Battery Covers / Blanks

Since I spend most of my time plugged in, rather than wasting the battery's life and to save some weight, is there any place that sells a blank or cover for the battery compartments? I remember some old Dell's that you used to be able to do this with so it would cut down on weight.

 

If you're plugged in, why do you care about the weight?

 

Perhaps he travels between AC outlets?

 

it would be good if you can tell people what model of the Thinkpad you have?

 

Along with a UPS!

 

I have a W510 and I'd mainly just like it so the laptop weighs less (yes, when I travel between outlets) and to save on battery wear and tear.

 

If you have your laptop in a laptop sleeve or something, you don't need to worry about the battery contacts getting damaged or anything. I don't think Lenovo or IBM ever made these sort of covers.

 

A W510 won't turbo without the battery. In fact, I thought it was actually running less than stock speeds last time I tried.

Try it yourself. Download CPU-Z and check the speed.

 

you are after the main battery cover, Lenovo never made those.

Don't worry about having the battery in, it won't wear out your the contact pin as such.

If you want to save weight and don't want to attach the battery, you can have that out too.

Just put the laptop in a laptop bag or sleeve as Midnightsun have suggested, then you should be okay.

 

Even when plugged in using the stock 135W adapter? That seems strange...

 

Just run it without the battery. I do this with my x200T from time to time (mainly when trying to cut weight and using it as a slate). It doesn't do any harm.

Additionally, you should look into using the charge thresholds to minimize the wear and tear on the battery if you rarely use it (30% start and 50% stop should be ideal for your needs).

I am NOT aware of any battery blanks as you mention though.

 

Yes, even with the stock 135W adapter. I saw another thread about this issue somewhere else already. Can't remember where I saw it, but I experienced the same thing myself.

 

Since we are talking about obscure laptop acessories... here is a wild one.

Years ago I saw a laptop that had " Port Plugs" not certain thats the name for them, but this fellow had his U.S.B. V.G.A. and Ethernet ports plugged up.
Little rubber plugs/Caps that covered/ sealed the ports.

I asked him why ( being so nosy) and he stated " it keeps the dirt and dust out of them when not in use." Made sense.

Kinda forgot all about them, Now with this posting that encounter came into mind.

Anyone know if someone makes any " Port Plugs" for a X201?

if they are made, I can't see them costing more than a few dollars for a set.

I use my laptop outdoors often, and would use them to keep N.Y.C. Dirt, Dust, and cigarette smoke out.

Anyone see them, or know where they can be found?

 

I've wondered about this before, and I wish someone would step up and manufacture these. They could be very useful. I imagine someone with the right know-how and equipment could probably make some kind of mold, and make a proper fitting cover that snaps into place.
I like having a notebook because they are power efficient and save space, but mine are always desk bound. I wouldn't want to wear out a battery that would just act as a UPS, I would honestly rather buy a separate UPS system instead.
I think it's a great idea, and I bet they would sell.

 

I am thinking of doing this with my netbook, s10-2 with 6 cell. The battery sticking out on the back of that thing and it's annoy to type on my lap with it. I normally use the netbook as a bedside computer, so I don't need the battery.

 

Well, you'd have to probably fashion a mold from the battery to have a fitting cover, then you'd have a template to make as many as you want. But I don't know enough about that process to comment in any greater detail on that.
I mean sheesh, it would be so easy for a manufacturer to do, I don't know why nobody will do it.

 

I will probably buy a dead 3 cell battery on ebay and remove the cell and use that as a cover.

 

battery covers aren't offered because most (if not all) ThinkPad systems throttle the CPU without a battery installed.   the battery is needed to supply enough power during CPU-intensive tasks.

after accidentally disconnecting the power cord a few times over the years (and not always by my own doing), i won't run without a battery.   it's like having a free UPS but with much longer runtime.

 

This is why some corporations have increased their use of Laptop for data critical work (if outright processing speed isn't needed).... other than portability.