19 replies to this topic

[Switch]

So i have a 2 year old Compaq laptop whose battery is almost dead. It gives me a backup of 20 minutes to the max. Its a 6 Cell Battery.

Now my questions:

1. From where in NCR should i buy a new battery with warrenty ?
2. Are there different types of batteries for the same laptop ?
3. How much would a 6 Cell Battery cost ?
4. Can i fix a 9 Cell battery instead of a 6 Cell to get better backup ?
5. If yes then what are the so called side effects of doing the same ?

TIA

Switch

[axeman]

9 Cell will give you better backup time. Your current Adaptor would be 60W so your charging time would increase.

Avoid buying the original battery as it would cost you a bomb. Many OEM cells are available with 6-12 month warranty, best to go for these.

[Switch]

Pricing wise how much would be the OEM's

[axeman]

Costs vary as per quality and dealer - 3k onwards for 6 cell, and 5k onwards for 9 cell.

[Switch]

Just asked a 12 Cell Original battery was quoted for a whopping 8K while a 6 Cell for 4500 and an OEM for 2400 with six months warranty.

[lide]

My 4 year old acer battery was giving me zero backup. I was being quoted 4500 for an OEM which is more than I was prepared to pay for an old practically useless laptop.

So I broke open the existing battery pack and found that it's full of these green Li-ion cells. I ordered the cells from last month and soldered them in place of the old ones. Voila better than new for 700 bucks. Better, because in the 4 years that have passed the capacity of cells has increased. I could even add more cells in parallel and increase capacity further but this is good enough for my purpose.

Of course this is not for the faint hearted as li-ion cells are notoriously temperamental and so heating them to over 250 degrees C is a somewhat questionable strategy.

[axeman]

Your quotes are at par, ask around more and close it off. If you were Ok with the 6 cell before, dont overkill to a 9 cell.

[unni]

lide said:

My 4 year old acer battery was giving me zero backup. I was being quoted 4500 for an OEM which is more than I was prepared to pay for an old practically useless laptop.

So I broke open the existing battery pack and found that it's full of these green Li-ion cells. I ordered the cells from last month and soldered them in place of the old ones. Voila better than new for 700 bucks. Better, because in the 4 years that have passed the capacity of cells has increased. I could even add more cells in parallel and increase capacity further but this is good enough for my purpose.

Of course this is not for the faint hearted as li-ion cells are notoriously temperamental and so heating them to over 250 degrees C is a somewhat questionable strategy.

:hap2: You are great!!! From where did you purchase the cells? How much each one cost (is it 700/6)? Is it specific to a particular battery?

@axeman: From where I can get OEM batteries (for HP)?

[bond_212]

lide said:

My 4 year old acer battery was giving me zero backup. I was being quoted 4500 for an OEM which is more than I was prepared to pay for an old practically useless laptop.

So I broke open the existing battery pack and found that it's full of these green Li-ion cells. I ordered the cells from last month and soldered them in place of the old ones. Voila better than new for 700 bucks. Better, because in the 4 years that have passed the capacity of cells has increased. I could even add more cells in parallel and increase capacity further but this is good enough for my purpose.

Of course this is not for the faint hearted as li-ion cells are notoriously temperamental and so heating them to over 250 degrees C is a somewhat questionable strategy.

Thats something interesting , can u tell us how did u do it ??

[thetechmind]

I got a new battery for my HP COMPAQ 6710b yesterday for 4350 buks......the previous one was kaput and lasted less than 10 mins on full charge......the crappy "compatible" battery was for 2500 buks and the OEM for 3750 buks......the shopkeeper himself admitted the OEM's are half the time duplicates and carry 1 yr dealer warranty only......i ensured the battery box i picked was box pieced.....initially i was offered a "box'ed" piece which was "opened" for signature on the battery....which i refused and demanded a HP sealed battery....which was given joyfully on the condition that 1 yr warranty would be entertained directly by HP and i will have to go to HP service center for it , and i readily agreed to it.....

also refer to this ---> http://www.laptop-ba...atterytips.html

Answering your questions :

1. From where in NCR should i buy a new battery with warrenty ? - No clue as im from Mumbai
2. Are there different types of batteries for the same laptop ? - I doubt that.
3. How much would a 6 Cell Battery cost ? - Depends model to model , shop to shop
4. Can i fix a 9 Cell battery instead of a 6 Cell to get better backup ? - Yes, ofcourse.
5. If yes then what are the so called side effects of doing the same ? - None AFAIK. besides the fact the 9 cell would have a higher charge time.

[lide]

bond_212 said:

Thats something interesting , can u tell us how did u do it ??

It's no biggie.

