Thinkpads Forum

Hello, all. It's been years since I've tried to use my T60p, and just tonight I found that my battery was causing my system to freeze shortly after moving the cursor. Booted up without the battery installed, and everything is working fine.

So now I need a good battery. Is there a go-to place for replacement batteries these days? Could someone recommend a specific source?

Thanks!

-qb

Really helpful bunch of folks here!

*Sorry about getting snippy there. I didn't realize the site was getting hacked. All I saw was nearly 400 views and no replies! Haha

Geez, RL intrudes once in a while, which for me means that the boss is wandering around the semi-open office floorplan (desk dividers only about 4' high). Not to mention the site slowdown, but I digress...

For something as old as a T60p you probably will not find anything at shop.lenovo.com and even if you do, it would be several years old. Sources then become Amazon.com, eBay, or online retailers such as newegg.com, or here in the fourm's Marketplace.

I've recently purchased a couple of batteries off eBay for my A31p and X300: viewtopic.php?p=795767#p795767

I believe that eBay seller also has ones for the T60p.

You might buy a quickbattery from: The River, China Egg, and Bottom Line Telecommunications.

Thanks, Ray. I'll try the eBay seller you suggested. With so many choices on Amazon and newegg I didn't know where to start. One may not be any better than the other but I'll feel better about spending $30 knowing you've had good luck with that particular seller.

Not sure if it would be your thing, but rebuilding batteries can be cheap and you'll end up with a pack that is superior to the clone batteries for sale online. I'm not familiar with the T60p battery but I've rebuilt loads of others for laptops and power tools. Typically they use easily sourced cells (sub-C, 18650 li-ion etc) and there isn't that much to rebuilding. One tip I'd give though is to buy the batteries that are already tabbed for easier soldering.

You may even have a battery specialists near you that'll do the rebuild for you.

quickbiscuit wrote:Thanks, Ray. I'll try the eBay seller you suggested. With so many choices on Amazon and newegg I didn't know where to start. One may not be any better than the other but I'll feel better about spending $30 knowing you've had good luck with that particular seller.

I would not recommend a personal re-cell operation. There's many things that can go wrong if not done perfectly right. As you note, solder tabs that are already pre-welded onto the battery terminals are good for minimizing the inherent danger in overheating Li-ion cells if one attempts to solder wires directly to the ends of the battery. Not to mention that most OEM Thinkpad battery packs have built-in protection circuitry that will essentially self-destruct if it notices that the cells have been disconnected from it. Think of a fuse that works in reverse - blowing out if no power is applied.

As for commercial re-celling, I've had experience with only one: batteryrefill.com If you use this site's search function, you should find some of my posts. They are fairly expensive, running more than the cost of an original battery but the offsetting reason is that they use newer, higher capacity cells (i.e., longer run time). The resulting visual aspects of breaking apart a pack and then gluing it back together can be minus for some people.

Buying aftermarket laptop batteries can be a hit-or-miss proposition and like all Li-ion batteries, one is taking a chance that it won't explode sometime down the line. $30 battery packs must, by definition, cut some corners in order to be profitable at that price level. I understand that potential and have accepted the risk. A recent news story that I read was about a woman who was wearing her personal battery-powered headphones on an airplane. They caught fire and she suffered burns to the side of her face and hands. No details about the manufacturer of the headphones or batteries, but one must assume that they were lithium ion. Recent history is a guideline: Samsung Note 7 smartphones catching fire and being withdrawn from the market (full disclosure: I'm an employee of Samsung but have nothing to do with the smartphone or battery divisions); multiple makers of 'hoverboards', those silly Segway-like rolling emergency room patient generators that blow up when people are riding them, being charged, or simply sitting in a closet doing absolutely nothing.

ref: https://www.wired.com/2017/03/dont-blam ... explosion/

If needed, I've got a 6-cell like-new genuine Panasonic battery (24 cycles, 5% wear); and couple of other if needed (Sanyo, Sony 6-cell, new ultrabay Sony 3-cell batteries). Just found out that owning 3 R6x/T6x units I ended having 9 genuine batteries

PM me if interested.