I have 2 Kalkhoff 17Ah batteries, one is significantly more worn than the other, but the worn one is the original coloured casing with its graphics etc, while the better one is a plain black.

 

So as you've probably guessed, I propose to open both up and swap the cells and all the gubbins so I can use the better battery with the original casing.

 

Is this a fairly straightforward task, and are there any pitfalls or anything that I should be aware of before doing this?

I haven't done a Kalkhoff battery, but I've done many similar ones. The cell-packs are often glued to the plastic case with very strong double-sided tape/panels. You need a lot of lever force to separate them, which raises a high chance of damaging a cell by denting or squishing, so be be very careful and lever over a wide area by using a wide spatula or similar to spread the load. Pray that they didn't use that white chewing gum stuff, which is a nightmare to separate.

I haven't done a Kalkhoff battery, but I've done many similar ones. The cell-packs are often glued to the plastic case with very strong double-sided tape/panels. You need a lot of lever force to separate them, which raises a high chance of damaging a cell by denting or squishing, so be be very careful and lever over a wide area by using a wide spatula or similar to spread the load. Pray that they didn't use that white chewing gum stuff, which is a nightmare to separate.

 

Thanks for the tips. I did the job today and it was mostly successful, but I did break 2 of the 4 internal plastic attachments which help keep the casing together (there are also 4 screws). There was actually no glue holding the cell pack to the casing, so it all came out in a big convenient lump.