: 'Might be alright.
Give it a try and see how it goes.' Customers find it very
impressive when you can tell them exactly what you have managed
to achieve, like: 'Back to 95% of full capacity.'
Of course, you may just want to
save money reconditioning your own domestic batteries.
Forty or fifty dollars for a manual will be money well spent.
