Question re li-ion Batteries

[Davidm]

The battery in my Hudl2 tablet is no longer holding it's charge and I'm looking at replacing it. I've found videos showing the procedure, looks straightforward, and eBay has lots of adds for "new" batteries.

The thing is that although these might be "new" in the sense of being not previously used, they are probably 5-6 years old and maybe never charged (certainly not recharged during that time).

Do these type of batteries have a shelf life, I've seen very mixed reports by people who have bought them.?

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Dunno about the shelf life, sorry. I did replace a battery in a Hudle2 a few years ago. Bought from ebay and it worked fine. Still does. I used a blunt Stanley Knife blade to get the back off the case.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Can't answer your question, but my experience of Li-Ion is their life is way better than any of the older alternatives. Provided they have a decent charger. And one laptop I have didn't. It fried the battery in short order. So I got into the habit of only plugging in the replacement battery when needed. And not leaving it on charge after it was re-charged. The no name replacement from Ebay is still OK many years later.

[Brian Gaff]

I think to some extent it depends how they were stored, ie if they are partially charged as per the manufacturers suggestions. I also wonder if they are genuine. If they are then probably fine but I've heard some terrible stories of look alike batteries for mobile gear which have the cheapest heap of crap inside the makers feel they can get away with. Brian

[tabbypurr]

If you're looking at the cheaper ones they'll be grade C cells. Salvaged cells, a quick test to see if they hold some charge, if so they're wrapped & sold as new. Hence results are variable.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

li-ion shelf life is really very good provided they are stored half charged.

several years is OK

[tim...]

getting the case off is the easy part

getting it back on again so that the "on" switch still works was a bitch

tim

[Theo]

I'm doubtful it'll be that for a tablet, which has a LiPo pouch cell not an

18650 round cell. Pouch cells come in so many shapes and sizes that I doubt it's worth grading dead ones and trying to get them back into the supply chain.

New but having substandard electrolyte is more likely. In this case, if getting the thing apart isn't too bad (and often it isn't for cheap tablets), I'd be tempted to buy whatever and then be ready to change it again in a year or two.

Theo

[tabbypurr]

Really? How much are the genuinely new ones? If China can sell some scrap for a pound you bet they will. For £2 they'll be overjoyed.

[Davidm]

Thanks for all replies. I'll give it a try and see how it goes, as for my use I'd be hard pushed to find a new one (other manufacturer) to replace it. There does seem to be a great del of choice around these days for android tablets of that size. Replacement batteries seem to start at around £10 and go up to £25 or so (or 10 for £80!).

[Adrian Caspersz]

FWIW, I've replaced my hudl2 battery (old one was bulging and had distorted the case!), bought a replacement off for £10 eBay from a seller with a lot of stock, dismantling them from unused/broken/returns or what they call "genuine new".

The replacement battery life is similar to the cell that it replaced, whilst absolutely not the performance that it was when new, it's enough to do a few things. It I had the tuits, I could find a modern equivalent.

They must age, when sitting on the shelf flat and connected to a permanent load. When batteries are stored unused, I thought best practice was to keep them part charged?

I suspect sellers are now keen to get rid of them.