NiMH AA with pins sticking out the ends - is there a source? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: Peabody
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2021, 06:17:27 pm
content: I have a Panasonic shaver Model ES-SA40-K, which uses a single NiMH battery. The shaver is about 10 years old, and runs fine, but the battery is down to providing little more than a single shave on a "full charge". It has deteriorated pretty quickly over the last six months. It's a strange battery, with a long pin sticking out the positive end, and a short pin on the negative end.I found what appears to be an exact replacement on Ebay, but with shipping and taxes it would be over $30. I wrote to the seller asking how old his battery is, but got no reply. Here's a video of an attempt to replace such a battery:https://youtu.be/SMT-ecDMQEc?t=563I had come to the conclusion that I just need to get a new shaver, but wanted to check here first in case anyone knows of a source of *new* batteries of this type, or might have experience doing the kind of replacement shown in the video, which looks very dubious to me, but maybe I'm being too harsh. The long pin is necessary because it fits down into the charger. A picture of my battery is attached.Any ideas would be appreciated.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2021, 11:48:39 pm
content: I think the pin is an extra addition, not actually part of the cell itself.

author: abdulbadii
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2021, 11:57:15 pm
content: The NiMh battery just a NiMh batteryIt must be put firmly inside its specific house designed specifically for it

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 12:11:40 am
content: I think I would try to (carefully) extract the silver cell from its plastic housing, and then measure its dimensions and voltage. It is hard to tell what physical size it is from the picture. Cylindrical cells usually come in standard sizes, although it may be one of the more unusual sizes like SubC. It is also possible there are two cells in series to give a higher voltage.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 02:58:03 am
content: Pity you are not in the UK. £8.40Looks rather like your battery.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-WER221L2508-Rechargeable-Battery-Trimmers/dp/B003ZIZA4AEDIT: Could be a fake Chinese one though. Symbol (triangle of three arrows thing) looks a bit different to the OP picture, maybe. Pictures (both amazon one and OP one), not distinct enough to be sure.

author: WattsThat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 03:19:11 am
content: If you have a local Batteries Plus store, you could give that a try, they may be able to replace the cell in the pack. They would weld, not solder, which is not a good idea.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 03:22:24 am
content: Interesting. What a strange looking battery.Amazon is telling me it can be delivered to the USA at a shipping cost of £9.96, and it will take 4 weeks to arrive. I guess that's a bit impractical.

author: Peabody
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 06:43:32 pm
content: I took the shaver apart again, and the battery is definitely AA, 1.2V. And the charger says it has 1.3V output. So the battery itself appears to be normal, except it probably has a flat top instead of a button top. That's assuming the pin is just held in place somehow by the rubber cap. Anyway, I can get a flat top AA, even a Panasonic, for $3.50 from Digikey. But the original also appears to have a short pin welded to the negative end. Digikey doesn't have anything like that.A direct replacement is available on AliExpress, but the seller has 90% positive reviews. About $20 delivered to me in the US. The seller on Ebay has very good numbers but the total cost would be about $31 delivered.It really looks like the best option is to buy a new shaver for about $65.

author: electr_peter
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 07:19:14 pm
content: Get a new AA NiMH battery with welded metal tabs and solder connections to it. It is easier than just plain AA battery with no welded tabs.Or, if you have metal tab welder, weld some connectors.

author: crazyguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2021, 04:30:20 am
content: Quote from: electr_peter on December 22, 2021, 07:19:14 pmthe original Panasonic battery was sealed with rubber at the end, seems to be water-proofing