I've always killed nicads absolutely dead -- with a flashlight -- before most recharges. i've also left them on (sloooow) chargers for months when they weren't in use. I have some I bought in 1980 that still work well. Of course I've thrown about as many away, too. Biggest problem I've found is internal shorts, usually after a few years of use. Cells that are allowed to get hot frequently seem to fail quicker, but I don't know the mechanism or chemistry. I use a short-buster made from a couple of capacitors and some diodes (it charges off house current) to zap shorted cells. It clears a bad short maybe a third of the time. I think bigger capacitors would do better but I don't know at what point the cases might split. I've had two cells, I think, of maybe 100 reverse polarity. don't know why, couldn't fix 'em. I've replaced cells in packs but it's a pain without the appropriate equipment. The memory effect thing is one of the most fascinating issues I'm aware of. The popular press (a member of which pays my pitiful salary) turned early sketchy reports into a really scary sure thing -- scared me enough to cause the behavior i described above. But the current thinking that seems most believable to me is that it takes repeated partial discharges to create a charge memory, and the loss is usually only about 10 percent. Three full-charge, full-discharge cycles supposedly eliminate that. Of course there may be a new and different scientific finding at any time. Or maybe not -- nicads are being replaced as Dave Danger says so maybe the issue will finally go away. Don't worry: Writers of popular press articles will perpetuate lots of other questionable information.

You're kidding, right? Buy a new controller because of a backup battery? I recently had to replace my battery in my RB ESP LX controller and had a difficult time finding any rechargeable Nicad 9v battery anywhere. I finally went to a battery specialty store and got the replacement battery I needed, albeit not a Nicad. I think I paid around $14 for it. You might call RB service or check their website to verify.

In numerous cases, Dell in particular, if you flip over the laptop there is a pushbutton on the battery and a series of LEDs that light up to indicate the level of charge when you push the button (assumes the charge circuit is operational and that the battery can hold a charge). I would start by checking Dell's website to see if the battery is part of any recall, many were. If you rarely use it on battery I wouldn't spend any extra on a larger capacity one. Third party ones should be used with caution, quality is often lacking. Personally I have used Lenmar replacements, for laptops and camcorders, when competitively priced. So far I have been lucky, some reviewers seem to diss them. I would definitely factor in the cost of a new battery vs purchase of a new warrantied unit also.

I agree with you. If the stove is plugged into the wall outlet, and the inverter and stove are tied together through a wire, then the inverter are both tied to earth ground. But if the you pull the stove receptacle out of the wall outlet and plug it into the inverter, then you lose the connection to earth ground. Do you agree? This is the set up the OP wants to use during a power outage. The 12V battery powers the inverter which produces 120V AC. You can tie the two chassis together but there is nothing keeping them at ground potential. I did a search on some inverters. The manuals I saw said the chassis of the inverter needs to be grounded. Also the output receptacle has a GFCI outlet so you have more protection. You could connect the inverter with a wire to the screw on the house wall outlet. You want to make sure you have a good connection. It will be difficult to connect an 8 gauge wire. Something smaller is better than nothing. I would be curious to know how people ground these things when they are camping or on a boat.