Laptop Battery Hack demonstrated via Video

If you have been looking ways to save your laptop batteries, you might have come across many articles online.
Barbara wrote on :

If you have been looking ways to save your laptop batteries, you might have come across many articles online. The articles are always written in detail for users like you and me to easly understand. But having this demonstrated via a video recording makes it even more easier to understand... infact by using this hack you can save money as well. Heres' the article

http://askwiki.blogspot.com/2007/04/laptop-battery-hack-demonstrated-...

Good Day

William A. T. Clark replied on :

In article 1175712145.771665.34960@redacted.invalid, "Barbara" barbarareeves80@redacted.invalid wrote:

If you have been looking ways to save your laptop batteries, you might have come across many articles online. The articles are always written in detail for users like you and me to easly understand. But having this demonstrated via a video recording makes it even more easier to understand... infact by using this hack you can save money as well. Heres' the article

http://askwiki.blogspot.com/2007/04/laptop-battery-hack-demonstrated-...

Good Day

These work better if you post a valid URL, rather than one that just leads to a "page not found".

William Clark

Grandpa replied on :

William A. T. Clark wrote:

In article 1175712145.771665.34960@redacted.invalid, "Barbara" barbarareeves80@redacted.invalid wrote:

If you have been looking ways to save your laptop batteries, you might have come across many articles online. The articles are always written in detail for users like you and me to easly understand. But having this demonstrated via a video recording makes it even more easier to understand... infact by using this hack you can save money as well. Heres' the article

http://askwiki.blogspot.com/2007/04/laptop-battery-hack-demonstrated-...

Good Day

These work better if you post a valid URL, rather than one that just leads to a "page not found".

William Clark This surprises you? But, if you really want to see it, start here: http://askwiki.blogspot.com/

Randal L. Schwartz replied on :

"Grandpa" == Grandpa me@redacted.invalid writes:

Grandpa> This surprises you? Grandpa> But, if you really want to see it, start here: Grandpa> http://askwiki.blogspot.com/

Heh. To save a mere $70, he special-orders lithium battery cells, waits for them to arrive, then spends about two hours labor (with a physical risk that it'll blow up in your face), just to get a working battery.

No thanks. That's penny-wise, pound-foolish.

Florian Zschocke replied on :

"Barbara" barbarareeves80@redacted.invalid schrieb:

If you have been looking ways to save your laptop batteries, you might have come across many articles online. The articles are always written in detail for users like you and me to easly understand. But having this demonstrated via a video recording makes it even more easier to understand... infact by using this hack you can save money as well. Heres' the article

http://askwiki.blogspot.com/2007/04/laptop-battery-hack-demonstrated-...

Good Day

Show me one IBook,PowerBook or MacBook battery which you can open that easy.

Florian

greg.r.mc replied on :
You must remember, some people enjoy doing this kind of thing. There is a lot of satisfaction to be had building or repairing things regardless of the amount of money you save.
John Johnson replied on :

In article 1176033644.153280.213100@redacted.invalid, greg.r.mc@redacted.invalid wrote:

You must remember, some people enjoy doing this kind of thing. There is a lot of satisfaction to be had building or repairing things regardless of the amount of money you save.

The satisfaction gained from this sort of work must be balanced against the risk of equipment damage or injury if one solders the cells incorrectly.

I didn't look closely at the website, but I saw one link to swapping out cells on some sort of PC, where the person was soldering tabs onto the individual cells. That's exactly the sort of activity that's likely to damage the cell and pose serious safety concerns. Ideally, those tabs would be spot-welded on, but people don't typically have that capability. Soldering puts much more heat into the cell (though it is possible to solder tabs to these cells successfully, I admit that), and given the nature of Li-ion batteries, there's a very real risk of rupture and fire. This is in contrast to Ni-Cd batteries where if you overheated the cell, it would vent and all you'd have is a dead cell, rather than a good chance of fire.

It's great that people like doing that work; I'm a person who doesn't mind paying more-or-less the same money to repair instead of replace, sometimes. The problem in this case is that unless you get things exactly right, the new battery might fail early (and possibly take out your computer), or the cell could simply vent or vent and catch fire on the workbench. Understanding the risks of working with Li-ion batteries and having appropriate safety precautions in place is important. That this makes the repair more expensive (in time and money) is a side-issue to the very real safety concerns. The main issue, IMO, is that the combination of the money spent on materials and the risks involved in the work make it a repair that's simply not worth doing.

Florian Zschocke replied on :

greg.r.mc@redacted.invalid schrieb:

You must remember, some people enjoy doing this kind of thing. There is a lot of satisfaction to be had building or repairing things regardless of the amount of money you save.

Ok, make me a video about the same story with a Titanium, Ibook or PowerBook G4 FW800 battery.

Florian

greg.r.mc replied on :

On Apr 8, 7:08 am, John Johnson n...@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1176033644.153280.213...@redacted.invalid,

greg.r...@redacted.invalid wrote:

You must remember, some people enjoy doing this kind of thing. There is a lot of satisfaction to be had building or repairing things regardless of the amount of money you save.

The satisfaction gained from this sort of work must be balanced against the risk of equipment damage or injury if one solders the cells incorrectly.

Later, John

This is true of anything you do, such as driving a car, riding a bicycle, going for a swim, etc. Just because there is a wrong way to do something does not mean "better not do it". Many people have the ability and sense to do it right.

Reminds me of a quote I saw recently.... "There's really no need to actively try to get rid of stupid people - just remove all those warning labels and the problem will take care of itself".

John Johnson replied on :

In article 1176064851.748480.132120@redacted.invalid, greg.r.mc@redacted.invalid wrote:

On Apr 8, 7:08 am, John Johnson n...@redacted.invalid wrote:

In article 1176033644.153280.213...@redacted.invalid,

greg.r...@redacted.invalid wrote:

You must remember, some people enjoy doing this kind of thing. There is a lot of satisfaction to be had building or repairing things regardless of the amount of money you save.

The satisfaction gained from this sort of work must be balanced against the risk of equipment damage or injury if one solders the cells incorrectly.

Later, John

This is true of anything you do, such as driving a car, riding a bicycle, going for a swim, etc. Just because there is a wrong way to do something does not mean "better not do it". Many people have the ability and sense to do it right.

Yes, and many people think that they do, but are wrong. My point is simply that the original post painted this procedure as a simple way of saving money by rebuilding your battery, but that the procedure is actually not that simple, doesn't actually save very much money, and imposes substantial risk of injury or property damage. If someone chooses to go ahead anyway, at least they have a better understanding of the risks and rewards of trying out this operation.