[Silverpaul]

Just as a matter of interest, which piece of gardening equipment has proved to be the biggest waste of your hard earned money. Mine is a hoselock hosepipe on a reel,I spend longer getting the kinks out of it,than I do using it.

[solway cropper]

Never bought anything that I don't make full use of. I rely on people buying me presents for Christmas 

[compostqueen]

One of those push lawn aerators   

Flymo Hover mower "which actually hoovers your grass"  Yeah and blows it all over you and your neighbours, covering every plant in the garden with a blanket of green.  I hated this mower and wanted to jump on and smash it to bits.  My husband swopped it for another brand 

[JayG]

My Bosch NiCad-powered hedge trimmer - used twice a year for the last 4 years, now both batteries are unable to hold a charge, and replacements would cost at least as much as the whole piece of kit did in the first place, so it's effectively scrap now. 

Will move this thread to "Equipment Shed" as it's not really about 'Growing your own.'

[Lardman]

Plastic dibber and pricker outy thingy. They were a few gift but how useless are they!  I can never find them when I want and even when I do fingers is far more effective.

[BabbyAnn]

My Bosch NiCad-powered hedge trimmer - used twice a year for the last 4 years, now both batteries are unable to hold a charge, and replacements would cost at least as much as the whole piece of kit did in the first place, so it's effectively scrap now. 

I've had my cordless drill for nearly 12 years so last year I was not too surprised that the battery took longer to charge up, and quickly ran down during the early stages of the building project I was doing.  Purchasing a new one was out of the question so I persevered, re-charging it at least twice a day just to keep going.  By the end of the 2 weeks it took to finish the project, the battery was charging up quicker and lasting a lot longer too.  Your twice a year for just 4 years does not seem an awfully long time for a battery to be completely useless ... maybe the infrequency is the problem?

As for waste of money - a polycarbonate greenhouse from Argos.  It was about £325 so not small change, but impossible to build.  I've already got 2 greenhouses that I have put together myself so I never imagined I would have problems building this one.  After 2 years I gave up and last year bought a polytunnel instead - the ease that went up was a miracle in comparison 

[JayG]

I've had my cordless drill for nearly 12 years so last year I was not too surprised that the battery took longer to charge up, and quickly ran down during the early stages of the building project I was doing.  Purchasing a new one was out of the question so I persevered, re-charging it at least twice a day just to keep going.  By the end of the 2 weeks it took to finish the project, the battery was charging up quicker and lasting a lot longer too.  Your twice a year for just 4 years does not seem an awfully long time for a battery to be completely useless ... maybe the infrequency is the problem?

Thanks BabbyAnn - you may be right about the infrequent use - I've gurgled about trying to 'restore' NiCad batteries but it's not straightforward, especially when it comes to trying to completely discharge them.

I might try repeated charge and discharge cycles, although even if it works I suspect I'd soon be back to square one. If replacements were half the price, possibly trading in the old ones for recycling, it would probably be worth doing.....

[Growster...]

JayG, there is a bit of kit, which recharges and discharges batteries itself over a continuous period, and apparently, it does make them work much better when they're then used in the machine you want, as Babbyann says.

I can't recall what it's called, or who makes it, but a Gurgle may help...

[Fairy Plotmother]

My Bosch NiCad-powered hedge trimmer - used twice a year for the last 4 years, now both batteries are unable to hold a charge, and replacements would cost at least as much as the whole piece of kit did in the first place, so it's effectively scrap now. 

Will move this thread to "Equipment Shed" as it's not really about 'Growing your own.'

Same problem with a battery operated strimmer!

[JayG]

JayG, there is a bit of kit, which recharges and discharges batteries itself over a continuous period, and apparently, it does make them work much better when they're then used in the machine you want, as Babbyann says.

I can't recall what it's called, or who makes it, but a Gurgle may help...

Thanks Growster - I can't find an actual device that will do the job for you, although there are plenty of articles about DIY regeneration, some of which sound like a greater risk to one's personal safety than others! 

[boddy]

My Bosch NiCad-powered hedge trimmer - used twice a year for the last 4 years, now both batteries are unable to hold a charge, and replacements would cost at least as much as the whole piece of kit did in the first place, so it's effectively scrap now. 

Will move this thread to "Equipment Shed" as it's not really about 'Growing your own.'

Thank you, I was thinking of buying one!!!!

[JayG]

It seems that Nicads are permanently damaged by being left completely discharged, which will happen over a period of time even if previously fully charged, because they slowly self-discharge when not in use. Add this to the fact that they have a 'memory effect' if charged when only partly discharged makes it all a bit of a head-scratcher for me when it comes to looking after them properly.

Could be that tools equipped with the more recent Lithium ion batteries are a better bet (albeit even more expensive.)

Perhaps someone can contribute their experiences of those?

[grendel]

My Bosch NiCad-powered hedge trimmer - used twice a year for the last 4 years, now both batteries are unable to hold a charge, and replacements would cost at least as much as the whole piece of kit did in the first place, so it's effectively scrap now. 

Will move this thread to "Equipment Shed" as it's not really about 'Growing your own.'

buy some new nicads at maplins and solder up a new pack in the same configuration as the old, then replace the new ones in the case the old ones came from. I have done this in the past using a bunch of batteries being sold off cheap in B&Q , stripped the cells out of their old packs and reconfigured for my existing (dead) batteries. works a charm.
Grendel

[grendel]

I have also wired up a 12v drill to a connector and cable to run it off the car lighter socket.
model car / boat battery packs of the right voltage can also do the job with the right connector installed onto the drill / hedge trimmers terminals.
Grendel

[Casey76]

Cordless/battery chainsaw (B&D).  After it's first use the chain is so loose I daren't even start it - and it can't be tensioned any tighter.

Cordless/battery strimmer - can't strim a normal blade of grass/battery won't hold a charge.

Flymo leaf blower/lawn vacuum.  After 5 years I haven't even put it together 

It appears I'm as bad with garden gadgets as I am with kitchen gadgets!