nicad

I think a NiCad is a lot less dangerous if it does get broken up.

NiCad batteries have similar recycling characteristics - the nickel comes out extremely pure, much purer then it went in.

The big-ticket item that usually needs fixing as the mileage goes up is the (nicad) battery pack.

The average user doesn't understand the difference between a lithium ion battery and a nicad battery..

Battery tech has gone from NiCad to NiMH to LiIon in a fairly short ~50 years.

They had to do that to preserve battery compatibility across the transition from nicad to lithium.

Be sure to use NiCad batteries and a mechanical speed controller for the true retro experience!

NiCad batteries were pretty common as well as CdS photo resistors for anyone doing electronics.

I think the point of the article is cordless is good and after some major advances away from nicad and brushed motors, things have pretty much plateaued.

You are correct that Lithium Ion batteries are significantly lighter than older NiCad batteries.

It might not have been Craftsman's fault; NiCad batteries are vulnerable to the memory effect, which means if they were not fully discharged when you recharge them, the maximum capacity shrinks.

Makes you wonder- there isn't that much juice in a 9V battery- why not replace the battery with a NiCad and a solar panel?

The "memory effect" of NiCad batteries is an urban myth that got supercharged with a dose of confirmation bias.

The usual "NiCad" and "NiMH" batteries are straight-forward to replace, but lithium-based batteries can be dangerous.

If your standard is "keep it out of the food supply", though, I guarantee that there's a little bit of NiCad in that hot dog in your fridge, and there'd be much less NiCad in your hot dog if they tripped a radiation detector before they hit the incinerator or the landfill.