reviving laptop batteries

[akidosaint]

Hi does anyone know of a way that i can revive Li Ion batteries
as we have 40 or so "dead" batteries and ive been tasked with seeing if theres a a way to revive them rather than throwing them away.


any little tips or tricks would be gratefully received.

[ozzy]

I was once told that if you completely discharge the battery then completetly recharge it a number of times it will start to hold a good charge again. To discharge the battery either let the laptop go into sleep mode the remove the charger and let it drain that way. or take the battery out and use a 12volt bulb in a holder connected to the terminals on the battery till it goes out. This sounds like an old wives tale, and I've never tried it myself, but the guy that told me was a tutor when I did my A+ and he was always comming up with handy tips like that and some even worked

[alan-d]

We had a technician here who managed to revive old batteries but with limited success. (A few years ago) I think they were HP. From what I remember it took ages to do a single battery and worked out to be non-cost effective.

It would be nice if something was available as it would save us a fortune but then again what we save would cost manufacturers!

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has a magic tool to do this. If we could get another 6 - 12 months out of them would save us loads.

[Spitfire]

A little trick we do here is to swap the "dead" battery into another laptop, it usually kicks into life and commences charging, leave the battery in this laptop don't put it back into the original.

[DNA-IT-Recycling]

Hi,

the best way to attempt battery revival is putting it through full cycles i.e fully charging then let it fully discharge and repeat. Unfortuatly if they hold no charge at all they are probably dead. Fr future reference the best way to prolong battry life in laptops is allowing usage of the battery. Many people will run the laptop on the mains for a large portion of its life which damages the battery and reduces its life span. It's much better to unplug when fully charge and rcharge when under say 10%

[Andrew_C]

One way to restore a rechargable battery is to discharge it VERY rapidly. This knocks crystals off the plates.

However, I don't know HOW rapidly you need to go, and how much smoke is likely to be released in the process.