Treedweller wrote in
:

On 13 Aug 2005 09:35:58 -0700, wrote:

I bought a Craftsman rechargeable mower (Model 917.386401) in 1998.
Recently it doesn't recharge very well, although it still cuts grass
for about 10 minutes, at lower speed than before. I think it's time to
replace the battery. The service center guy says it costs $150 plus
about $30 shipping. That's still much cheaper than buying a new mower
(about $400). One newsgroup message says the battery model may no
longer be available and a replacement doesn't fit perfectly.

If I want to check the battery with a multimeter, how do I do that? The
owner's manual doesn't say whether or how to check the acid level. Is
it needed? Could other parts such as the electric motor be near their
lifetime? Should I just buy a new mower? Thanks for any advice.

Yong Huang
Email:yong321ATyahoo.com
I've seen a sign at Batteries Plus (a chain store--I don't know how
far they reach) that they will rebuild a cordless drill battery.
Perhaps this would be an option for you battery?

k

First figure out what kind of battery e.g. lead-acid, sealed lead-acid
(SLA) you have and proceed from there. There is a good website for
batteries, I think it is www.batteryuniversity.com or something like
that. To me $130 for a battery is insane, but cheaper than a H-HW
battery (hampster-hampster wheel) and better emissions I bet. Around
here, you pay more if you don't bring the old battery (regular lead-acid)
to trade-in. SLA and others should recycled at RBRC participating
retailers.

I went to batteries plus to get a SLA for my trimmer, price was $20 more
than same or similarly named website price, but I bought anyway. tempus
est pecunia.

most cordless stuff will use NiCd, NiMH or lithium, not really cost
effective for a large stuff like a mower, but i guess it's possible.