So, my laptop battery is dead/deceased.
Can I pop into PCWorld and get another one? Nope.
Duracell Direct do batteries for it (Asus X53E) but at £56 its a tad pricey. But when I look elsewhere, I see the same old suppliers selling unfamiliar battery brands on Ebay and Amazon - and I've got my fingers burnt (almost!) in the past down this route. (The extra battery I bough for my DSLR a few years ago, from a well-known camera supplier, jammed in the camera - it had swelled up- after a couple of years use. Not to mention the hand-warmer I fitted to my mobile a while back!)
So - anyone had a reputable battery from a reputable supplier - a battery that has quietly done its job with no problems for a couple of years? Much appreciated if you have any recommendations, thanks.
In the past ive dismantled the battery pack and replaced the individual cells ,but that was with older NiMH cells
Best to pay the higher price for an OEM battery or a warranteed alternative from a reputable supplier.
Otherwise you'll likely suffer similar problems to those you've had already or problems like reduced life or charging problems.
Just my opinion based on practical experience.
:beers:
£56 is not a bad price to get your laptop back working again.
Two months ago my HP Envy (which used to get very hot) with 256 GB SSD fried the motherboard and all was lost, after only 18 months use, and a 12 month warranty.
Replacement DELL with 256 GB SSD £600 in sales. I need a fast reliable machine when visiting clients (self-employed) so yes my firm bought it but the HP equivalent was over £900.
So I'm sorry - i cant get worried about £56 being a ripoff, cos it probably isn't. Laptops have gone up hugely in price over the last two years because folk realised that tablets were not the answer to everything.
Bob
If you think that a dodgy battery has the potential to burn your house down, does £56 still seem pricey?
I agree with Bob - £56 to replace it with a known brand seems a good deal.
Cheers, Mike
Quote from: red_death on January 02, 2018, 05:56:27 PM
I agree with Bob - £56 to replace it with a known brand seems a good deal.
It's a +1 on spending one something reliable.
First time my 2011 15" MacBook Pro battery started to fail, I bought one of those generic ones for 30 quid from eBay. A lot cheaper than Apple's offering (around £100 including fitting) and I felt I could take my machine apart myself, having repaired a few laptops in my time. While the battery was okay for the first few weeks, after a couple of months it dipped down to barely 2 hours away from the mains.
This time around I go a NuPower one from Newer Tech, and while not really any cheaper than Apple's battery, it certainly performs very well. Even after a couple years of average usage, I'm still getting 4-6 hours usage.
I guess it's horses for courses. If your laptop is mostly plugged in, and only needs to run a couple hours on the battery, then a generic Chinese one from eBay might be fine. If you need something with more endurance, then going for something with a known reputation might be a better bet.
Cheers, NeMo
Quote from: NeMo on January 02, 2018, 06:15:20 PM
..
If your laptop is mostly plugged in, and only needs to run a couple hours on the battery, then a generic Chinese one from eBay might be fine.
...
:worried: That's the scenario - mostly plugged in - that would worry me the most with a generic Chinese battery.
Just replaced my lad's Acer laptop battery with one from Duracell Direct. Seems to be a quality component, but early days.....
A friend of mine who chips and programs ECU's has his laptop hooked up to one of these (https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=Anti+Gravity+Personal+Power+Supply&_sacat=0) they can also jump start cars with a flat battery!
Honestly, £56 is a decent enough price for the genuine item. I have worked in IT for over 30 years and currently work for one of the major vendors. What has been said above about cheap rip-off copies is 100% true. Bear in mind also that the genuine items are made in the far east as well as the copies, so what's the difference? Mostly they remove the safety circuits that prevent over-charging, every time they remove the circuit that conditions (regulates) the charge to increase battery life and they have also been known to use cells which have failed the stringent tests required by the big vendors.
Think about it for a moment, a battery with no safety mechanisms cannot prevent over-charging and this one factor is the thing which is most likely to cause a cell to get hot and potentially explode, especially if sub-standard cells have been used. Yes, you *can* get copies which meet safety standards but that needs a lot of research which costs your time. Given the risk, do you think it's worth taking? It's a bit like asking a serial killer to hold your shotgun while you tie your shoelace.
Remember one thing in all these decisions. If you decide to go with a copy item you need to be lucky every day for a couple of years (about the life of the unit) whereas Mr Explody Overheating Fireball Esq only has to get lucky once and at best you lose the laptop, at worst.....well take a guess.
Please just buy the right thing. The difference in price is probably no more than 30 odd quid. :thumbsup:
Yes as mentioned Chinese batteries are a fire risk, there is no way I would use them especially in a mobile phone! :worried:
Quote from: Mr Sprue on January 03, 2018, 11:18:35 AM
Yes as mentioned Chinese batteries are a fire risk, there is no way I would use them especially in a mobile phone! :worried:
Aren't all these batteries made in China? I'm pretty certain the iPhone is made in China for a start! Samsung phones are often made in China too.
I always think it's wise when invoking national stereotypes, to remember to engage nuance as well!
Cheers, NeMo
Quote from: NeMo on January 03, 2018, 11:23:11 AM
Quote from: Mr Sprue on January 03, 2018, 11:18:35 AM
Yes as mentioned Chinese batteries are a fire risk, there is no way I would use them especially in a mobile phone! :worried:
Aren't all these batteries made in China? I'm pretty certain the iPhone is made in China for a start! Samsung phones are often made in China too.
I always think it's wise when invoking national stereotypes, to remember to engage nuance as well!
Cheers, NeMo
I stand to be corrected What I should have said was cheap Chinese copies!!
