will an old, unused Li battery be a risk?

I don't think either battery is likely to explode, but lithium ion rechargeable batteries tend to wear out over time, even if unused. So that battery will probably not hold as large a charge as it would when it was new.

Any 5 year old laptop isn't worth much regardless. So don't pay too much.

The battery may or may not be good, but if it's properly designed, it should not be hazardous. Actually, lithium batteries can last more than a decade, and I would not be surprised if it's still good.

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Lithium batteries are more stable and last longer than any other battery chemical system. There are plenty of 10-year old lithium batteries that are still alive and kicking.

Paul Rub> I don't think either battery is likely to explode, but lithium ion

We're talking about lithium ion rechargeable batteries, not lithium primaries. The rechargeables do lose capacity over time, especially at high temperatures.

In this case the battery has been sitting on a shelf, uncharged, for 5 years apparently. It's very likely that it has self-discharged below the threshold at which its self-protective circuitry prevents recharge.

A lithium primary cell would still be good, but this is not a primary cell.

--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

and to clarify what Barry said, "There are plenty of 10-year old lithium-ion batteries that are still alive and kicking." I have one in an Acer laptop that is 9-odd years old and still delivers over half its intial rated endurance.

Have you ever let it sit on a shelf for five years without charging it? IN USE they'll last a long time. If they aren't kept charged they self-discharge below the threshold at which they can be recharged.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

My pedometer, that I just started using after having it for more than one year, has this type of battery, and it doesn't have a switch to turn it off. I think that says something...

Tom

Different type of "lithium" battery and doesn't have anything to do with the subject!

-- James

That's not a lithium-ion rechargeable.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

No arugment that it's not going to be as good as a new battery, and it may be no good at all, but this is a battery that has been stored, unused, at presumably room temperature for 5 years. The chances that it is still "good" [if not in "new" condition] are quite high. Many of these batteries last more than a decade, and this one has zero "cycles" on it (although a "few" cycles might have been better).

Paul Rub> Barry Watzman writes:

I have over a dozen 1996 to 1998 Toshiba PA2487 batteries that still deliver more then 75% of their new capacity (that will still run a

490CDT Pentium II laptop for more than 2 hours with all power management turned off and everything -- including screen backlight and hard drive

-- running continuously for the whole time).

budgie wrote:

The battery pack will have a few chips inside it to protect you from most kinds of fire risk. I have heard that it is unwise to recharge a lithium batter that has flattened below a certain voltage ( I think it was

1.5V/cell but can't remember for sure). In any case the chips inside the pack would protect you by refusing to recharge if it is dangerous. To be on the safe side, for the first couple of charge-discharge cycles, you could keep it in a non-flamable area e.g. on a concrete or metal surface and supervise it.

Chris

Why not TRY IT??. You may well have to renew the coin cell (bios back-up), But then charge the main battery and see how long it keeps going. After all you say the vendor is a friend, so he should let you do this. If it dies factor the cost & availability of a new battery into the deal. Li rechargeables have pretty good protection so I wouldn't expect any dramatic failure

| and to clarify what Barry said, "There are plenty of 10-year old | lithium-ion batteries that are still alive and kicking." I have one | in an Acer laptop that is 9-odd years old and still delivers over | half its intial rated endurance.

If it's 9 years old, are you sure the battery is really lithium-ion? If I recall correctly, most laptops used NiMH or NiCd cells 9 years ago.

As for LiIon cells, from what I've seen, they tend to be mostly dead after two years, used or not.

--
Doug McLaren, dougmc@frenzy.com
You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one.

Maybe most did, I can't comment. But this one sure is Li-Ion.

Our experiences differ dramatically.