[PLUG] Rebuilding laptop battery packs

Bryan Linton plug at shoshoni.info
Wed Dec 31 01:56:27 UTC 2014


On 2014-12-29 17:58:14, Keith Lofstrom <keithl at gate.kl-ic.com> wrote:
> I have accumulated a bunch of old Lenovo T60 laptop battery
> packs that don't hold a charge.  Lifting the label - the
> cells are standard, perhaps replaceable by new ones. 
> 
> Anybody interested in rebuilding battery packs?  
> 
> My packs are glued or plastic-welded together, so I would need a
> hot knife to open them, appropriate adhesive to put them together
> again, a small spot welder to tab the batteries, and presumably
> a ventilated space to work, in case a cell catches fire.  
> 
> With enough participants we could buy the right tools and buy
> cells in bulk.  Not sure how many types we would need. My T60s
> and X60s both use CG18650 cells, which are $39 for 12 Panasonic
> cells on eBay, $499 for 360 cells.  Chinese cells might be
> cheaper (both ways). 
> 
> This cell size is often used for "vaping"; does that push price
> up or down, or merely attract dangerous counterfeits?
> 
> Keith
> 

I'd be interested in at least observing this if nothing else.

I'm a fan of Thinkpads, and over the holidays upgraded the screen
in my T60 from a 1024x768 model to a 1600x1200 model, as well as
upgraded the CPU from a T2300 Core Duo to a T7200 C2D.

I have a feeling the next thing in need of upgrading will be the
battery pack.

If things are being reported accurately, my OS tells me that the
battery was designed to hold 56.16 Wh and currently holds 31.49 Wh
at 99% charge, so it's not too bad, but I can't say that I trust
most vendors to either build a reliable clone, or to sell me an
authentic original.  Besides, I'm not even sure that there are
going to be many factory original, unused batteries for T60
laptops nowadays anyway.

I know how to use a soldering iron, but I'm sure my skills pale in
comparison to actual electrical engineers.  If I can manage to
make it to the event, I'd like to help with whatever I can, or to
just observe and be an extra pair of hands otherwise.

-- 
Bryan




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