I just broke open my battery case (Unfortunately they have to be broken open since they are not supposed to be serviceable). It had 4 18650 Li ion cells connected (soldered) in series. I then ordered 2 pairs of these cells (the protected variety, but the unprotected ones should work fine too) from dealextreme. They arrived a month later. Soldered the new ones in place of the old ones. Taped it up as best as I could. Plugged the battery pack in, held on to my a$$ and switched it on. After 10 minutes switched off the power and found I had battery backup again. Easy peasy.

Lots of companies use 18650 cells in their batteries. Only way to find out whether your does is google or break open the battery pack. My battery pack had space to add 4 more cells one each in parallel with the existing 4.

Actually I should have taken photos. May have made an interesting guide.

[thetechmind]

lide said:

It's no biggie.

I just broke open my battery case (Unfortunately they have to be broken open since they are not supposed to be serviceable). It had 4 18650 Li ion cells connected (soldered) in series. I then ordered 2 pairs of these cells (the protected variety, but the unprotected ones should work fine too) from dealextreme. They arrived a month later. Soldered the new ones in place of the old ones. Taped it up as best as I could. Plugged the battery pack in, held on to my a$$ and switched it on. After 10 minutes switched off the power and found I had battery backup again. Easy peasy.

Lots of companies use 18650 cells in their batteries. Only way to find out whether your does is google or break open the battery pack. My battery pack had space to add 4 more cells one each in parallel with the existing 4.

Actually I should have taken photos. May have made an interesting guide.

thats a nice DIY thingie, however risky....the link i posted in my post above.....and a quote from there as follows :

Quote

Don'ts:
# Toss, drop, or otherwise abuse the battery.
# Short-circuit the battery.
# Open and expose the cell contents.
# Modify the battery casing and/or housing.
# Allow the battery to be exposed to rain or excessive moisture.
# Incinerate a battery. Properly dispose of a used battery.

[Switch]

Hey thanks for the tips. There must be a DIY somewhere on the internet. I guess i will try to source a dead battery of my make and then do the experiment :)

Btw you can expect your blue bricks below your nick to grow as i have added few bricks to it and i am sure more members will follow.

[thetechmind]

Switch said:

Hey thanks for the tips. There must be a DIY somewhere on the internet. I guess i will try to source a dead battery of my make and then do the experiment :)

Btw you can expect your green bire below your nick to grow as i have added few bricks to it and i am sure more members will follow.

few links that i pondered upon after reading this thread.....might help u switch...

Gizmodo - DIY: Refill Your Own Laptop Batteries - Batteries
DIY Laptop Battery Rebuild
DIY Laptop Battery The UberReview
Homemade DIY Laptop Battery! (batteries not included)

[Switch]

I found one...

DIY Laptop Battery Rebuild

Edit: Just saw you already have posted that :). I guess i will get this done from a good TV repairing shop where the guys are pretty good at soldering stuff. I might need to stand on thier head for getting this done but its worth the effort and also its worth being cheap :P

[thetechmind]

OT : the sentence on the "CON" section on that page is damm funny !....also I hope u went thru the conclusion section entirely !.....

definitely worth a try though.

[superczar]

Quote

1. From where in NCR should i buy a new battery with warrenty ?
2. Are there different types of batteries for the same laptop ?
3. How much would a 6 Cell Battery cost ?
4. Can i fix a 9 Cell battery instead of a 6 Cell to get better backup ?
5. If yes then what are the so called side effects of doing the same ?

1- Nehru Place? :S
2- Not really, the Make and series is all you need
3- Should be ~2.5-3K for OEM
4- Yup, expect precisely 1.5 X runtime
5 - None at all

As for reviving an old batt, not worth the headache at all...esp since a rebuilt Li-Ion battery can also be downright dangerous
Okay to do perhaps if you are a student on a tight budget...absolutely not OK if you have a kid in the house


Check here as well, friend bought a genuine battery for a 2 year old DV series for 3.4K

http://www.gadgets.i...ies/compaq.html

[blr_p]

superczar said:

As for reviving an old batt, not worth the headache at all...esp since a rebuilt Li-Ion battery can also be downright dangerous
Okay to do perhaps if you are a student on a tight budget...absolutely not OK if you have a kid in the house

To save a cpl of grand you risk your laptop in the event of a fire or worse.

If Apple had probs with exploding/self-igniting batteries that presumably were professionally assembled, what are the odds the tinkerer could pull it off.

How hard can it be tho ?

All you are doing is soldering contacts and then repackaging it up.

Its not impossible but unless one *really* knows what goes where as well as the safety record of the replaced battereis, its a risk.

[axeman]

It would make a gr8 DIY, but buy a regular battery just in case :D

[blr_p]

Its temptingly easy isnt it..but i suppose the 'dont try this at home' warning might be valid.