Richardtr3a Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 We have a Qualcast 18v hedge trimmer, MOE-7ET-410 , which has been very useful . The battery is a special 18v 1.7Ah and no longer holds a charge. It has a red clip which holds it in the tool , and a red thumb operated loop to move the location clip. I have spent some time chasing Qualcast, Ebay, and Amazon. The only battery that looks as if it may fit is for a Black and Decker tool, a Firestorm heavy duty. It has three connections and my original Qualcast has only two. Before I become careless and buy it , I am trying to research the third contact. What would it be used for? I have also E mailed B&D and will get a reply tomorrow. If any one has a working battery and a broken motor please let m know. Thanks Richard & B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 Hi Richard, is this any help https://picclick.co.uk/qualcast-pole-hedge-trimmer-battery-18v-17Ah-142733276626.html Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted March 30, 2022 Report Share Posted March 30, 2022 If all else fails then why not switch to a Makita 18v battery using an adaptor for £7 such as https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Battery-Adapter-for-Makita-Li-ion-Battery-Cable-Connector-18V-Output-Adapter-/265203013691?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted March 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 13 hours ago, RogerH said: Hi Richard, is this any help https://picclick.co.uk/qualcast-pole-hedge-trimmer-battery-18v-17Ah-142733276626.html Roger Hi Roger, Thanks for the link which is very helpful but the battery is sold and not available. I am still looking for the correct one. The Back and Decker unit has a third terminal and B & D can not tell me what it is for. My battery looks the same but only has two terminals. What do you think ?? Richard & B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 I think the third terminal is to connect a temperature sensor (in the battery pack) to the charger to tell the charger when to stop charging. Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 19 minutes ago, Lebro said: I think the third terminal is to connect a temperature sensor (in the battery pack) to the charger to tell the charger when to stop charging. Bob +1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted March 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 Thanks Bob. It looks as if I could take a risk and buy the one that is available. It looks correct in the picture but it may have some other problems. What do you think? Thanks Richard & B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 It might look the same superficially, but it probably won't physically fit. Companies have a habit of making subtle differences in the shape and size of the cases otherwise they couldn't sell exclusive spares. Another option is to replace the NiMh cells in your existing battery. The cells will be a standard size and cells with tags for soldering are available. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 2 hours ago, RobH said: It might look the same superficially, but it probably won't physically fit. Companies have a habit of making subtle differences in the shape and size of the cases otherwise they couldn't sell exclusive spares. Another option is to replace the NiMh cells in your existing battery. The cells will be a standard size and cells with tags for soldering are available. +1. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted March 31, 2022 Report Share Posted March 31, 2022 RS components, or CPC.co.uk Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted April 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2022 Hi Roger, I can not find a Qualcast battery. Please could you look again and if you are lucky send me a link. I have checked Ebay very day and there is never any Qualcast. I hope you can be lucky again. Thanks Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted April 14, 2022 Report Share Posted April 14, 2022 Some Qualcast appliances are also marketed by Bosch - you could try searching for a Bosch battery. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted April 14, 2022 Report Share Posted April 14, 2022 Hi Richard, Homebase suggest that the battery may be a Samsung - are these any good https://picclick.co.uk/Workzone-18v-Li-Ion-Battery-15Ah-Lithium-Samsung-123241492525.html Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted May 17, 2022 Report Share Posted May 17, 2022 I have had a good look at Richard's battery & charger, the battery consists of 15 X NiMh cells rated at 1.7AH On testing the pack I can only get 0.9AH out of it. Check cell voltage when down to a pack voltage of 15Volts (1 Volt per cell is the voltage at which you should stop discharging)3 of them were well down. To replace all 15 would be expensive (£5.34 X 15 = £80 ) I happen to have 3 or 4 in stock, so will try replacing the weaker ones, & test again. Also the charger is suspect ! The reason there are only 2 contacts is that the charger is "intelligent" that is to say it can tell when the pack is fully charged, & switch it's self off. It does this by charging at a high rate, & waiting for the battery voltage to stop increasing, and to then fall a little bit. (this is what NiCad / NiMh cells do when fully charged) Signs so far are that it may not be charging at a high rate at all. These are the nearest I could find to the ones fitted, they are 2.2AH capacity. https://cpc.farnell.com/gp-batteries/gp300sch1a1p/battery-ni-mh-tags-sub-c-1-2v/dp/BT01302 Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted May 17, 2022 Report Share Posted May 17, 2022 I have just replaced the batteries for a strimmer DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST Sub C 2000mAh 1.2V NiCd - £29.95 Tagged Battery 15 pack for - 18V https://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Batteries_Plus_Tagged_Batteries_26.html Initially they sent only 14 but after a phone call the 15th arrived quickly. Bit of a challenge soldering them all in the correct polarity but seem to work fine. There was a temperature sensor to connect as well. It helped to sellotape them together to hold them in place during soldering. