Any tricks to increase battery life

Message

asiafish · #1 Post by **asiafish** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:34 pm

Okay, I've undervolted using Notebook Hardware Control, have the screen dim and the processor slow, what else can I do to stretch the battery life on my X41? With wireless off I get about 5:30, which is up from 4:50 before undervolting.

My X41 is the 1.6GHz model.

sugo · #2 Post by **sugo** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:34 pm

If the fan is running, turn it off with tpfancontrol.

You can also turn off unused devices including modem, infrared, bluetooth, sound ... etc.

If you are willing to, you can add a 2nd battery at the bottom.

tamale · #3 Post by **tamale** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:45 am

I bought another 8 cell battery on ebay (buy it now, imodetech). it is a generic one that states it holds 4500 mah. It is about 1/2 inch longer than the OEM, holds about 59.20 whr. After doing one whole discharge, it dropped to 57.3 whr capacity. Also, the battery casing is not the reinforced plastic in other IBM batteries. However, I did pay $61 total for it including shipping, about a third the cost of the genuine battery.
You might consider this if you are on a budget.

asiafish · #4 Post by **asiafish** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:07 am

I'm debating getting another 8-cell, but I'll save my pennies to get the real thing. I just can't see risking a nearly $2000 computer to save $100 on a battery.

devilsrejection · #5 Post by **devilsrejection** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:09 am

i have an x40 with an 8 cell and an extended life, i get over 7 hours after 2 years of use lol.

fresh out the box i used to get 10 hours, ah how times have changed

asiafish · #6 Post by **asiafish** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:51 am

X40 seems to do much better on battery life than X41.

kstuart · #7 Post by **kstuart** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:43 pm

asiafish wrote:I'm debating getting another 8-cell, but I'll save my pennies to get the real thing. I just can't see risking a nearly $2000 computer to save $100 on a battery.

How is a Thinkpad risked by using an aftermarket battery ?

Genuine IBM batteries are made by Sanyo, Panasonic and other companies. I would think that the aftermarket ones are purchased from the same sources.

Admittedly it is just speculation, but I would not imagine that you could setup a factory to make batteries that fit the specific shape of Thinkpads, and then do so for lower cost than Sanyo or Panasonic. The volume seems to be too low to allow that (since each Thinkpad series requires a different battery shape and cell configuration).

wilsonhs · #8 Post by **wilsonhs** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:38 pm

An engineer friend told me that
using a newspaper to wrap your Lithium battery
and put in in the fridge (the one which can make ice)for 48hrs
and take it out, warming by natural, then recharge it for 12hours, it would be at the status of a 80%new battery
the most important thing is must use newspaper to wrap it, for avoiding condensation of water on the battery and make it shortcirulted and blow your home up. IT would be a goodexchange for a dead battery to reborn, for in success, u will save a pile of notes, but if fail, it only cost u a costless old battery.

***IMPORTANT***
This method is NOT TESTED, so, do it on your own risk.

pphilipko · #9 Post by **pphilipko** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:37 am

wilsonhs wrote:An engineer friend told me that
using a newspaper to wrap your Lithium battery
and put in in the fridge (the one which can make ice)for 48hrs
and take it out, warming by natural, then recharge it for 12hours, it would be at the status of a 80%new battery
the most important thing is must use newspaper to wrap it, for avoiding condensation of water on the battery and make it shortcirulted and blow your home up. IT would be a goodexchange for a dead battery to reborn, for in success, u will save a pile of notes, but if fail, it only cost u a costless old battery.

***IMPORTANT***
This method is NOT TESTED, so, do it on your own risk.

The freezer!?! Cooling the battery in the refrigerator does help to slow down the battery aging process, but putting t in a freezer will certainly not help. I suspect that battery may in fact burst from the extreme temperatures, from battery manufacturer's warnings.

christopher_wolf · #10 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:50 am

It could cost more than a costless old battery, it could cost you some serious injuries should *any* moisture come in contact with the raw cells. It could swell, crack, let moisture in, then explode a la Dell laptop Extra Cripsy.

Fridge, yes; not the freezer.

tamale · #11 Post by **tamale** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:21 am

You should read the article on wikipedia concerning freezing a lithium ion battery. It is not recommended, but certainly won't blow up your house. Putting it in the refrigerator though at 40% charge extends the life by 2x.

christopher_wolf · #12 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:38 am

tamale wrote:You should read the article on wikipedia concerning freezing a lithium ion battery. It is not recommended, but certainly won't blow up your house. Putting it in the refrigerator though at 40% charge extends the life by 2x.

I didn't say blow up your house, and I *certainly* wouldn't trust Wikipedia on something with the potential explosive power of lithium in the freezer. That is like trusting it for medical advice. You simply can't predict where, over time, the condensation and moisture will end up. You also can't *see* any problems with the internal cells swelling and/or leaking until it is too late.

Better safe than sorry; it is best to go with the manufacturer's recommendations. Besides, if something goes wrong when you are doing what the maker says, you can always take it back to them to deal with.

bigtiger · #13 Post by **bigtiger** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 7:18 am

I heard that you can basically buy some new cells and put them in a battery housing. Afterall, laptop battery is just some cells, plus a small eletronic board inside a small battery housing.

K0LO · #14 Post by **K0LO** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 9:22 am

Yes, and you can also buy some cloth and rope and make a parachute, but are you willing to trust your life to it?

Lithium ion batteries have the potential to fail catastrophically; that's why they have protection circuitry housed with the cells. If you're going to replace cells you really better know what you're doing or you may end up with this: (wmv format video)
http://www.rcuniverse.com/mvp/videolink.cfm?postid=1507

bigtiger · #15 Post by **bigtiger** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:39 am

k0lo wrote:Yes, and you can also buy some cloth and rope and make a parachute, but are you willing to trust your life to it?

Lithium ion batteries have the potential to fail catastrophically; that's why they have protection circuitry housed with the cells. If you're going to replace cells you really better know what you're doing or you may end up with this: (wmv format video)
http://www.rcuniverse.com/mvp/videolink.cfm?postid=1507

That is scary. I am convinced. But I still wonder the guy use 10A to charge the battery. that is too much. If you charge a battery using 10A, any battery can explode, I think.

Any tricks to increase battery life

Any tricks to increase battery life

Who is online