laptop battery Guide

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>> IMPORTANT - How to "condition" a new battery
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Requirements of a good battery

- Use well matched, hi quality cells (the battery units inside).
- Have a high "cyle-life" (the numer of times it can be re-charged) whilst maintaining a high capacity (the amount of power stored) as it ages
- Can deliver power when required without dangerous overheating
- Are manufactured properly to ensure caustic electrolyte should never leak out
- Have the correct thermal protection circuitry to ensure that if the battery does get too hot - it will cut out, rather than overheat - which can be disasterous


Cheap Batteries

Yes - you could call to this "scare tactics", but it's certainly not without substance. You WILL NOT get lucky with a cheap battery - it's cheap because it's not as good and corners/costs have been cut. There is no doubt that it will use cheap cells made from poorer materials. A cheap battery can be a ticking time bomb - you can expect

- A drastically reduced cycle life (described above) , with the capacity of the battery deteriorating quickly with use and age.
- Ongoing risk of electrolyte leakage - which can be very high as the battery gets older
- Low grade cells which overheat when the laptop demands high levels of power. The batteries can overheat so quickly as to

- Instantly damage the battery itself
- Cause extensive damage to your laptop
- Catch fire, if your laptop is unattended at home what could happen?

Usually, the cheapo batteries will not have the required thermal protection circuitry needed to safely shut down if the battery gets too hot. This costs money to develop and will be reflected in the price - but without it, you and your laptop will have no protection.

Many consumers are completely unaware of these risks when making a purchase - dont make this mistake, to regret it later - especially as you are now aware of the risks involved!


Our Batteries

All our batteries use up to date, CE approved, enhanced performance cells, which nearly always outperform the original battery, in terms of capacity (running time) and cycle life - by as much as 30 - 50%! This is because our batteries are utilising the latest cell technology which is now much more advanced than it was when your laptop was new a few years ago. We select our battery cells entirely on quality and performace, not on price. We only use the best brands, typically Panasonic or LG.

The milliamp-hour (mAH) rating of the batteries we supply will often be higher than the original due to the enhanced cells that all our batteries use. A higher mAH rating indicatives a longer lasting and higher capacity battery, it will NEVER cause an incompatibility.

Our batteries are safe, reliable and manufactured to a high standard. In all other aspects, our batteries are identical to the original, but with great price savings. We know you'll be more than satisfied with the quality and performance of our batteries - if you are in any way dissatisfied, you may return your battery within 7 days for a FULL refund - batteries are "chipped" to confirm authenticity.


IMPORTANT - YOU MUST READ BEFORE USING A NEW BATTERY

How to charge and condition your new replacement laptop battery

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you "condition" your new battery before you use it - you must understand that ALL new batteries behave erratically until they have been conditioned properly. Many people think there is a fault when they actually have a perfectly good battery which simply requires proper conditioning.

You will receive your battery fully discharged and unconditioned. If you turn on your laptop, expecting it to work straight away you will be dissapointed. Your battery will take 3 or 4 charges to reach it's proper capacity and operation - until this time it is usual for is to perform strangely and hold only a little charge. Also, the LEDs and charge indicators on your charger and laptop will not give accurate information until the battery is fully conditioned - so dont take too much notice of what they do or dont indicate - just follow the instructions below.

On the first charge, your laptop may indicate that charging is complete after a short period of around 15 mins. This is to be expected - simply remove the battery from the computer and repeat the charging procedure. You should then use your laptop - WITHOUT the assistance of mains power, until the battery completely runs down.

Repeat the above procedure around 4 times in total over the course of the next few days - make sure you allow you battery sufficient time to get a full charge.

When the battery is fully conditioned, the battery charge indiciators and LEDs on your laptop and charger will work reliably. Also - as the battery will be taking on much more charge, the total charge time will be longer - usually around 24 hours.


Occasional Maintenance

Simply run your laptop until the battery is FULLY discharged and then fully charge again. After extended periods of non-use, you should do the same. Lots of little charges followed by partial dischrage will decrease the life, performance and capacity of your battery - but in reality, this is how laptops are usually used and this may be unavoidable.


Battery "Memory" Effect

Ni-MH batteries have more of a "battery memory" than Li-ion type batteries. Battery memory effect occurs when the battery is fooled into thinking it is fully charged, when infact it has only reached a partial charge and capacity - even though it will indicate that it is 100% charged . This is caused by only partially charging a battery over time, or only partially discharging it. This will prevent them from holding as much charge as they possibly can - until you recondition them again, following the instruction above for "occasional maintenance". With Ni-MH batteries, it's a good idea to repeat the process 2-3 times.

If you have any questions, please use the form below to contact us -