Battery from 1999

[mpcook]

I bought a T series battery on ebay and received it today. It was advertised as "brand new fully tested with zero cycles original IBM Li-ION battery". Based on Battery MaxiMiser, the battery was made April 1999 and shows one cycle, first use Oct 2006. It is a 3.8AH (my other two T23 batteries are 4.0AH). I am wondering if this in deed could have been manufactured in 1999, and has either been sitting on a shelf, or has been rebuilt. Or can Battery MaxiMiserbe showing the wrong data?
Thanks!

[rkawakami]

My understanding is that the battery information is obtained from a memory chip inside the battery. If it WAS re-built, then somebody went to the trouble of re-programming the memory. Why they wouldn't also change the manufacturing date is a puzzle.

Most likely, you have what is referred to as NOS; "new old stock". It has probably been sitting somewhere all these years. If so, you may not be getting too much life out of it since the cells will degrade over time even if not used.

If it is a genuine IBM battery then it should contain the aforementioned memory chip. If it is an "aftermarket" battery (i.e., it doesn't have the IBM logo on it), then it's possible that it doesn't. However, since the BatteryMaximiser utility indicates some information, I would have to believe the memory is in there and is correct.

[pianowizard]

FYI, the first T series was released in May 2000. So it does seem weird.

[tomh009]

I bought a T series battery on ebay and received it today. It was advertised as "brand new fully tested with zero cycles original IBM Li-ION battery". Based on Battery MaxiMiser, the battery was made April 1999 and shows one cycle, first use Oct 2006. It is a 3.8AH (my other two T23 batteries are 4.0AH). I am wondering if this in deed could have been manufactured in 1999, and has either been sitting on a shelf, or has been rebuilt. Or can Battery MaxiMiser be showing the wrong data?
Thanks!

3.8 Ah -- at 10.8V, that's about 41 Wh. Is that the design capacity? If so, what's the maximum capacity showing up as on your laptop, after conditioning the battery?

[rkawakami]

The T23 I'm using at the moment has this for the battery information:

Mfg date: 2001-04-16
First used: 2002-10
FRU: 02K6627
Design capacity: 38.88Wh
Full charge capacity: 35.02Wh
Cycle count: 49

So it looks like it sat on the shelf for a year and a half before being installed. I received this particular battery with a T22 about two months ago and lasts about 1.5 hours on a charge while web surfing. Given the age of my battery and the very few times it's been recharged over the years, I would guess that your full charge capacity is around 35-37Wh.

[tomh009]

The T23 I'm using at the moment has this for the battery information:

Mfg date: 2001-04-16
First used: 2002-10
FRU: 02K6627
Design capacity: 38.88Wh
Full charge capacity: 35.02Wh
Cycle count: 49

So it looks like it sat on the shelf for a year and a half before being installed. I received this particular battery with a T22 about two months ago and lasts about 1.5 hours on a charge while web surfing. Given the age of my battery and the very few times it's been recharged over the years, I would guess that your full charge capacity is around 35-37Wh.

My X31 primary battery:

Mfg date: 2004-09-27
First used: 2005-02
FRU: 08K8048
Design capacity: 47.52Wh
Full charge capacity: 36.92Wh
Cycle count: 672

Those are happy numbers -- I use my battery a lot!

My extended battery was also on the shelf for a few years before I first used it, but it seems not to have suffered appreciably from that.

[mpcook]

I bought a T series battery on ebay and received it today. It was advertised as "brand new fully tested with zero cycles original IBM Li-ION battery". Based on Battery MaxiMiser, the battery was made April 1999 and shows one cycle, first use Oct 2006. It is a 3.8AH (my other two T23 batteries are 4.0AH). I am wondering if this in deed could have been manufactured in 1999, and has either been sitting on a shelf, or has been rebuilt. Or can Battery MaxiMiser be showing the wrong data?
Thanks!

3.8 Ah -- at 10.8V, that's about 41 Wh. Is that the design capacity? If so, what's the maximum capacity showing up as on your laptop, after conditioning the battery?

Here is what I see:
Design capacity - 38.88 Wh
Man Date - 1999-04-26
Serial Num - 1676
FRU - 02K6627
Remaining Capacity - 31.94 Wh
Full Charge Capacity - 32.00 Wh
Cycle count - 2

Shouldn't the full charge capacity be 38.88 Wh for a new battery?

[tomh009]

Here is what I see:
Design capacity - 38.88 Wh
Man Date - 1999-04-26
Serial Num - 1676
FRU - 02K6627
Remaining Capacity - 31.94 Wh
Full Charge Capacity - 32.00 Wh
Cycle count - 2

Shouldn't the full charge capacity be 38.88 Wh for a new battery?

It should be closer, but it is a seven-year-old battery. I would bet that reconditioning it a couple of times will get you close.

Nevertheless, I think your battery is still good in spite of its age!

[mpcook]

Well, I wrote to the ebay seller and mentioned my "new" battery looked to be 7 years old, and they offered to take it back. So I will continue my search for a good battery.

[jayeye]

I'm surprised your battery is as good as it is given how old it is.
Lithium-ion batteries degrade with time regardless of whether they've been used or not. They also degrade faster at higher temperatures, so the previous statement is not entirely correct; if they are being used, they are running warmer, so they do degrade faster.