Old-but-New 9 Cell Battery Problem

[macmac]

My Sanyo 9 cell battery has a design capacity of 71.28wH.

However, my full charge capacity is only 59.68wH

It only has 2 cycles on it!

It was manufactured in 2003-06, and First Used in 2004-06.

However, it's never been used since it's the First Used date.

Any ideas why the significant drop in capacity? Is it solely due to the age of it?

[IR0NMAN]

If you keep your battery unused for a long period of time, it is recommended to let 50% of the charge in it and store it in a cool and dry place. Now, it seems your battery degraded, I suggest you keep using it until it drop to 40%, then you do a battery reconditioning (in the battery taskbar), this should bring it back to 6x%

[macmac]

...this should bring it back to 6x%

Did you mean 'wH' or actually just percentage?

So you suggest I wait for it to get down to 40wH? If I understood you correctly

[Kenn]

Li-ion batteries lose roughly 10-20% of their full charge every year. A 2-year-old battery will have lost about 15-25% by now, even if you've never used it once.

It's one of those things they never tell you about buying extra Li-ion batteries Get them when you need them, stockpiling is as useless as with perishable foods.

[macmac]

Nevermind!

My ABSOLUTELY AWESOME* IBM-Authorized Reseller is getting me a brand-new battery, probably a Sony too, instead of this Sanyo.



*If having previously given me an entirely new 3 year warranty on my T40p for free doesn't warrant the 'ABSOLUTELY AWESOME' statement, nothing does

[IR0NMAN]

Sorry, I meant wH... well, great for you if you have a new battery!

[macmac]

I told him about perhaps reconditioning the battery as you had mentioned, and he told "but that takes HOURS! Just overnight it to me, and I'll overnight a new one back to you." I love this guy

[bert]

What do you guys mean by reconditioning? Complete discharge/charge cycle? I thought that was for Ni-Cads only and that it was harmful for Li-Ions to completely discharge.

[Leon]

See this thread:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=9125

Please add Location and other relevant data to your profile. Not required, but appreciated.

[Kenn]

That's awesome! Your reseller rocks. Even with the 3-year warranty and thinkpad protection program, the battery is normally covered for only 1 year.