More Power!

Tim Taylor, the toolman, would be so proud of me. This is a bit like souping up an old T-bucket, well almost!
So I've decided to resurrect a cordless electric drill, OZITO brand which is a "store" brand marketed by Bunnings hardware.

It actually comes with two battery packs but it hasn't worked since I got it, turns out the "plug pack" AC adaptor was dead.
When I eventually got around to powering it up with my "lab" power supply there was no joy. Turns out the batteries (Ni-Cad 14.4V, 1300mAh) have well and truly expired, exhibiting all the crusty signs of failure....

Once I'd opened up and cleaned out the pack I set about confirming that it'd be possible to replace the 12 NiCads with 12 AA Ni-MH rechargables (2200mAh!, nearly 70% greater capacity!), which are cheap, and readily available on the supermarket shelf!