Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing Forum

Why can a car battery last 10 years and a laptop battery only 1-2 years?

Car batteries normally last about 5 years, and they would last only a week or so if fully discharged and recharged ala laptop batteries. Apples and oranges I'm afraid. Scott.

Also don't forget they use different Chemistry and also think about the size...

Thanks

Maybe battery technology will be the next thing to really advance.

It already has. In fact an enhanced version of laptop battery technology (i.e. lithium ion) is what will be used in the upcoming plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt. Scott.

Or already in use in an all electric.

True, but I only wanted to mention something actually practical and useful. <g> Scott.

So when are you and Mike trading in those Impalas you mentioned recently for your new Volts? <g>

Evan

Those cars are long gone for the both of us. As for me, I'd be happy to drive a new Volt if somebody buys me one. <g> Scott.

Don't you have enough Laptop batteries knocking around to build your own?

Forget the Volt. Check out the Tesla.

As for the battery life, you could attach a small alternator to the processor heat sink fan......

The Tesla Roadster is a boutique vehicle, essentially a rich person's environmental "statement" (for which they must pay dearly), and not a serious production car. The Roadster is basically a Lotus Elise, with the chassis and body built by Lotus and then shipped here for installation of the electrics. In fact because Lotus is changing the Elise to an entirely new platform in 2012, Tesla will be forced to end production of the current Roadster in 2011 and replace it with a new model which will not be introduced until 2013 at the earliest.

In the mean time all they will have to offer is the forthcoming Model S sedan, which I believe is a mistake and will undoubtedly be the demise of the company, as I don't think there is any way they can compete with the engineering and production capabilities of the major automakers for a truly practical mainstream automobile. For example, the Volt will sell for less than half the price of the Tesla Model S sedan (assuming Tesla survives long enough to produce it), and because the Volt is a plug-in hybrid, it will have at least triple the practical range.

Bottom line: When plug-in hybrids like the Volt (and others like it) arrive, I'm afraid it will be "game over" for boutique electrics like the Tesla, unless they stick to their niche market. Scott.

Hi Scott, this made me think of an article i once read. Do you think there is much truth in this article?

http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/cyberspace/Po ... -waste.pdf

Yes indeed. Scott.

Would it be at all likely that Lenovo would update their battery tech, from say Li-ion to Li-ion polymer, for existing battery packages? I've noticed their batteries at least sometimes span at least several TP generations.

Li-ion batteries are ideally suited to larger sized applications where the use of standard cells internally greatly reduces the overall cost. For example, I just bought a 9 Cell (10.8V 7.8 Ah) Li-ion battery for $100 (including shipping, which is significantly less than even NewEgg), which internally uses nine #18650 cells rated at 3.7V and 2600 mAh. A big battery like that would have easily cost 3 times or more that amount if it were Li-Po. The market (myself included) is simply not going to pay $300+ for a laptop battery, even if it would offer some additional capacity.

On the other hand, for smaller batteries, especially those where the physical shape dictates that they cannot internally use the industry standard round cells (like bay batteries for example), Li-Po batteries are indeed used by Lenovo for some systems.

Bottom line: Like most laptop manufacturers, Lenovo uses the battery best suited for the specific ThinkPad system or application. Scott.