Reconditioning an old battery is quite easy. Reactivating or rejuvenating a battery, which for all intents and purposes is depleted, can be successful up to 70% of the time. Obviously you have to learn how to recondition and rejuvenate a battery, but with the right instructions it doesn’t take long. And best of all, you don’t have to spend a fortune testing and repairing equipment.

Battery reconditioning is cheap

Battery refurbishment will typically cost you a few cents of electricity per unit, often nothing at all. In addition to saving money on batteries you use yourself (which can add up to hundreds, if not thousands of dollars), battery reconditioning is actually a good small business opportunity. Some people do it only part time and make a very good profit. Supposedly dead batteries get thrown away, so even if you can only rejuvenate one in three, you’re making good money for free and with minimal fuss.

Do it as a business, if you want, full or part time

If you decide to make money (rather than just save) from battery reconditioning and rejuvenation, it’s really just a matter of finding sources and/or spreading the news. You can find good sources of dead batteries, revive or overhaul them, and sell them for a handsome sum on eBay, at your local garage, auto parts dealer, or the like. (By the way, you’ll always be able to discharge seemingly ‘dead’ batteries from garages and mechanics for free or for very little money.) Option two is to find customers (you probably need advertising) and repair their batteries for them for a service fee. Or do both!

Wireless Power Everywhere / Batteries Need Repair

Today, so many home appliances are cordless that there is no end to a battery doctor. Cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, laptops, power tools, forklifts, golf carts, etc. all rely on wireless power. Then there are batteries for cars, motorcycles, marine, and motorized wheelchairs. And new batteries are expensive; check out your local store or online. Often the battery is the most expensive part of a power tool. (In the not too distant future, hybrid cars are likely to become a mass product. Think about it.)

Recovery success rates

Some batteries really are beyond recovery. Lithium batteries are notorious for not being correctable if left unattended too long. Once they get to a certain point, there’s really no going back, so it depends on whether you catch them fast enough. Other batteries have a much higher success rate for resurfacing and reconditioning. Nickel-based and lead-acid batteries are usually winners.

costs

A professional battery reconditioning guide will cost you around $45. They are available for download over the net. On top of that, you should anticipate shelling out around $150 for a computer-controlled battery analyzer. You can get by without it and just use a voltmeter, if all you want to do is fix a battery or two of your own batteries from time to time. More than that, and you’ll really have to consider investing in a parser.

Customers

The International Federation of Batteries estimates that three quarters of batteries are thrown away unnecessarily. Offering a battery doctor service will never make you short of customers, even if it’s just family, friends, and friends of friends. The word will spread quickly. One of the advantages of battery reconditioning is that you can accurately analyze the amount of original charge in the battery that you have restored and pass that information on to the customer. So it’s never the case of: ‘It could be fine. Give it a try and see how it goes. Clients find it very impressive when you can tell them exactly what you’ve managed to achieve, such as: ‘Back to 95% full capacity.’

Of course, you may just want save money by reconditioning your own household batteries. Forty or fifty dollars for a manual will be money well spent.