Laptop Battery Replacement Question

Factual Questions
1

I need to replace the battery for my father’s notebook computer. It is a BTP-30A1 battery. This is a Lithium ION battery and is for an Acer TravelMate 735TLV.

Questions:

  1. Why do these batteries lose their ability to hold a charge?

  2. Is a lithium ion battery the way to go for replacement or is there a different (better) alternative currently available that will work for this laptop?

  3. What is a reliable, affordable site for these types of replacement parts?

Grazzi,

Shibb

2

There is no generally available “newer type” than LiIons. An older type, such as NiMH, might be available. I can keep a NiMH in good health for a long time. But they don’t hold as much power for their size as LiIons.

LiIons fail due to age and use. Outside of flagrant abuse, there isn’t much a typical person can do to make them last longer. As long as you’re running off the AC adapter whenever possible, that’s about the best you can do.

For new batteries with warranties, just enter the model # into Google and most of the first 200 hits or so will carry it, find the cheapest.

You can also sometimes find new batteries with warranties on eBay. Be sure to check the seller has been selling batteries a long time with a lot of positive feedback. Look at previous auctions to determine a suitable price and bid likewise.

Since age is important, if you can find out when the battery was made, that can be a big plus. A three year old LiIon isn’t going to last nearly as long as 1 month old one, even if it is considered “new”.

3

Thanks for the response, ftg! I didn’t realize you’d replied and thought that I’d stumped the SDMB once again. Which would be surprising as this isn’t that tough a question!