posted on August 15, 2003 10:28:18 AM new
I have a HP Pavillion laptop that I bought a couple of years ago at Sams Club. I have replaced the battery once a couple of months ago (we learned that it doesn't hold a charge long if you leave it in the computer when plugged in). Well, this one still only lasts about an hour to an hour and a half. We like to take it on trips so we can do work, watch dvds, or play games on the plane to pass the time. New batteries run $120.00 on ebay and $200.00 in the store. My question is that is that a normal amount of time for a battery to last? Is it an HP thing? We're going to Hawaii in December for a friends wedding and it's a long 10 hour flight. I'm almost tempted to buy a new laptop (or maybe a portable dvd player) or should I stock up on batteries?
posted on August 15, 2003 10:34:59 AM new
Slow July sales - they're going for about $80.00 on ebay now. Which lasts longer - Lithium-Ion or Nickel Metal Hydride (or whatever that is - you know what I mean).
Edited for spelling - too lazy to use the spell checker.
[ edited by ihula on Aug 15, 2003 10:36 AM ]
posted on August 15, 2003 10:38:43 AM new
Let us talk warranties and extended warranties. They both cover the (Computer) battery. I will not buy a computer or lap top without an extended warranty. I have saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars because of warranties.
Many things are not cost effective to buy this protections but computers and cars do NOT fall into this category.
As to your battery live about 1.5 hours is average life......David
posted on August 15, 2003 11:23:44 AM new
I have been working with portable devices for over 10 years. Worst thing to do with a portable device is to use it plugged in all the time. The battery starts to crystalize inside and starts to run for less and less time off the power plug.
If you usually use the device in one place all the time, try to make a habit of running it a few days unplugged. Let the battery run down so low that it turns itself off.
Think of it as a person who doesnt exersize. If a person eats and sits infront of the tv all day and doesnt move, they get fat and can hardly walk. Right? Same kind of thing with a battery. It needs to be used to work right.
Now if your battery has already started to loose "poop". Doesn't last that long without needing to be charged. Here are a few tricks that REALLY work. (Doesnt matter if they are NiCad - nickle cadium or whatever) I 've done this and have had customers do this and it does work.
Start using the device Off the charger or unplugged for as long as possible until it turns itself off. Try turning it on again. Does it still run? ok, if it does, run it again until it turns itself off. You are giving this little thing a work out. Now after you have exhausted it, leave it plugged in for 12 hours. No longer than that and do it again. If you did this for a few days, it should start working atleast a little better. If it doesnt, time to get a new battery and this time, exersize it.
My two portable house phones are more that 5 years old and still run atleast 12 hours without being on it's base to charge. Same with my cell phone. Laptop computer is the same. I hope this all makes sense.
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TWO LAST THINGS - When you get a new battery CHARGE IT OVER NIGHT before using it for the first time or you will have problems from the start. Whether the guy in the store tells you that type of battery has a memory or not, I don't care what kind of battery it is. Charge it fully over night and then use it portably until it totally drains out and turns itself off.
The last thing and PLEASE - you have to be careful when you do this or it can damage the battery. If the battery is still not charging as much as it did on day one perform this trick.
Take the battery out of the device and drop it on the floor. Hitting it hard again your hand a couple of times also works but not as well. Do this a few times and put it back in the unit and charge over night.
[ edited by paloma91 on Aug 15, 2003 11:34 AM ]
posted on August 15, 2003 11:46:19 AM new
Don't know about yours, but the laptop I just sold on ebay, the Toshiba, the battery lasted 2 to 2.5 hrs when charged. Used it all the time on battery, because of the GPS unit in it.
I tested that the whole week, when it was on auction also, and its always been that way, and this is an older laptop, 2nd battery.
Art Bell Retired! George Noory is on late night coasttocoastam.com
posted on August 15, 2003 12:41:44 PM new
I don't work with computer batterys but with my Sony what I do is use the battery up before recharging it. It seems like it holds the charge just as good as the day I bought it. I never leave my battery in the camera. I never leave a charge on it.
I worked with a portable x-ray machine that had to be recharged and the service man said that if you recharge a battery before the charge runs out the life of the battery is shortened. Company says do not recharge battery unless needed.
posted on August 15, 2003 12:45:33 PM new
Yes, I think I will "exercise" my battery a little bit and see if that helps. I know watching dvd's on battery life isn't a good idea, but it helps pass the time. On the way home from Las Vegas we played Lynxx golf - got 18 holes in before the battery died (that game has a lot of graphics in it, though. Maybe I'll pick up one or two more on ebay too before December since they're so cheap (relatively speaking).
posted on August 15, 2003 12:49:10 PM new
There are things you may be doing to shorten the battery life. You didn't say whether you had energy-saver settings (to sleep the display or disk when not in use).
On my Apple PowerBook G4 Titanium laptop, the wireless card sucks battery bigtime.
You could look up the specs for your laptop on the Web. It should say what the rated battery life is. Take that number, divide it in half, and that's how much battery time you can realistically expect under normal usage. All the laptop manufacturers lie about battery time.
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
posted on August 15, 2003 01:27:14 PM new
We actually rarely use the battery power (that may be the problem right there). My husband uses it to look things up at home (I use a desktop) and then he has it plugged in. The only time we use the battery is when we travel or go on short trips in the car - maybe 4-5 times a year. The reason the first one went out so fast is because we always had it in the laptop - even when we had it plugged in (now we know that's a big no-no). We do have it set to sleep mode (or blank screen), but that rarely happens when the battery is in it - we're always using it or we shut it off when we aren't using it.
posted on August 15, 2003 02:21:44 PM new
lithium batteries are supposed to be better but I have not seen any difference in their performance.
In your Power Saver options in your computer, set your computer to never sleep but let the screen "go to sleep" it just puts it in the black screen mode.
One reason not to leave a battery inside a device is that when a battery starts to go bad, it leaks causing a corrosion. Can cause major damage if left unchecked.
[ edited by paloma91 on Aug 15, 2003 02:26 PM ]
