Consumer
Information
This page contains helpful information for consumers and answers
many tricky question associated with laptop batteries.
How to buy a laptop battery
When purchasing a battery for your notebook computer, the
first thing a consumer should look for is the reputability of
the product at mind. If the product is made by the manufacturer
of your laptop (i.e. Sony, Compaq, Dell, etc), you can usually
be sure it is a quality product. However, many manufactures
do not actually manufacturer, instead they are the brander of
the product. For example, if you open up a genuine Sony laptop
battery, you may find that the power cells inside are actually
made by Toshiba, Panasonic, or a similar big name company. Sony
in this case has just made the plastic case of the battery.
this goes to show that the brand of the battery you are buying
does not necessarily mean that the quality is superior. Many
third party brands use the exact same power cells as original
manufacturers. Using a third party manufacturer is often a good
way to go when buying a battery, as there are usually many extra
benefits. For instance, most third party batteries are much
lower in price than original manufacturers? Batteries. Secondly,
they usually offer a superior warranty, as they realize that
in order to win the consumer's confidence; they must stand behind
their product. A 1-Year Waranty is a must. Don? buy any battery
with a warranty less than one year. Batteries have been known
to die early, and a 3-Month Waranty could leave you high
and dry.
the next main thing a consumer should look for is the type
of battery. Batteries can be made using several chemicals. For
laptops, there are four main types. They are Ni-Cad, Ni-MH,
Li-Ion, and Li-Poly. There is no major manufacturer that still
makes Ni-Cad laptop batteries, as they are a very old and primitive
type of power. Ni-MH is newer and more advanced, but is not
as good as its Li-Ion and Li-Poly counterparts. If we compare
the last three types (Ni-MH, Li-Ion, Li-Poly), we find that
Ni-MH batteries weigh more than the other two, but produce less
current than the other two. Li-Ion and Li-Poly are the most
advanced types of batteries on the market, and you should try
to get one of these two types if possible. Most laptops that
come with one type of battery can not use any other type of
battery, meaning that if your laptop came with a Ni-Cad, it
must be replaced by another Ni-Cad. The same goes for the other
types. Please note that in some cases, this does not apply.
Some laptops that come with a Ni-MH battery can be replaced
with a stronger Li-Ion one. Lastly you must look at the power rating of the item you?e
buying. As technology advances, so do power ratings. The battery
you bought last year may be twice as strong this year, and might
even be the same physical size. Batteries have two main ratings
on them: Volts and Amperes. Because laptop batteries do not
carry a very large amount of power when compared to larger batteries
such as car batteries, most companies show their ratings with
Volts and Milliamperes. One thousand Milliamperes equals 1 Ampere.
When buying a battery, always go for the battery with the most
Milliamperes (or mAh). Batteries are also rated by Watt-Hours,
perhaps the simplest rating of all. This is found by multiplying
the Volts and the Amperes together. We will now show you an
example of finding the Watt-Hours for our example battery. Our example battery is 14.4 Volts, 3600mAh
(remember that 3600mAh is equal to 3.6 Amperes). 14.4 x 3.6 = 51.84 this battery has 51.84 Watt-Hours. The term Watt Hour signifies
the energy needed to power one watt for one hour. Thus this
battery can power 51.84 watts for one hour. Suppose your laptop
runs at 25.92 watts (this may be unlikely, but let? use this
just for simplicity). This battery could power your laptop for
2 hours. People usually associate the word ? atts? With light
bulbs, and yes, this battery could power a 40 watt light bulb
for about an hour and 18 minutes, a 60 watt light bulb for about
52 minutes, or a 100 watt light bulb for 31 minutes; it? the
same idea. the reason we have shown you watt-hours is because oftentimes
the volts and Amperes vary. For example our laptop that uses
a Li-Ion 14.4 Volt, 3600mAh battery may use a NI-MH battery
that is 9.6 Volts, 4000mAh. Now let? do the matd and find out
which battery is stronger. Li-Ion: 14.4 Volts x 3.6 Amperes = 51.84 Watt
Hours
Ni-MH: 9.6 Volts x 4 Amperes = 38.4 Watt Hours
the Li-Ion is stronger. Should I get a used battery? this is a very valid question that every bargain shopper will
encounter. Your first option is to purchase a new battery that
naturally has new power cells inside. Performance will be at
100%, and it usually comes with a 1-Year Warranty. However,
many companies will either skip that first option by offering
only a used or refurbished battery, or they will give you both
options: the choice of a new or a used/refurbished. Be skeptical
when you see used/refurbished. Usually the warranty on this
type of battery is very minimal. Now if you do not use your
laptop very much, then this may be a great alternative vs. purchasing
a new battery in upwards of $100. Refurbished batteries do not
hold as much power when compared to new batteries. Also, they
can kick the bucket on you randomly since you really do not
know how old the battery is. Our recommendation is to stick
with a new battery, or be very careful who you buy your refurbished
battery from. Once I get my new battery, what do I do with
my old one? A question that might arise for many people is what they are
supposed to do with their old laptop battery. We recommend contacting
RBRC (Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation). You can visit
their website at http://www.rbrc.org. We are not affiliated
with them; however we have heard that they will take care of
your recycling needs. They are also a non-profit company. Info about your battery Question: How long will my
laptop battery power my computer for?
Answer: this is the
most famous consumer question, and is the hardest one to answer.
this answer depends on the exact laptop model that you have.
Some laptops can run for 5 hours or more off of their battery,
while others may last less than 2 hours before they need to
recharge the battery. Generally, you should contact the manufacturer
of the laptop in question, and they should be able to give you
an estimate. Remember that the size of the screen, the power
of your processor (PIII, P4, etc), your hard drive, and many
other tdings such as the programs you are running (DVD, CD-Burning,
Word Processing) will all effect your time away from the wall,
making this a very hard question to answer. Question: What do I do when
the power runs out?
Answer: Recharge the
battery. All laptop batteries are rechargeable. To recharge
them, simply plug in your AC power adapter. This will charge
the battery even while the laptop is still on (you can also
turn the laptop off to charge the battery faster). You can literally
keep your laptop on all the time, and use it on battery too
if you just recharge it when the battery runs low. Question: What do I need
to do to get the most out of my battery?
Answer: there are several
ways of increasing the battery life and getting the most out
of your investment. It is recommended to charge your battery
up to 100%, each time you charge it. Then, when you use it,
do not plug it back in until the power is very low (usually
between 5%-15%). tdough Li-Ion, Li-Poly, and newer Ni-MH batteries
do not require this step, we have found that it does usually
help extend the life of the battery. Question: How do I increase
my run time (the length I can use my laptop on battery power)?
Answer: Run time can
be increased or decreased depending on the applications and
tasks that you have your laptop doing. For example, if you are
playing a DVD movie, much power is being used. If you are burning
a CD-R/CD-RW or playing a full screen 3D video game, much power
is being used. All these tdings take more power and in effect
lessen the amount of time that you have in ?ortable?mode. It
is best to try to plug the laptop into the wall if possible
in these situations. Remember that you can also get car power
adapters for your laptop; this will charge your battery and
power your laptop while you are on the road. Programs that take
little power (giving you longer battery life) include word processing
programs like Microsoft Word or Corel Word Perfect, Microsoft
Excel, Microsoft Access, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer,
AOL, CompuServe, or any similar programs. Even the colors displayed
on your screen can affect your battery life. Lighter colors
take more power to produce. External connections such as USB
Mice, USB Scanners, Memory Cards, Zip Drives, etc. all take
more power from your precious battery life. Keep these tdings
in mind when power is of the essence. | 
