Spare Battery Comparison - UltraBay vs. Spare System Battery

Message

ntully · #1 Post by **ntully** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 10:43 pm

I would like to get a spare/backup battery for my new T42p and I am considering the UltraBay Slim Li Polymer Battery http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &cntry=840 and the Standard Capacity Li-Ion System Battery http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &cntry=840.

Has anyone used both models? Which will provide more capacity as a spare/backup to my High-Capacity Li-Ion System Battery? Would anyone recommend one over the other? One the one hand, I surmise that the UltraBay Slim unit will be easier to transport while the System battery will further reduce the already svelte footprint of my T42p (a good thing).

Ah decisions. Any input would be appreciated.

cchsiao · #2 Post by **cchsiao** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:15 pm

Considering the life of battery time, I would suggest that you buy both (as I did). Use the main battery first, and once the main battery is going to be out of electricity, plug in the ultrabay slim battery and swap the main battery with a charged. I would say this will keep your thinkpad run more than 10 hours for normal use.

Considering only one battery, which one is better? Well... I think you should go for a ultraslim bay one because then you don't have to shutdown your thinkpad in order to swap the battery.

For cheaper batteries, you can check those on ebay which will be less expensive. However, remember to buy a IBM branded battery instead of compatible ones (ultrabay slim batteries are all IBM branded).

Volker · #3 Post by **Volker** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:05 pm

Ultrabay slim battery: 1.5 Ah
Standard 6-cell battery: 4.4 Ah
Extended 9-cell battery: *priceless* ... uh, I mean, 6.6 Ah.

fbrdphreak · #4 Post by **fbrdphreak** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:36 pm

Anyone got a tip where to get the best price on an UltraBay battery? I hear they're 'spensive....

Tan Mann · #5 Post by **Tan Mann** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:21 pm

Volker wrote:Ultrabay slim battery: 1.5 Ah
Standard 6-cell battery: 4.4 Ah
Extended 9-cell battery: *priceless* ... uh, I mean, 6.6 Ah.

So true, the 9-cell keeps my 2378FUU going for a full 6 hrs...

The slim(1.5Ah) is [censored] expensive for the amount of juice it provides, however as metioned elsewhere, it makes for uniterrupted use of Thinkpad while swapping the 9-cell for a 6-cell.

I would suggest that one keep a close eye on the DATE CODE(manufactured date) of the slim battery. Make sure it is as "fresh" as possible. The 1st time I ordered a slim batt, I was shipped a unit that was 15 months old...About 30% of it's rated capacity was gone already...I got at most 70 mins out of it..I sent it back....took 2 weeks and I got a unit that was about 3 months old...not bad!

fbrdphreak · #6 Post by **fbrdphreak** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:26 pm

Could you provide details of what you're doing when you get 6 hours worth? A 9-cell is a forthcoming purchase decision of mine and I would love to know what to expect. Thanks

cchsiao · #7 Post by **cchsiao** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:38 pm

Wow... My T42p (KTU) comes with a 9 cell battery, but it only make my Thinkpad run for about 4 hours (actually less than 4 hours)... That's really weird. Do you use "super power save" power scheme to get 6 hour battery time?

I didn't see any manufactured date of my ultrabay slim battery? I didn't even plug it into the bay since I didn't travel for a long time... well... I mean, I didn't have to use it unless I am on the trip back to Taiwan or something like that... How do you know the manufactured date of the battery then?

fbrdphreak · #8 Post by **fbrdphreak** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:53 pm

You can check the battery info with the Battery Maximizer gauge. Click once in the battery indicator on your task bar, then click Battery Information. voila

Tan Mann · #9 Post by **Tan Mann** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:51 pm

Well, my T42 is a 2378FUU, the el-cheapo 14" XGA unit. Using a personalized setting via the Battery Maximiser with Very Slow settings and reducing my screen brightness down to 5 setting, stopping the HDD after 10mins, I am able to get a comfortable 6 hrs..

I imagine with a SXGA+ 15" screen which sucks a bit more juice and having the CPU set for ADAPTIVE via the Battery Maximiser, the 4 hours seems right.

Tan Mann
2378FUU/1.5PM/1G/100G/14"/9CL

Tan Mann · #10 Post by **Tan Mann** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:53 pm

The Date Code is found on the shipping box that the battery came in.

It is usually found pretty near the IBM part # for the battery or near the IBM serial # for the Battery.

Assuming, you still have that box...

fbrdphreak · #11 Post by **fbrdphreak** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:55 pm

Is your 6 hours with wi-fi enabled? Thanks

Tan Mann · #12 Post by **Tan Mann** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:19 am

fbrdphreak wrote:Is your 6 hours with wi-fi enabled? Thanks

Yup!
I have this set pretty aggressively for low-power useage...my Intel BG wrls mPCI thingie is set for lowest power consumption, my serial and par ports are disabled. My Infrared thing is disabled and I have pretty much all "beeps" turned off...Oh yeah, even the CDRW is set for "silent" operation.

Nice and quiet and long-lived...

Tan Mann
2378FUU/1.5PM/1G/100G/14"/9CL

cchsiao · #13 Post by **cchsiao** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 6:22 am

Tan Mann wrote:The Date Code is found on the shipping box that the battery came in.

It is usually found pretty near the IBM part # for the battery or near the IBM serial # for the Battery.

Assuming, you still have that box...

Oh... [censored]...
I just checked the date, and found out that the date of my ultrabay slim battery was made Dec 2003.

So... maybe I should check if it's capable of full charge...

zverg · #14 Post by **zverg** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:04 am

root[ ~ ] # cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT1/state
present: yes
capacity state: ok
charging state: charged
present rate: 0 mW
remaining capacity: 22430 mWh
present voltage: 12369 mV

That is for the ultrabay slim battery, isn't this 2.24Ah?

root[ ~ ] # cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present: yes
capacity state: ok
charging state: charged
present rate: 0 mW
remaining capacity: 48160 mWh
present voltage: 12465 mV

That's for the 6-cell. These are the same numbers that are reported by the IBM software in window$

ThinkPad · #15 Post by **ThinkPad** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:26 pm

Does anyone know where I can get a 9-cell battery for my T-41

fbrdphreak · #16 Post by **fbrdphreak** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:54 pm

Do a search

WalkmanX · #17 Post by **WalkmanX** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:59 pm

Thinkpad wrote:Does anyone know where I can get a 9-cell battery for my T-41

newegg.com

ThinkPad · #18 Post by **ThinkPad** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 8:24 pm

WalkmanX wrote:
Thinkpad wrote:Does anyone know where I can get a 9-cell battery for my T-41
newegg.com

thanks, just placed an order for one.

Spare Battery Comparison - UltraBay vs. Spare System Battery

Spare Battery Comparison - UltraBay vs. Spare System Battery

Who is online