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 (edited) Usefull. The originals are NiMh, not Nicad so more money, but still cheaper that my findings above, at £37.15, & they are higher capacity at 3AH No problem with the soldering, but will have to check with Richard on how much he wants to spend. Then there is still the charger to sort out ! No temperature sensor, as the charger shuts off with "delta voltage sensing" (or should do) Bob https://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Sub-C-3000mAh-NiMH-Tagged-Battery---Pack-of-15-cells-1900.html#SID=613 Edited May 18, 2022 by Lebro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 1 hour ago, Lebro said: Usefull. The originals are NiMh, not Nicad so more money, but still cheaper that my findings above, at £37.15, & they are higher capacity at 3AH No problem with the soldering, but will have to check with Richard on how much he wants to spend. Then there is still the charger to sort out ! No temperature sensor, as the charger shuts off with "delta voltage sensing" (or should do) Bob https://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Sub-C-3000mAh-NiMH-Tagged-Battery---Pack-of-15-cells-1900.html#SID=613 Hi Bob Just checked the Bosch battery pack on my trimmer and definitely labelled NiCd. You had me worried for a minute. As you probably know you need to choose correct battery for charger (or vice versa). In the past I have had meltdown with a mismatch between batteries and a charger. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted May 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 Thanks Bob. What can we do about the charger? I will ask my wife this morning and let you know asap. Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 You don't really need a fancy charger for NiMh if you are not in a hurry - modern cells have an oxygen catalyst so you can use constant-current charging at C/10 or below, for a set time. e.g. For those 3AH batteries, charging at 150mA for 30 hours or more (C/20) would be fine. The current is low enough not to cause a significant temperature rise . Although not optimal, it would do no damage but of course that isn't much use if you need to use the battery fairly quickly. The problem with putting just a couple of new cells in a series pack is that you end up with unbalanced states of charge. On discharge in use, it would be possible for some cells to become fully discharged before others, and suffer reversed polarity which they certainly won't like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 8 minutes ago, keith1948 said: Hi Bob Just checked the Bosch battery pack on my trimmer and definitely labelled NiCd. You had me worried for a minute. As you probably know you need to choose correct battery for charger (or vice versa). In the past I have had meltdown with a mismatch between batteries and a charger. Keith Nimh & Nicad can use the same charging system, traditionaly Nicads could handle higher charge / discharge currents than Nimh, but these days Nimh have pretty much taken over. the advantage being the lack of "memory" (loss of capacity if full capacity is not used regularly) Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 (edited) 2 minutes ago, RobH said: You don't really need a fancy charger for NiMh if you are not in a hurry - modern cells have an oxygen catalyst so you can use constant-current charging at C/10 or below, for a set time. e.g. For those 3AH batteries, charging at 150mA for 30 hours or more (C/20) would be fine. The current is low enough not to cause a significant temperature rise . Although not optimal, it would do no damage but of course that isn't much use if you need to use the battery fairly quickly. The problem with putting just a couple of new cells in a series pack is that you end up with unbalanced states of charge. On discharge in use, it would be possible for some cells to become fully discharged before others, and suffer reversed polarity which they certainly won't like. Agreed. which is why I would prefer to change them all. It's down to cost ! A "Delta voltage sensing" charger can charge at much higher rates for both types. Th instructions for this pack say full recharge in 3 hours. original capacity was 1.7 AH, so charging current was 1.7 /3 = approx 0.6 amps Bob Edited May 18, 2022 by Lebro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 36 minutes ago, Lebro said: Nimh & Nicad can use the same charging system, traditionaly Nicads could handle higher charge / discharge currents than Nimh, but these days Nimh have pretty much taken over. the advantage being the lack of "memory" (loss of capacity if full capacity is not used regularly) Bob Hi Bob Yes the mismatch I had was in the early days of Nimh. I used a high charging NiCd charger and the Nimh batteries overheated. Ever since I have been careful not wishing to set the house on fire. So are the newer Nimh batteries able to take the higher charge or is it best to still use dedicated Nimh chargers? Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 Depends on the spec of the cells, they are fine if designed for high charge / discharge rates. e.g: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322067439665?hash=item4afcb72031:g:aHwAAOSww3tY3PzR Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richardtr3a Posted May 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 Thanks very much for the advice. We are considering a new hedge trimmer. It looks like a problem with the existing charger anyway. Until I read the reviews we were considering Terratek, but we need a proper service team to help. So goodbye Terratek Has any member on the forum got a hedge trimmer , with two batteries and a charger. Summeruse only and quality electrics. It must work easily. We have a Hayter ride on mower and it starts easily even after six months of no use. It is not made in the Far East. Please send some advice. Thanks Bob what would you do ? Sunny day here is Sussex so I will be under the TR3A fitting new propshaft bolts which should fit this time. Richard and B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lebro Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 (edited) OK, problem found with the charger. The mains power pack was putting out more AC than DC ! so I opened it up and found: At some point it had been dropped, & the impact had broken both the connections on the capacitor inside. This is now repaired, & instead of charging at <100mA, It now charges at 0.5 Amp, which is about right for a 3 hour charge. Unit on test. I propose fitting new cells at cost of £30 if that is OK ? Bob Edited May 18, 2022 by Lebro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.