Generic Laptop Batteries?

[IamDavid]

I have a Sony Vaio and the battery won't keep a charge. I don't want to send 125 on a new one, is there any generic manufacturers?

 

[Gunbuster]

Using the power of google I bring you link

 

[IamDavid]

Those are not Generic batteries. They are authentic Sony's which cost more then just about anywhere.. :Q

 

[bsr]

you try searching ebay (search the buy it now) ? or half.com ? You should consider a lithium battery, they last longer (many years) and have longer run time.

 

[Gunbuster]

Sorry, the ones I clicked on were hicapacity brand, and yes replacement batterys cost $$$.

Sonys tend to cost more, and the quad cap. sonys prices can make a grown man cry

Tried ebay?

 

[IamDavid]

Thanks guys. I did try Ebay and they are ~$125. Its crazy, I figured someone would make generic replacement batteries.. Guess not. 🙁

 

[dkozloski]

Sony laptop batteries also contain some circuitry that remembers the number of charging cycles, computes capacity, and gives an estimate of remaining life besides just cells, wires and a case. This is kind of like the newer inkjet printer cartridges that defy refilling.

 

[apoppin]

From using "search" in General Hardware: 😛

Originally posted by: pm
I've got a website for you.

www.bydusa.com

They are a Chinese battery manufacturer and they sell direct over the internet at the cheapest prices that I have ever seen. I have purchased from them several times. The batteries are good and the price is very good. They sell a "universal" laptop battery here You'll need to match the voltage and get the right connector to make this work, so make sure that the DC input coming from the power brick is the same as the output they sell. My IBM takes 16V and their 12V battery wouldn't cut it for me.

But you can buy their cells "loose" and then solder them together to make any size that you want. Using their tabbed C-cells you could create a laptop battery with longer power duration than a standard Li-ion pack for ~$40.

Speaking from experience, if you want to go the loose battery soldering route, get the tabbed cells and avoid the non-tabbed ones. It is vastly easier to create a pack with tabs than to muck around with soldering wires onto the non-tabbed version. You'll probably want some shrink-wrap as well - www.edogfight.com sells battery shrink-wrap cheaply. If you are planning on taking it onto a plane, you'll want to have the thing look like it's not a bomb - so duct taping it all together is probably not a good choice. Shrink-wrap and a little sticker on it that looks official saying that it's a "14V 4200mAh NiMH universal laptop battery" or something like that will save a lot of trouble at the airport.

This is what I would recommend. Buy 2 sets of these and you would have a 6 hour laptop battery (if your input voltage from the brick is 12V) - or 8 hours if you leave your current battery plugged in. Yes, it will weigh 4 pounds... but the price and the battery life are very good.

If weight is a concern, you could roll your own pack using the new Lithium-polymer cells. But this will add up to over $100 quickly to get the capacities you are talking about. www.b-p-p.com is a good place for Li-poly cells at a good price.