Gotta ask before purchase......

[eureka1998]

I like collecting any type of vacuuum from my childhood and this is still new in the box. Would the Ni-Cad battery still work and how would I keep it steady if I use it as a daily stick vac for quick cleans.

 

[luxlife]

It’s a toss up.

I’ve had mixed results with things that were NOS and contained ni-cad batteries. The biggest factor for me is whether or not the product design is such that you can crack it open and get to the battery if it needs replacing. I recently lucked out with one of these can openers from the 80’s. It was such a great design and today’s cordless ones just don’t last. So far the battery is holding a charge, but I know that it eventually will need to be replaced and I’m prepared to open it up and get the battery out

 

[luxlife]

More good luck with NOS….

This one turned also out to be a winner for me. The seller still has a few left.

 

[ctvacman]

As long as it truly hasn’t been opened the batteries should be fine. Charge for 16-24 hours first, once fully charged leave it off the charger until fully depleted. Using it for a couple of minutes then sticking it back on the charger creates the memory effect that plagues ni cd batteries.

 

[ihavetotryagain]

Ctvacman

"leave it off the charger until fully depleted. "

What do you mean by this? Just leaving it turned on until it runs out of battery??

Please explain this to me as if I was 5.

 

[ctvacman]

Ok

Ounce fully charged remove from the charger and leave it off until you want to use it. If you use it for a couple of minutes turn it off and leave it off the charger until you get to the point where it is almost dead or unusable, at which point you leave it running until the fan stops. Then charge it fully again.

 

[huskyvacs]

It is a mixed bag. Ni-Cad batteries do not like to be stored without charging, they will crystallize and go bad without being maintained every couple of weeks. It could be bad right out of the box. Assume you will need the pack rebuilt with new NiCad cells or modified to lithium which may or may not entail modifying a new charging circuit. A used Ni-Cad left longer than a month without being charged it will surely never charge again.

Do not get your hopes up for quick cleaning, these were never that powerful like they show on TV. It is the same guts as a Dustbuster but with an even longer nozzle and wider airpath, so the suction drop-off is steep.

Ctvacman is correct. Ni-Cad batteries need to be run until they are totally dead in order to ensure they will fully charge next time.