Quote from: Mr Sprue on January 03, 2018, 11:34:23 AM
Quote from: NeMo on January 03, 2018, 11:23:11 AM
Quote from: Mr Sprue on January 03, 2018, 11:18:35 AM
Yes as mentioned Chinese batteries are a fire risk, there is no way I would use them especially in a mobile phone! :worried:
Aren't all these batteries made in China? I'm pretty certain the iPhone is made in China for a start! Samsung phones are often made in China too.
I always think it's wise when invoking national stereotypes, to remember to engage nuance as well!
Cheers, NeMo
I stand to be corrected What I should have said was cheap Chinese copies!!
P.S Furthermore, come to think of it any other country/company that produces parts that are not OEM !
You are not necessarily safe with OEM batteries!!
HP recalls 52,000 laptop batteries due to overheating, fire hazards – How to check if you're affected
International Business Times, UK Edition
The recall comes nearly a year after HP recalled over 100,000 computers due to overheating batteries. Read the full story
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2011/hp-expands-recall-of-notebook-computer-batteries-due-to-fire-hazard (https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2011/hp-expands-recall-of-notebook-computer-batteries-due-to-fire-hazard)
http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/hp-information/recalls.html (http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/hp-information/recalls.html)
I must admit I do worry about laptop batteries. Mine is 10 years old this year, and while it's been a fantastic machine, it has taken to running hot every now and then.
Quote from: Bealman on January 06, 2018, 08:24:39 AM
I must admit I do worry about laptop batteries. Mine is 10 years old this year, and while it's been a fantastic machine, it has taken to running hot every now and then.
Have you check the fan ducts aren't all blocked up with dust? Extremely common with old laptops, which causes the fans to work harder, resulting in more noise and heat. So long as you can open a laptop, cleaning the insides is easy.
Also, if the heat is most noticeable when you're using your web browser, it could be Flash. It's notorious for making computers work harder than they usually do because it's so clunky (or at least, pushed to do stuff it wasn't originally designed for).
Cheers, NeMo
Thanks, mate.
Even though I don't understand a lot of your post, I will turn it over and check ventilation! :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bealman on January 06, 2018, 10:24:02 AM
Even though I don't understand a lot of your post, I will turn it over and check ventilation! :thumbsup:
At the very least, see if when it runs hot, do you hear the fans whirring loudly? Is hot air coming out the ventilation holes? If the portable has never been opened, I'd be 99% sure the fans have picked up some fluff over the years, and ventilation will almost certainly be less good than it was originally. That would mean the computer would run hot.
On a Mac at least, it's relatively easy to disable Flash so that it only loads when you want it to. I've found this has dramatically improved things with my relatively old (late 2011) MacBook Pro, which like your machine, runs really well otherwise. Indeed, I'm a bit underwhelmed by the latest Mac portables, so not in a rush to update any time soon!
Cheers, NeMo
Thanks, mate. That makes sense.
Clean out the vents with a toothpick or similar.
Cheaper than a new machine, and one I'm used to. :beers:
Quote from: Railwaygun on January 06, 2018, 08:11:14 AM
You are not necessarily safe with OEM batteries!!
HP recalls 52,000 laptop batteries ...
At least owners of genuine HP batteries stand a chance of avoiding disaster thanks to HP's recall. Anyone with a knock-off copy of the same battery won't get a recall.
On a couple of toshibas I own the exhaust fans also collected some dust bunnies in the bearing cap causing slow running and extra fan noise.
Clean of both bearing and vents gave cool silent running.
Quote from: Bealman on January 06, 2018, 08:24:39 AM
I must admit I do worry about laptop batteries. Mine is 10 years old this year, and while it's been a fantastic machine, it has taken to running hot every now and then.
Does it actually retain a charge and run for a decent time on battery? 10 years is old for a battery, it probably is time to replace. I find laptops start to run hot on mains as the battery ages and the charging circuit is now continually pushing charge into the battery. Can you run the laptop with the battery removed? Some models will run on mains only, some wont.
Definitely also look into cleaning out the ventilation vents and fans as has been suggested.
A compressed air can is great for blowing out the cobwebs
Or you can put your lips together and blow ( through the vent)!!
You should hear the fan whistling round.
Quote from: Railwaygun on January 06, 2018, 04:31:36 PM
A compressed air can is great for blowing out the cobwebs
Not sure about this at all! That just blows the hair and dust back into the machine if the laptop is assembled. Of course, once the laptop is opened up, you can then blow all the dirt away from the motherboard and onto the table where you're working. Is that what you meant?
Cheers, NeMo
Also blasting the fan with compressed air can cause the fan to spin,depending on the motor type this can produce a voltage ,and if that voltage is the wrong polarity other sensitive components can get upset.
Quote from: themadhippy on January 06, 2018, 07:08:27 PM
Also blasting the fan with compressed air can cause the fan to spin,depending on the motor type this can produce a voltage ,and if that voltage is the wrong polarity other sensitive components can get upset.
Learned that the hardway. Cleaning the fan on a PC mother board and allowed the CPU fan to spin up; effectively dead motherboard.
Could have been static but I always now disconnect fans and never had another problem with same cleaning methods.
Quote from: NinOz on January 07, 2018, 02:11:51 AM
Quote from: themadhippy on January 06, 2018, 07:08:27 PM
depending on the motor type this can produce a voltage ,and if that voltage is the wrong polarity other sensitive components can get upset.
allowed the CPU fan to spin up; effectively dead motherboard.
Could have been static
All very interesting, my initial thoughts are that the usual flyback diode (aka snubber ) should take care of this ?
More thinking after dawn is needed ! , , ,