Average Lifespan of XPS M1530 AC Adapter and Battery?

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, among all the XPS M1530 owners. About how long did your AC adapter and battery (6-cell or 9-cell, please specify) last before they died out on you...

I've owned my XPS M1530 (6-cell batt) for about 8 month now, and I still have not encountered problems.

However, I've read other forums and even on the Dell Store and Website that many XPS M1530 owners are dissatisfied with their AC adapters and 6 or 9 cell batteries.

Most comments I've seen said both only last a year or less.

I just want to make sure in advance, when the right time for me is to buy a spare AC adapter and battery before mine die out. I reside in Manila, Philippines right now and it takes quite some time to order those things.

So I'd like to know about how much time my adapter and battery have before they break down..

Thanks...

 

For every person who complains that it lasted a year or less, there are hundreds for whom it lasts a lot longer.

 

To me, it makes more sense to get an extra AC adapter than the battery. Why? Because the power adapter can be misplaced at anytime and the chances of it dying are purely a luck of the draw. Some parts can break rather easily while some will last a long time. There is no guarantee that it will last long just the guarantee that it will fail in due time.

I will advise against getting a second battery - not unless you really needed to use your lappie longer without the availability of a power outlet - because a battery has a predetermined lifetime, used or unused, even after it came out of the factory. Surely its trivial to know when the battery was manufactured but there's a better chance of getting a later manufactured battery when buying it later rather than sooner. Plus, if you want a second battery for backup purposes it's better to store it within the specified range of temperature to ensure that it will perform within its specs.

You can still use your lappie even when the battery is dead because you can still plug it directly on a power outlet while you cannot use your lappie for a longer period of time with a dead AC adapter. In the end the decision is yours to make.

Goodluck!

 

I've never had an A/C Adapter fail on me, and I've had a LOT of Dell Laptops. (I probably have 20 adapters in my house total) My 9-cell battery lost about 50% of its juice after a year of HEAVY usage (draining at least once a day, occasionally every other day).

 

My 6-cell was down to around 25% orginal capacity after about 14 months . That was with regular, heavy use, at least one cycle per day.

My PSU is fine. Make sure to be careful when wrapping it up etc. In my experience, most PSUs fail at the connectors, usually from mistreatment (being bent a lot, wrapped too tightly etc)

Whatever you do, DONT buy a new battery until you need it. It is pointless to buy a 'spare' battery and leave it sitting in the box, at its capacity will just keep diminishing all the time. It is best to buy a battery that is as factory-fresh as possible for this reason.

 

Good point about getting the AC adapter first. But I'm still wondering about the secondary battery. Would they still die out fast, like say if I used them every other day? Like if I got an extra 9-cell, I'd use m 6-cell today, then my 9-cell tomorrow, and just alternate the two?

Ok. Thanks for the input. Again, another average lifespan of about a year.

Thanks for the comment. Yet another battery down to a year. Same comment too for escalera earlier. If I get a secondary 9-cell battery and alternately use it with my 6-cell every other day, would I still maximize its potential of usage?

And also, for the XPS M1530 AC adapter specifically, is it wise to wrap the cord around the block? Because that's what I've been doing since I've had mine for 8 months because Dell created it with the rubber lock thing, so I thought I could wrap the cord around. Should I still continue doing this?

 

To answer your question and for you to have a better understanding about the characteristics of Lithium-Ion batteries, read the wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery. Take note of the shelf life section and also take note of the temperatures that is required for the optimal performance of the battery.

from the Wiki:

Shelf life

A unique drawback of the Li-ion battery is that its service life is dependent upon aging (shelf life). From time of manufacturing, regardless of whether it was charged or the number of charge/discharge cycles, the battery will decline slowly and predictably in "capacity". This means an older battery will not last as long as a new battery due solely to its age, unlike other batteries. This is due to an increase in internal resistance, which affects its ability to deliver current, thus the problem is more pronounced in high-current applications than low. This drawback is not widely published.[22] However, as this capacity decreases over time, the time required to charge it also decreases proportionally. Also, high charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss for Lithium ion batteries.[23] This heat is caused by the traditional carbon anode, which has been replaced with good results by Lithium titanate. Lithium titanate has been experimentally shown to drastically reduce the degenerative effects associated with charging including expansion and other factors.[24] See "Improvements of lithium Ion technology" below.

At a 100% charge level, a typical Li-ion laptop battery that is full most of the time at 25 °C or 77 °F will irreversibly lose approximately 20% capacity per year. However, a battery in a poorly ventilated laptop may be subject to a prolonged exposure to much higher temperatures, which will significantly shorten its life. Different storage temperatures produce different loss results: 6% loss at 0 °C (32 °F), 20% at 25 °C (77 °F), and 35% at 40 °C (104 °F). When stored at 40%–60% charge level, the capacity loss is reduced to 2%, 4%, 15% at 0, 25 and 40 degrees Celsius respectively.[25]

The informations I gave you will basically answer the questions you have about the battery. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it to get a second one now or later.