Will battery replacements with more power hurt the system?

[David Bandel]

On 6/8/06, bof <bof at pcisys.net> wrote:
> My laptop came with a six cell battery rated at 11.1 V, 4800 mAh with a
> 3.0 hour life. When I went to buy a replacement from the manufacturer,
> all I could find was an eight cell battery rated 14.4 V, 4800 mAh with a
> 4.5 hour life. (No one else in the country seems to be making
> replacement batteries for this system, so it would seem that I am stuck
> with the manufacturer).
>
> When I asked their Tech Support if the higher voltage of the eight cell
> battery would hurt the computer, I was told it could damage the computer
> and to make sure that I used ONLY a six cell replacement.
>
> When I pointed out that the eight cell battery was being sold by the
> manufacturer as a replacement, and that in fact they also offered a
> twelve cell replacement, I was then told that the larger-celled
> batteries would not hurt the system, just give a longer life. (It should
> be noted that the larger-celled batteries cost much more, also).
>
> So which is it? Will the additional power of the larger-celled batteries
> hurt anything or not? It would be nice to have a longer life for the
> system, but not if the higher voltage is going to hurt anything.
>
Most DC systems are fairly tolerant.  The WRAP boards I use a lot for
example, run on anything from 8v to 18v.  Most laptops have the same
kind of range.  My Dell laptop uses a 20v brick, but a 14.8v battery.
I'm sure I can plug it into a 12v cigarette outlet.

You will also note that battery voltages are nominal.  For example,
your 12v car battery (or any flooded cell, gel cell or AGM battery for
that matter) says 12v, but charges full to 13.6v (gel cell) to 14.6v
(AGM) (flooded cell is in between these) and discharges to 10.5v.
(10.5v is considered DOD, depth of discharge, for a 12v battery).

If your manufacturer is selling an 8 cell battery as a replacement
battery for your particular laptop, then you should be fine (but don't
blame me if it starts smoking ;-) ).

Ciao,

David A. Bandel
-- 
Focus on the dream, not the competition.
            - Nemesis Air Racing Team motto