A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

[SolomonMan]

All,
I have 4 laptops all the same HP Elitebook model. These are now close to 8-10 years old now but they all were high end software development machines (ie 16GB ram (32 max) and all now have been upgraded to 1TB SSD). They are used throughout my house (family).

I recently bought a Software Defined Radio setup (SDR) and I will use it with one of the laptops but the batteries appear to be all dead.

The replacements seem reasonable at the sub $30 range (some as low as $20 shipped).

So I am thinking of replacing them all.

So the question is I see the same MAh values but some are saying 6 cell and others are saying 8 cell. The price difference to me negligible...a couple bucks with the 8 cell being more expensive.

Now am I correct to make the assumption that these 14.8 Volt batteries with the same MAh value;

They will last the same amount of time (laptop run time)?
The 6 cell will charge faster than the 8 cell?
The 8 cell will be heavier?

Will they last the same amount of time (a few years at best)?
Out of curiosity Why the difference in price?

Final question, The old batteries can they be disassembled or useful for any kind of electronics projects?

I have been on a series of battery replacement projects (drills/laptops) lately.

The other battery project I have is a couple old Black and Decker Professional/Craftsman drills that their batteries seem unavailable.

Thanks for all the help,
Chris

[eccerr0r]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

there is a lot of things involved here but things like the quality of the individual cells makes a difference as well. You can't judge a cell by looking at it, so it's not clear which is a better solution.

Part of the cell quality includes whether the advertising is accurate too...

[harp]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

Pay attention to the original nominal voltage and cell configuration, usually if it 6 cell it is 3s2p configuration whitch gives nominal about 10.8v
14.8v nominal is 4 cell in series... and 2 parallel giver 8 cell in 4s2p configuration.

A few teardown videos
https://m.youtube.com/@BGTechforYou/...query=teardown

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

Be careful of off brand battery packs because the majority of them using Chinese made batteries and there is no way of knowing and there quality is decent at best and terrible at worst

I have had fairly good results with eBay sellers that have high feedback scores but look at the negative ones that are there laptops batteries and if you see a lot very short run times or do last long before not taking a charge any more

“ Part of the cell quality includes whether the advertising is accurate too...” very important to consider

[SolomonMan]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

eccerr0r/Harp
Thanks for the replies!

So from the sounds the warranty and who you buy it from may help make the final decision as well.

I know on the Drill battery cells, 18650 Lithium Ion batteries seem to be a very popular choice.

Individually at the HAM/Computer Festivals these are popular and not pricey...the price online also reflect this as well. I believe for example the name brand (Sony) ones typically ran a dollar more and individual price was reasonable few bucks tops. Less if you bought in bulk.

I do see where I can choose a Lithium Polymer for the laptop battery but the price of course almost triples. There only appear to be a few suppliers of the Lithium Polymer batteries.

The more popular battery it appears is the Lithium Ion in 1,3, and I believe I saw a 5 year warrantied ones. The prices goes up as well (few dollars as years extend) but the one I was considering was a 3 year battery.

The spec of the one I am considering;

Battery type: Li-ion
Voltage: 14.8V (Compatible with 14.4V)
Capacity: 5200mAh
Cell: 8 Cells
recharge cycles 500
Operation time: Around 2-3 hours

How does the Recharge cycles play apart? I assume the more cycles the longer it lasts?

So are these cells typically a standard voltage and then the arrangement decides the voltage output? Size the MAh?

Should I disassemble the current battery to see its configuration to compare possibly against my possible purchased ones?

I know that on the drills they suggest actually tearing down the battery and test each cell. Evidently they can go to zero and need some initial charge or they can also go bad.

I guess many try refurbing...this is not my goal...but if I can use the old cells for something...I would. It appears I may be able to use them.

Thanks,
Chris

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

Maybe you can put new battery cells in a pack but be aware that some of these battery packs have a micro chip in that if you remove the battery cells from the board it will not work correctly after that however you can not tell which battery packs are that way

[SolomonMan]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

Maybe you can put new battery cells in a pack but be aware that some of these battery packs have a micro chip in that if you remove the battery cells from the board it will not work correctly after that however you can not tell which battery packs are that way

Sam_Sam_Sam,
Thanks for the reply!

It appears the fellow on ebay has been selling on it since 2016. Also he has close to 78000 rating. His percentage is 99.1%.

His 7 negative out of 1455 in the past month, all of buyers feedback are under 200 and most of those are actually under 75 (new basically).

I thought about rebuilding them but honestly once you figure in the cost of batteries and the risk of the charging board not working (saw that on youtube video provided previously in thread) It does not appear to be worth it.

