Are cheap replacement AC adapters safe?

I have a new T400 and am looking to buy an extra adapter for the convenience of having one permanently plugged in at home and one to be "mobile" with. There are many non-lenovo ones on eBay for ~$10 (eg: http://cgi.ebay.com/AC-Adapter-for-IBM-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T60-T61-X60-T400-90W_W0QQitemZ260473507336QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLaptop_Adapters_Chargers?hash=item3ca56e4e08).

Has anybody had any experience with one of these? It could be unsafe but I suspect they probably come from the same source anyway. If you have an opinion, please comment or vote on the poll, thanks! (From what I've seen, an original one would cost ~$50).

 

it is unsafe and they do not come from the same source.   they're notorious for overheating and failing.

if your third-party AC adapter fails, causes a power spike, and fries your system planar in the process, your warranty won't cover the replacement of your hardware.   after seeing a $900+ quote for the repair, you'll wonder why you tried to save $40.

 

I've had a couple 3rd party adapters for my old laptops and all of them have failed one way or another. They all got way too hot and ended up not working. I would just buy the original.

 

My motto - no 3rd party on Battery and AC Adapter. Never can be sure about the quality

 

Look for an extra on dealextreme. I picked up an oem t60 charger that works fine with my T400 for 13 bucks.

 

lenovo outlet always has some cheap ones

 

If you must get a 3rd party adapter make sure (with a meter) the amperage it provides is within the spec that the actual lenovo adapter provides.

 

it depends on how the adapters are made, lenovo 65 w adapter are actually quite hard to make. Those manufacturers that does the adapter for Lenovo, also makes it for other electronics.

So the difference between the OEM and non-OEM adapters are the heat output during voltage down stepping and longevity of the components. The cheap ones are usually made by those small companies, which usually use cheap components, so there will be problems down the line. It is cheap for a reason.

You can always go to the marketplace on forum.thinkpads.com and see whether anyone is selling the OEM version one for a cheap price.

 

What about 3rd party batteries? It is close to impossible to find new genuine batteries for old ThinkPads (in my case, an X30). Even if I find one, it was probably made years ago, and the cells inside would have significantly deteriorated.

 

For that it is basically what you can get of course.