Long Life Batteries

[kewco]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I want to use it wisely so please let me know if I'm breaking any rules!

What I want is some advice on batteries for my laptop which I've had now for almost 3 years and the battery lasts for literally a few minute once I unplug from the mains.

I'm told if I drain the battery and then recharge it several times this will some how make it hold the charge for a much longer period?

Also, are there any long life universal batteries which will last for about 4 hours and are compatible with any laptop?

Many thanks for all your help.

BTW how many links can I have in my signature?

Regards, Kevin.

 

[TemjinGold]

Welcome to the forums.

If your batteries are only lasting minutes now, it's time to get new ones. Three years is about how long you can expect them to last anyway.

AFAIK there's no such thing as universal batteries for laptops.

 

[Harvey]

If the battery that was supplied with your laptop is drained after only a few minutes, it suggests that either the battery is dead, something in your machine, possibly the circuitry controlling battery charging, is defective or something is drawing an inordinate amount of power. If another battery doesn't last any longer, the problem is in your machine.

There are very few, if any "universal" internal batteries because typically, they are sealed in packaging custom designed for various manufacturers' complete packaging designs. This is probably for the best because the batteries, themselves contain toxic materials that should not be readily exposed to public access.

Finding a battery that will provide extended life may be difficult because battery life is depenent on physical mass. The larger the battery, the more cells it can hold, and the longer it can provide adequate power. The only way to improve that is to improve the technology to provide greater "power density" - the total number of watt-hours that can be packaged in a given physical volume - and the charge/discharge characteristics, both of which depend on the physical and chemical properties of the battery technology.

I've seen ads from several companies offering after-market batteries for specific laptop models. If you want one of those, be sure to verify the reputation of the manufacturer/supplier because even major name computer makers have had to recall runs of their original batteries that have caused fires and explosions.

 

[Emulex]

battery is high tech - the charging voltage/watts can not deviate much without causing great harm to a battery. the way you use and store your laptop can greatly affect as well.

If you have any valuables - like family - i suggest not using an oem battery - its bad enough the original batteries are blowing up/catching on fire but who are you going to blame when your ebay special catches fire and torches the house and (God forbid) someone gets hurt?

i love a deal - but man - losing warranty and more over money - i'd rather hussle extra cash or a deal to do it right.

 

[C1]

There are a number of external notebook battery solutions available. Also, you should be able to buy a higher amp-hour capacity battery than your OEM. Some notebooks (like my Fujitsu) allow the DvD to be removed and a secondary battery inserted for extended use.

Your best bet is to buy two OEM batteries and swap them to obtain 2X run time.

 

[taserbro]

To answer your first question, draining and recharging won't do you any good with the li-ion cells that are in most laptops nowadays. As someone mentioned above, those batteries have a shelf life of 3 to 4 years and when the time is up, regardless of the number of cycles they've been through, they will tank on you. If you're lucky and the model is popular, you might be able to find a replacement that's been manufactured reasonably recently but otherwise, specialty replacements are your only bet. Expect those to be expensive though and never pay for one that was manufactured more than half a year ago.

Having rebuilt a couple gateway and toshiba laptop packs in my days, I can tell you that even though these are nothing more than a bunch of cheap voltage-matched 18650 pairs potted with a condom board, most branded battery packs are designed to be near-impossible to service so it's really really not worth the hassle.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm