|
|
Limit on Dell Laptop Battery Recharges?
08-24-2008, 08:33 AM
|
#1
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Limit on Dell Laptop Battery Recharges?
__________________
Al
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
08-24-2008, 08:42 AM
|
#2
|
Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,586
|
We have had 3 dell laptops at home - all college laptops kept for far more than 1.5 years, and this has never happened. Sounds like an urban legend.
That said, if your primary laptop use in plugged in, you should keep the battery out until needed. This maximizes battery life.
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 08:54 AM
|
#3
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Maybe. I need to determine whether the problem is with the battery. I'll be bummed if I buy a new one, but the problem remains.
Here's another site regarding this:
http://www.west-wind.com/Weblog/posts/365.aspx
__________________
Al
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 09:52 AM
|
#4
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
Al...I've never heard of this before and in looking, your second link is from 2004.
I couldnt find very much discussion on this from any reputable sources, mostly just a couple of guys on the internet who mentioned it and then followed that up with anti-dell rants.
My gut says that if Dell was prematurely killing batteries for the last 4 years, there'd be plenty of legitimate discussion on it and they'd have been sued like the printer manufacturers who prematurely showed printer carts as 'empty' when they werent.
Most batteries are made by the same couple of el cheapo far east companies. I suspect what you're seeing is either a defective product that lost a cell after a year and a half or simply a cheaply made battery.
If you look at the battery recalls from last year, one bad batch from one company affected about 9 different laptop makers from toshiba to dell to sony. So I dont think brand has much to do with it.
I've had laptop batteries that could still hold a 20-25 minute charge 5 years later. I've also had a couple crap out after a year or two.
Each battery technology DOES have an average limit to the number of discharge/recharge cycles. For most laptop batteries this is going to be in the 300-400 range.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 10:08 AM
|
#5
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Yeah, I think you're right.
Do you have a good source for replacement batteries?
__________________
Al
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 10:54 AM
|
#6
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
Bought one from these guys for my wifes E1705. Looked exactly like the original when we got it except the sticker said something other than "Dell".
http://www.fatwallet.com/cash-back/Batteries
10% fatcash back if you buy through fatwallet.
Do a googler for 'batteries.com coupon'. I see several for an additional 15% off, and a couple for free shipping.
I think when I bought from them I ended up with 20 or 25% off and free ship.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 11:59 AM
|
#7
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Thanks, Bun. With 25% off, it would still be $134, compared with $75 - $90 (includes shipping) from the Amazon.com sellers. I'm thinking it's probably worth the added expense -- you?
__________________
Al
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 12:03 PM
|
#8
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
I'm betting those cheaper batteries have fewer cells in them. Batteries.com usually has a small one with 4 cells and a standard replacement with 6, and sometimes an extra capacity larger one. The four cells are usually in the $60-80 range and the six cells are over a hundred.
Got some links or at least the model number of the dell?
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 12:10 PM
|
#9
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
Thats right, I remember you have an e1505.
Hmm, some of the ~$75 batteries on amazon say they're 4000+mah batteries, but they also got a bunch of 1-2* reviews because the battery died a month and a half later.
Some of the other ~$75 batteries say they're 2000mah, so smaller battery.
That price on batteries.com is stupid though. Got the one for my wifes lappie for around $80 from them. $180 is lousy. Plus they're out of stock.
I snooped around and saw a couple of outfits selling high mah batteries for ~$70 with long warranties. Many of them had various complaints on various reseller complaint sites.
Seems like a tough call.
This looked good...but they had some complaints about customer service and shipping delays. Rated "A" by the BBB though...
http://www.laptopbatterydepot.com/sh...FRxNagodKys5kA
$64, free shipping (and they're in Irvine so you'd get it quick), 2 year warranty, 7200mah/80wh
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 12:53 PM
|
#10
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
You da bunny! Thanks! Just placed my order -- total was $60.34 with tax.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
08-24-2008, 03:04 PM
|
#11
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
Let us know how it works out. I imagine a lot of people go through laptop batteries. I may be needing one for my year old slab, I havent measured it yet but I can tell its not giving me as much on a charge as it used to...maybe 25-30% less.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
09-12-2008, 09:36 PM
|
#12
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
So Al, was it any good?
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
09-13-2008, 01:54 AM
|
#13
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,072
|
It is the inkjet printer/cartridge strategy!
The laptop is free... but the batteries are made to only last a year and cost $400 each.
|
|
|
09-13-2008, 09:44 AM
|
#14
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
I dont think its brand dependent either. Most laptop batteries are made by the same 3 companies. The battery in my 15 month old Acer is starting to lose capacity...maybe somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 but I havent measured it.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
09-13-2008, 10:13 AM
|
#15
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Houston
Posts: 1,448
|
If your laptop is still worth something, I would be wary of an after-market battery. There are a lot of knock-offs coming out of Asia that will work just fine until they melt down or blow up. If your laptop is old enough then this may be worth the risk. Personally, I paid the premium for an extra Dell branded battery and power supply (even though they gouge you), but then I had just bought a new laptop, so replacement cost was high. If you can find a reliable third-party vendor then you're probably ok (assuming their supplier didn't give them a bad batch) but I would not trust a battery (branded or generic) from an anonymous ebayer.
I've also heard that leaving your laptop plugged in all the time (when its sitting at your desk overnight) will shorten the battery life. Not sure if this applies to the newer battery technology, but I have started unplugging it at night (since my laptop sits in a docking station most of the time).
|
|
|
09-14-2008, 08:53 AM
|
#16
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny
So Al, was it any good?
|
It hasn't arrived yet. It was back ordered, then delayed further, but I got an email saying they shipped it Friday. I'll give a report when I get it.
Quote:
I've also heard that leaving your laptop plugged in all the time (when its sitting at your desk overnight) will shorten the battery life.
|
I will always use a tray to keep the heat down, and I won't leave it near the fireplace when not in use. I expect that to make a significant difference in the battery's lifetime.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
09-15-2008, 03:22 PM
|
#17
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
So far so good.
It came today, and it fits! I expected the system to see it as "Battery #2" but it calls it "Battery #1."
It charged up in less than an hour. I'm running on it now, and it says I have 5 hours remaining. However, I suspect that it will need to calibrate the discharge rate before that is accurate. I will charge/discharge it a few times.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
09-16-2008, 08:36 AM
|
#18
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
|
The first charge lasted 5 hours.
__________________
Al
|
|
|
09-16-2008, 08:56 AM
|
#19
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
The first charge lasted 5 hours.
|
We're still talking about laptop batteries, right?
__________________
Numbers is hard
|
|
|
09-16-2008, 11:09 AM
|
#20
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
|
Yep, those 7200mah batteries will give you a much longer run time than the 4000ish that probably came standard with the laptop. Might weigh an extra .25lb, but thats not so bad.
Now lets see how many years it lasts. Can you check back in on this thread in 2010 with an updated report?
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|