recharging non-automotive (lithium) batteries with a trickle charger

[yoshhash2]

recharging non-automotive (lithium) batteries with an automotive trickle charger-

Does anyone know if you can safely do this/ what are the risks? Specifically, I mean

using a solar powered 2 Watt charger to charge up a 12 volt lithium

battery for a cordless drill, but I would also like to know if in

general, you can do this, for other applications, like recharging AA batteries. I have lost the

charger, do not want to fork out for another one, since I hardly ever

use it.

 

Side question- if indeed this is possible and safe, is there any way to establish which is the positive terminal, which is negative if it is not labelled?

[UC]

No. The 12 volt Lithium battery you refer to is probably actually a Li ion battery. These batteries IIRC, rely on cobalt redox to generate current and use a lithium salt as a carrier. Smaller batteries that are not meant to be rechargable are that way for a reason. Reversing current through them is either highly inefficient at regenerating the compounds that give you the current, or may lead to gas evolution and rupturing the battery, perhaps with some violence. AA type lithium batteries actually use lithium metal and are not rechargable.

[yoshhash2]

Thank you. However, people (and the internet) are telling me that I was probably mistaken, that this battery in question is probably NiCad, not lithium. Stated another way, I don't understand the difference between a 12 volt lead car battery and a rechargeable household 12 volt battery, NiCad or otherwise, want to know if they are interchangeable at low rates. (I do however, understand that nonrechargeables are not meant to be recharged.)

 

Still the same answer then?