Buying a laptop battery

[Zomp]

I have a Lenovo E420 that I'm bringing on a trip with me.  My battery has lasted a long time but now the charge only lasts about 2 hours or so.  When I first bought the computer it lasted between 4-6 hours.  I'd like to replace the battery with something that will give me more time.  On the Lenovo website I can buy it for $60 or so but I see discount websites that I can get them for half.
 
 Are there any dangers with buying from a third party?  Do they sell "extended" batteries to give even more time?

 

[Puffy]

Buyer beware. I bought a replacement battery for my Lenovo w500 from a discounter off of Amazon.com. About 3 months into it, power would start to just cut off unexpectedly while using battery only, so that I basically had to run it with a power cord if I didn't want to lose any work. The battery was cheap enough to be worth taking a chance, but obviously the risk didn't pay off. FWIW - I'm sure there are different experiences...

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

Replacement laptop batteries suck.  I've had them die on me within a month or two of purchase.   Same experience as Puffy above. 

 

[24JoshuaPoint]

I've had luck getting some off of Ebay for cheap. I think the last one i bought for my Thinkpad was a 9 cell that lasts for 6 hours. Unless you're running video full time and then i'ts more like 4. Just make sure you get the exact code as there could be slight variations.

 

[jayhoz]

I have no personal experience with their laptop batteries, but Anker makes some really nice power products at reasonable prices.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-ThinkPad-57Y4186-42T4791-51J0499/dp/B00F02UT8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397062875&sr=8-1&keywords=E420+laptop+battery

 

[The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa]

I've had luck getting some off of Ebay for cheap. I think the last one i bought for my Thinkpad was a 9 cell that lasts for 6 hours. Unless you're running video full time and then i'ts more like 4. Just make sure you get the exact code as there could be slight variations.

 
It's been such a crapshoot in my experience. Often they've swelled. In the ones you've gotten can you tell if the cells were made in Japan?

 

[InsideTheParker]

Has anyone had any experience with replacement batteries from a place called laptopbatteriesplanet? They are selling the replacement battery for my Dell Inspiron for $38 that Amazon wants over $100 for. The number is the same. The warranty is apparently the same. I can't help being suspicious. (http://www.laptopbatteriesplanet.com/dell-9jjgj-battery.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw25SoBRCMn7Gc97Knj0ISJAC7vaMr2dHjLmiZl91yFPJdWHiyWV0yz6ai0rTMKh4Y5yHApxoCC2Lw_wcB) 

 

[Couperin47]

The reviews at Resellerratings often include obvious plants by the site to 'improve' things.  The only 2 reviews for that site in the past 2 years are both lousy:
 
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Laptop_Batteries_Planet
 
The usual problem is that there are always tons of fake 'genuine' batteries that match the formfactor and seem to have correct labels... what's missing inside is the proprietary chip that allows charging and interfaces to the laptop... everything Lenovo/Thinkpad has made in the past 5 years requires these, I suspect most Dells do also... what's your exact model ?

 

[InsideTheParker]

Inspiron 1764. The Dell site says this is the one, after I gave the number specific to my computer (can't remember now what's that's called): http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=312-1021&mfgpid=205147&chassisid=8964

 

[Couperin47]

Inspiron 1764. The Dell site says this is the one, after I gave the number specific to my computer (can't remember now what's that's called): http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=312-1021&mfgpid=205147&chassisid=8964

 
I'm confused...I see the following at Amazon, it's the 9 cell version just as your original.....
 
http://www.amazon.com/BuyBatts-Inspiron-312-1021-Notebook-Portable/dp/B00CQAUD68/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426437727&sr=8-3&keywords=PHC75+battery
 
the price is more than reasonable....

 

[InsideTheParker]

Thanks. I think my husband found that one, but noticed that it only claims 73 WHRs, as opposed to 90, and guessed it wasn't exactly the same, and it isn't linked to among the others on the Amazon page for their version of the Dell (http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Lithium-Ion-Battery-Inspiron-9JJGJ/dp/B00G0O7BUC)(Of course, Dell won't price match even the Amazon price of $101. b/c they claim that none of the other batteries is the same as Dell's.)
 
 
I can't find BuyBatts on that reseller ratings link you sent me. Do you know that they are more reliable than laptopbatteriesplanet? Because of course that BuyBatts price is fine.

 

[Couperin47]

Thanks. I think my husband found that one, but noticed that it only claims 73 WHRs, as opposed to 90, and guessed it wasn't exactly the same, and it isn't linked to among the others on the Amazon page for their version of the Dell (http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Lithium-Ion-Battery-Inspiron-9JJGJ/dp/B00G0O7BUC)(Of course, Dell won't price match even the Amazon price of $101. b/c they claim that none of the other batteries is the same as Dell's.)
 
 
I can't find BuyBatts on that reseller ratings link you sent me. Do you know that they are more reliable than laptopbatteriesplanet? Because of course that BuyBatts price is fine.

 
BuyBatts sells via Amazon, at this point probably do not have an independent site and therefore wouldn't have a resellerrating entry. Since their fulfillment is 'by Amazon' you can reasonably rely on their performance.
 
Also note the Dell listing claims "With a capacity of up to 90 WHr, the battery lets you work seamlessly".  In short we're talking about both 9 cell versions and the specs of each cell are 'rather flexible'... in any event even if both are dead accurate...paying more than twice as much for 15% better capacity doesn't look like a great deal.

 

[SteveF]

The one replacement battery I've purchased was from futurebatt on amazon.  They seem to have decent feedback.  It was a larger battery with better capacity at half the price compared to the one Dell was offering.
 
I've had no issues with the battery and it is experiencing the expected decline. Frankly, it has held up a bit better than the battery that initially came with the Dell laptop.
 
The problem with purchasing replacement batteries is you never know how long they've been sitting around on some shelf.  Lithium batteries, whether used or not, degrade over time. In theory the higher the volume of sales the company is doing the better your chances for getting a fresh battery, but no guarantees.

 

[InsideTheParker]

Thanks, guys. Decided to go with the one Couperin suggested, since PHC75 appears among the numbers I had in my Dell system info. It's also good to know about the resellers rating site. They rate CPUMedics very highly, by the way, and I almost went with them, but decided for the "devil I know," Amazon.