Is this a good idea?

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bhtooefr · #1 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 4:23 pm

My ThinkPad X21's battery has gone to crap (actually, it wasn't far when I first got the thing). Design capacity was 35.88Wh, when I got it, it was 25.44Wh, and now it's 21.04Wh (after a refresh).

So, there's this place I found online that will open up this battery, and upgrade it to a 4400mAh battery (from a 3600mAh) for $69.

That will also be with new LiIon cells, instead of a battery that's been sitting on the shelf for years.

So, is this place any good, and if not, what do you suggest for a battery? This thing probably will only last an hour and a half...

Edit: And, I'm NOT paying $159 for the official IBM 02K6651. I'm thinking under $70 at most for this thing.

Pennstate · #2 Post by **Pennstate** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 5:06 pm

YOu can find 4400mah generics on ebay for $60 shipped

roast · #3 Post by **roast** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 7:48 pm

Pennstate wrote:YOu can find 4400mah generics on ebay for $60 shipped

Are they new and well conditioned though?... Badly conditioned batteries is what he's trying to avoid.

Pennstate · #4 Post by **Pennstate** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 7:55 pm

NEW Generic brand

bhtooefr · #5 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 8:07 am

NIB doesn't mean that it hasn't been sitting on a shelf for three years, though. This "Battery Refill" thing is with new cells, as far as I can tell.

Also, what auctions do you see that are $60 shipped? The cheapest I found was $56, plus $13 shipping.

This is $69 for new cells, plus $10 shipping. A little high for my tastes, but if I get a better battery...

sugo · #6 Post by **sugo** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:18 am

I wouldn't bother with a battery surgery for $69. If a new one costs less than $80. Battery has a lot of science in it. You don't normally want to open it outside the place it was made.

MadeInJapan · #7 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:18 pm

I agree...buy a new one and forget the repair. Keep the less desirable one as a back-up.

brainpicker · #8 Post by **brainpicker** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:19 pm

I've heard of batteries actually BLOWING UP on users after this process is done. Think of all the problems cell phone manufacturers are having with people buying remanufacturered Lithium batteries for their cell phones to save a few bucks, then having to have their faces re-done wen the phones blow up or catch fire! There is more to a Lithium battery than replacing cells. Ask someone who knows about Lithium batteries and they will tell you! DO NOT DO IT!!!

Yak

bhtooefr · #9 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:35 pm

Between brainpicker's reply, and a quick look at ResellerRatings, I'm going to stay FAR away from this place.

Besides, I was also thinking, "hmm... I WOULD have the old battery as a spare if I went with a new generic..."

pitsche · #10 Post by **pitsche** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 9:48 am

Hello,

the company I once worked for, had "exchanged" the cells inside their battery packs several times by a local battery factory (is this the right word for it? they build batteries and accumulators for almost every device, car, plane, boat, etc. and they are also offering the same exhange service like the mentionend company).

There was never a problem, the capacity was good, in same cases even more than before, because the factory put Li-Ion into the packs which were equipped with NcMh oder NcCd before (I don't know the specifics, but I remember that it were completetely differnet type of battery systems, that's for sure).

A remark to "not opening packs because they are not intented for that":
This is not true. I myself opened other battery packs for radio controlled minature boats and cars more than once and I even constructed special battery packs by soldering some cells (after I started learning with cheap and small cells) - it is not difficult. Ask any model constructioner or look at such books or websites...

A remark to exploding batteries at mobile (cellular) phones:
That's not because of changing the cells inside the pack, it is because of cheap and wrong electronic circuits that conrol recharging etc.

But there is also a big marketing hype by the original phone constructors like Motorola, Nokia, Sagem, Siemens, Samsung, etc., because they want to sell their brand name products and don't want to see customers buying no-name batteries.

Therefore they created some horrible stories about exploding mobile phone sbecause of cheap batteries build in developing countries...

Why not buy a "dead" battery for a very, very low price and give it to a battery factory, if the total cost are still reasonable?

I will do this, as soon as I have decided which used or refurbished Laptop I will buy

I am thinking about the ThinkPad A30 or Dell C800/810 with SXGA+ resolution - but the A30 is my favorite until now

greetings,
pitsche

Is this a good idea?

Scam or not?

Is this a good idea?

my company has done this several times

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