Tips on extending battery life?

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koeks525

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Hi all,

It has been 2 years since I had XPS L502X and The Dell Battery Meter says that my battery is reaching the end of its usable life. I'm quite shocked, 2 years already and the battery is dying out. And yes the software is right, my battery used to last like 3hrs, now it only lasts just over an 1hr from fully charged.

So, I went to Dell's website to have a look how much a new battery is going to cost me (some time this year I guess my battery will be completely useless).

A 6 Cell Battery costs R977.08
A 8 Cell Battery costs R1065.91

Link to the Dell Web page I viewed: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...=2999&mfgpid=223452&chassisid=-1&stype=4&Tab=

I would like to know 2 things:

1. Is there any local suppliers that have these batteries for cheaper, and brand new?
2. Also, is there anything one can do to ensure their batteries lasts longer?

Thanks a lot!
 
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1. Not sure about locally but I brought a 8 celled dell latitude E4310 battery for R250 in China, maybe find an importer to buy it for you.

2. This is what I gathered after some research a while ago:
make sure the battery does not operate in a very hot environment....especially when plugged in.
If you are gonna have the laptop on charge for a long time, rather unplug the battery
If you wanna store the battery, store it in the fridge at 40% full
Do a full cycle charge every month (discharge all, recharge to 100% in one go)

I think heat kills it really quick, I remember an old laptop of mine (HP Compaq something, my first laptop with a Turion) had heat issues...the battery use to last 3 hours...after about a year...it was 30min

My second laptop was a Benq Joybook S42, now that thing lasted 3 hours for 3 years straight....because I followed the above rules.
Keep the battery cool, heat kills it really quick.
 
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Dunno where you stay, but in Edenvale/Modderfontein area there is a place called Carter Agencies. Same building as Shimano. Anyway, if they don't have a battery, they will make it up for you. They take the casing apart and replace the cells with new ones. Have not done it with a laptop battery, but should be no different. Phone them and hear if they will refurb a laptop battery for you. They are also way cheaper than any other supplier. I bought a BB8xxx battery for my daughter's phone for something like R85.
 
Nameite said:
1. Not sure about locally but I brought a 8 celled dell latitude E4310 battery for R250 in China, maybe find an importer to buy it for you.

2. This is what I gathered after some research a while ago:
make sure the battery does not operate in a very hot environment....especially when plugged in.
If you are gonna have the laptop on charge for a long time, rather unplug the battery
If you wanna store the battery, store it in the fridge at 40% full
Do a full cycle charge every month (discharge all, recharge to 100% in one go)

I think heat kills it really quick, I remember an old laptop of mine (HP Compaq something, my first laptop with a Turion) had heat issues...the battery use to last 3 hours...after about a year...it was 30min

My second laptop was a Benq Joybook S42, now that thing lasted 3 hours for 3 years straight....because I followed the above rules.
Keep the battery cool, heat kills it really quick.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the tips. I assume I must first put the bag in some sort of plastic bag before putting it in the fridge. Yeah I have a friend who will be going to China around June so I could use him :) My laptop has been operating in cool area's all this time though (My bedroom desk, dining room desk, on my bed, and at LAN's - The LAN area has got air conditioning).

Lord Farquart said:
Dunno where you stay, but in Edenvale/Modderfontein area there is a place called Carter Agencies. Same building as Shimano. Anyway, if they don't have a battery, they will make it up for you. They take the casing apart and replace the cells with new ones. Have not done it with a laptop battery, but should be no different. Phone them and hear if they will refurb a laptop battery for you. They are also way cheaper than any other supplier. I bought a BB8xxx battery for my daughter's phone for something like R85.
Click to expand...

I'm in PE, Summerstrand at the moment. When they replace the cells in the battery, will they replace it to as it was? (My Battery is a 6 Cell Battery).
 
okuhle94 said:
Thanks a lot for the tips. I assume I must first put the bag in some sort of plastic bag before putting it in the fridge. Yeah I have a friend who will be going to China around June so I could use him :) My laptop has been operating in cool area's all this time though (My bedroom desk, dining room desk, on my bed, and at LAN's - The LAN area has got air conditioning). .
Click to expand...

Cool areas yes, but the bottom of the laptop should always be somewhere with good airflow...like on a hard book cover or on a desk...my first laptop died coz I use to watch movies in bed...the heat coming out of the laptop got trapped by my blanket/bed sheet and heated the whole laptop up including the battery.

And yeah, I think battery repacking is a good and cheap idea...in china he would have to know where to get a good deal.
Also I used a zip bag to store my battery in the fridge, didnt want any water to condense on/in it.

Cheers
 
Nameite said:
Do a full cycle charge every month (discharge all, recharge to 100% in one go)
Click to expand...
+1 to everything you wrote, especially above. Battery management frequently get confused. Full discharge/recharge reset counters and reveal a real battery condition.
 
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I have another question I would like to ask:

My laptop has a 4 Year warranty (3 years from Dell + 1 year from Incredible Connection). How long is the warranty for the battery and charger? Is the battery even covered by a warranty?
 
Many people dont know that when you are charging the laptop and its full, its actually bad to leave it plugged in, i've found that when you are near a power source (at home just browsing,watching a movie) take out the full battery and just use AC power on its own, then when you are mobile, insert the battery.

Also power plans can alter battery life: High performance = less battery life/most performance , power saver = best life/less performance.
 
Rickster said:
Many people dont know that when you are charging the laptop and its full, its actually bad to leave it plugged in, i've found that when you are near a power source (at home just browsing,watching a movie) take out the full battery and just use AC power on its own, then when you are mobile, insert the battery.
Click to expand...
I strongly advice not to do it. While battery life is little extended due not getting heat from the laptop and to lessen degree small charging/discharging cycles, you are exposing laptop electronics to power surges and also spikes to the poor contact with the charger which are normally discharged on the low resistance of the battery. Small benefit, a much bigger risk.
 
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sajunky said:
I strongly advice not to do it. While battery life is little extended due not getting heat from the laptop and to lessen degree small charging/discharging cycles, you are exposing laptop electronics to power surges and also spikes to the poor contact with the charger which are normally discharged on the low resistance of the battery. Small benefit, a much bigger risk.
Click to expand...

Not trying to sound like a know it all...but were is your source/proof of this info?
 
I don't need to give you a proof of risk of power surge, it is the same as for all electronic equipment TV sets, Hifi, PC. Our common reality...
You don't hear the same about laptops, as battery protects it.

Re spikes you can find a proof by yourself. Remove battery, pull the plug from the laptop and pull it back in quick succession, fast enough to keep laptop running. Report back how many times you managed to do this before laptop stop working. ;)
 
sajunky said:
I don't need to give you a proof of risk of power surge, it is the same as for all electronic equipment TV sets, Hifi, PC. Our common reality...
You don't hear the same about laptops, as battery protects it.

Re spikes you can find a proof by yourself. Remove battery, pull the plug from the laptop and pull it back in quick succession, fast enough to keep laptop running. Report back how many times you managed to do this before laptop stop working. ;)
Click to expand...

You got a point, especially due to the power grid conditions of SA. Even if it doesnt fook the circuitry, frequent power loss will also mess up the hdd.

The best way is to get a small UPS, those things are good at absorbing spikes and unplanned power trips. For both your PC and laptop.
 
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