Has anyone put a blob of solder on the top of a flat top battery, instead of using a magnet? You would have to make sure you don't over heat the cell though.
Marc.
Yes, I did it on my Tenergy 2600's. I did it outside in my garage during the cold of winter, so the batteries were fairly cold when I did it. (Perhaps placing the cells in a refrigerator for awhile to get them cold first would be a good choice.) I only put the soldering iron on long enough to melt the solder and pulled away quickly. You have to make sure the solder is really "stuck" to the battery. Try and pry it off with your finger; if it's not properly attached to the battery it will easily pop off.
I have done this on quite a few AA NiMh cells building battery packs. Only once did I have a cell "vent". I was also told that silver solder was more successful when trying to solder to batteries.
-Garry
Yeah I just thought it made sense, so I tried it on a couple of old alkies. Worked a treat, use lot of flux on everything, Iron, cell and solder.
Marc.
I've done it.