I am thinking I am going to buy the 3year warrantied, 8 cell, 30 day return ebay fellow. The next possible was a company on Amazon. They were 6 cell, 3 bucks cheaper, 1 year warrantied, 60 day return. The warranty and the sellers longevity/numbers are worth the 3 bucks alone to me.

Thanks everyone for the help,
Chris

[mitsu2k]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

Be careful of off brand battery packs because the majority of them using Chinese made batteries and there is no way of knowing and there quality is decent at best and terrible at worst

I have had fairly good results with eBay sellers that have high feedback scores but look at the negative ones that are there laptops batteries and if you see a lot very short run times or do last long before not taking a charge any more

“ Part of the cell quality includes whether the advertising is accurate too...” very important to consider

The problem with eBay feedback is that eBay only allows you to leave feedback for a transaction that is I believe 90-120 days old. So that does not give very much for people to thoroughly evaluate and leave appropriate feedback after that time period. But I do agree that looking at and evaluating feedback is a must even if it is limited.

[diif]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

You get about a year out of non genuine batteries.
3 years warranty ! good luck claiming back on that.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

This is why you try to get OEM battery packs if possible yes they cost more usually but in the long run you are better off

[SolomonMan]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

This is why you try to get OEM battery packs if possible yes they cost more usually but in the long run you are better off

Unfortunately the OEM battery...looking across the web is easily 5 times the cost. And I actually used these machines originally for development...3-5 years was max...3 years things really seemed to degrade with the OEM batteries.

So If I plan to go past 3 years with these laptops (possible) then plan for the batteries to be replaced

Thanks,
Chris

[SolomonMan]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

You get about a year out of non genuine batteries.
3 years warranty ! good luck claiming back on that.

Funny you should mention this...

During the Covid pandemic I order a replacement set of M18 Batteries for my Milwaukee shop drills. If anyone knows of these you will know these are not exactly cheap.

Anyways I bought 3. One OEM. Two knock offs as a test. All From memory had 5 year warranties on them. Of course the knock offs were half as much.

A year abouts go by. My one knock off battery no longer takes a charge. Its dead. All the other batteries I have (6) charge fine. So I reach back to the seller for suggestions/warranty replacement etc.

He basically ignores me. He had a rating I believe in the 54000 range. I tried and tried again and finally I brought Ebay into the issue.

They followed what they state in the below link;
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/l...policy?id=4245

Basically when I called eBay I mentioned what happened and I also mentioned the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. He reviewed the situation. Stated he did not have the proper warranty paperwork in order. Also he had some negative marks already against his account mentioning similar. EBay gave him 48 hours to respond and also to get his auctions in order for the warranty.

In the end, the seller helped me "jumpstart" the bad battery and updated all his auctions. I have bought from the guy since as well.

I personally think what got him was his non response. Also I think the time period (Covid) did not help.

I should also mention its close to 3 years and I have not had any issues since with these batteries. The ones I need to work on are all old 12 Volt house use drills. These drills are hardly worth the effort for most of the shop task (compared to the M18) but the wife and the kids use them mostly.

Thanks,
Chris

[dmill89]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

This is why you try to get OEM battery packs if possible yes they cost more usually but in the long run you are better off

While that is certainly the ideal solution it is not always practical or even possible. This is especially true of older machines where replacement OEM batteries often either cost more than the laptop is worth or are outright unavailable.


Of course, aftermarket batteries are always a bit of a crap shoot, I've had more "good" than bad (though just about all lie about capacity), but have definitely gotten a few "duds", that were either outright DOA (of course these can generally be returned for refund/replacement, thought you might be out the shipping cost), or degraded significantly after a year or two (generally outside the warranty/return period).

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

Of course, aftermarket batteries are always a bit of a crap shoot, I've had more "good" than bad (though just about all lie about capacity), but have definitely gotten a few "duds", that were either outright DOA (of course these can generally be returned for refund/replacement, thought you might be out the shipping cost), or degraded significantly after a year or two (generally outside the warranty/return period).

In principle I would agree with you about that aftermarket battery packs that it is crap shoot but the problem is that you do not have anyway to know what you are getting so buying not real cheap but not real expensive either some where in the middle

This is why when I buy battery cells or battery packs that are not marked as needed repair not tested I refuse to pay much for them especially tool battery pack that have no life in the fuel gauge if you are lucky you might get a working BMS protection board but do not count on it
I will buy tool battery packs that have this

[SolomonMan]

Re: A Couple Quick Battery Questions...

All,
Well I ordered a single battery. I was going to buy more than one at this time but other priorities (Birthday/medical) got in the way.

Anyways on the check out for 3 bucks I could of added a 2 year insurance warranty.

I have done this 2 items...one worked in favor for me. The other time I have not had a issue with it....so another thing to keep in mind I guess.

I will let you know what I find in the old battery and how the new one works.

Thanks,
Chris