[NTLK] Re-celling G3-era laptop batteries -- DON'T THROW OUT THE OLD BATTERIES!

[Steven Frank]

Oh, yikes. Good to know my sketchy website senses are still tuned. Won't be pursuing that option then!

Steven, via iPhone

> On Jul 15, 2015, at 10:41 AM, arceeHS <arceehs at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> RE Battery Refill aka eBattery
> 
> http://www.resellerratings.com/store/eBattery_Inc_8
> 
> arceeHS
> 
> 
>> On 7/15/15, Steven Frank <stevenf at panic.com> wrote:
>> Wow, thanks for all the info!
>> 
>> It looks like most of the places that were selling replacements (PowerBook
>> Medic, Newer) no longer have any stock.
>> 
>> I might try BatteryRefill, although the site looks slightly sketchy.  Maybe
>> I should get hold of someone there first and make sure they can still do
>> it.
>> 
>> No way am I going to attempt re-celling myself.  :)  I will end up burning
>> my house down...
>> 
>> There's also this on Amazon:
>> 
>> http://www.amazon.com/eReplacements-Battery-for-Apple-Powerbook/dp/B000YA9GX8
>> <http://www.amazon.com/eReplacements-Battery-for-Apple-Powerbook/dp/B000YA9GX8>
>> 
>> The price is right, but why does it say it fits Lombard but NOT Pismo or
>> Wallstreet?  I thought they all used the same battery.
>> 
>> I'll hang onto the dead batteries in BatteryRefill looks like the way to
>> go...
>> 
>> Steven
>> 
>> 
>>> On Jul 15, 2015, at 5:21 AM, Lord Groundhog <lordgroundhog at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Back in the day, when my Pismos were the only game in town for me, I came
>>> across a company who would do rebuilds with Li-Ion cells if you sent the
>>> old
>>> battery.  Unfortunately, I lost a load of bookmarks including that
>>> company.
>>> They still may be out there but it may take some searching.  I no longer
>>> remember anything useful about them.
>>> 
>>> That service I never used because I was in a hurry and found a great
>>> source
>>> of new batteries from a company called Powerbook Medic
>>> <powerbookmedic.com>.
>>> At the time they were selling new batteries of higher specs (7800 mah);
>>> AFAIK they now only provide used batteries but you'd have to check to see
>>> if
>>> they still can provide new ones.  (FYI, they also sell the PRAM batteries
>>> and other useful items for older computers in case you need such.)
>>> 
>>> Using 2 Powerbook Medic batteries (for those who don't know, a Pismo will
>>> carry 2 batteries at once by swapping out the CD/DVD player) I was
>>> recording
>>> up to 13 hours of uninterrupted work time.  That's more than enough to
>>> fly
>>> between the UK and the US, for example, and work the whole time except
>>> take-off and landing, and still have enough work time left over if I
>>> needed
>>> it.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I just did a quick search for "recell pismo battery M7318" and found
>>> this:
>>> http://www.batteryrefill.com/laptops/apple/PowerBook_G3_Lombard.phtml
>>> (Note:  this battery also fits the Pismo.)  It's not the same company but
>>> it
>>> seems to offer the same service:  you end up with new cells that will
>>> yield
>>> higher capacity.
>>> 
>>> You can do a similar search to find such sites in your own geographical
>>> area.  There seem to be more of them than I expected.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> One more thing.  Back then, I also found instructions somewhere
>>> explaining
>>> how to recell a Pismo battery pack yourself.  I don't know who that was
>>> either -- another lost bookmark.
>>> 
>>> So, doing another search, I came to this:
>>> http://people.wallawalla.edu/~Rob.Frohne/Powerbook/Pismo/Battery/
>>> 
>>> Plainly, he demonstrates the useful basic steps, but he also reports
>>> shortcomings with his method.  Perhaps someone here with more
>>> understanding
>>> of such things will see how to do better?
>>> 
>>> There's also this:
>>> http://lowendmac.com/ed/hatchett/08jh/inside-powerbook-battery.html
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> There seem to be some others as well, but I can't evaluate the
>>> instructions.
>>> I suspect that the instructions I've linked, if combined with sufficient
>>> electrical knowledge and a reasonable bit of practical skill, could be
>>> sufficient to carry out this operation successfully.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Incidentally, this is a good general site for all things Pismo (and all
>>> things older-Mac):
>>> http://lowendmac.com/2000/pismo-powerbook-2000-firewire/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> So yes, don't be too hasty getting rid of old batteries.  The shells can
>>> be
>>> re-celled, if not by you, at least by someone else.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> PS -- there was also a G4 upgrade (and it's still available, I think) but
>>> I
>>> only put that on one Pismo.  In the end I decided it reduced the battery
>>> life by more than the speed boost was worth to me.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Shalom.
>>> 
>>> Christian
>> 
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