Seeking Aftermarket Laptop Battery Recommendations

[careless]

I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 with a dead battery. I'd like to replace it with a 9 cell battery, but don't want to pay the ransom for a OEM Dell brand.

Does anyone have a good experience with a particular brand or seller of aftermarket replacement laptop batteries? I've read may reviews on Amazon and other places, and it seems to be a roll of the dice with some of the aftermarket sellers. It seems some won't even work properly in a E1505 because they lack the proper smart circuitry. Others are claimed to be useless after 6 months.

Any helpful information will be appreciated.

 

[taltamir]

Pay the ransom or do without...
a bad battery literally explodes and you mentioned yourself how its a roll of the dice and some will not even work properly or crap out in 6 months. (which has been my experience)...
it will also be expensive unless you buy it from ebay... in which case it will be shipped from china. although, to be honest, i had some good luck with chinese cell phone batteries. Some were the wrong size or wrong voltage. but most work out really well, and at 99 cents + 1.99 shipping for something that is normally 50$ you can't really go wrong (unless it explodes on your ear... which I have read... but so far I am still buying them aftermarket)

 

[careless]

Any different opinions or experiences out there?

 

[careless]

Up

 

[Emulex]

aftermarket battery = suxors. i had one and it lasted like 6 months fine then one day poof. would go from like 92% to 5% instantly - useless. i used a timer outlet to prevent overcharing even. and factory charger. lame. never again unless someone that is american is going to warranty it for years

 

[SooperDave]

I need a battery for my Compaq as well and HP/Compaq no longer carries them. The last battery I got for it was crap right out of the box. I've got alot of various rechargable packs around here that are bad (drills, mp3 players, shavers) and I think I could replace the cells myself so I've been looking around for a source that carries the cells and lists them by size/rating. No luck so far.

 

[taltamir]

aftermarket battery = suxors. i had one and it lasted like 6 months fine then one day poof. would go from like 92% to 5% instantly - useless. i used a timer outlet to prevent overcharing even. and factory charger. lame. never again unless someone that is american is going to warranty it for years

but the price difference could be 3$ shipped vs 50$ + tax + shipping. at that price, replacing it every 6 months or throwing it in the trash if its the wrong battery (happened to me!) is just too appealing. Which is what I have been doing with some devices... just not laptops since the battery is so big and I worry about it exploding.
To be fair, the original manufacturer batteries are often also crap from china and liable to be exploding (remember the exploding laptop fiasco not too long ago?)

 

[Emulex]

yeah but who is liable the chinese folks that drop ship a battery to your door? is that even legal to put in your laptop? will the insurance company be pissed when your house/family got burned because you saved some money ?

i'm just saying lithium-ion is dangerous - as it is - if you must go aftermarket make sure its a company that can stand behind a recall/lawsuit.

to me a fire is never worth it.
running out of battery unexpectedly really sucks.

the science behind changing - smart batteries - fast charging - amazing stuff but the tiniest mistake in production can lead to poof or short lasting battery.

the fire part really bothers me - i have a kid - no price for extra safety

 

[Spicedaddy]

I haven't had much luck with cheap chinese batteries and power supplies... Get OEM, it's worth the money.

 

[Rogue 9]

My wife has a Dell E1505, and I bought this http://www.diamondbackbatt.com/dellequivalentinspiron6400hhighcapacitybattery.aspx
as a replacement. Had it about 3-4 months, and it's been fine. The seller has a year warranty and is rated well here http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Diamondback_Battery_Electronics

BTW... I have been lurking here for years. Had posted some a long time ago, but forgot what my account was.

 

[hypn05]

you have to consider lifetime and price aftermarket battery compere to lifetime and price aftermarket new battery.

All battery have max charging cycles, for every time you charge it is deducted. You can't be sure how many charging cycles already in use and how many left.
You can get aftermarket battery but most likely it happened accidentally. If I were you I won't bet on that.