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Laptop battery: is voltage really important to respect?

Laptop battery: is voltage really important to respect?

I got an Acer Aspire 5100 and I just bought a new battery (after the stock battery just died yesterday). But I saw something after buying and I'm wondering whether it's really important or not.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 218
Total answers/comments: 2
Guest [Entry]

"OK. After some digging, a typical mobile PC (from 2006) can handle 18V to 7.5V at the input either from an AC Adapter or a Battery. Also, the typical voltage for a battery is 11.1V or 14.8V depending upon the numbers of cells. The risk that 14.8V won't work on your laptop is extremely small.

Your laptop supports:

71 Wh, 4800 mAh (8-cell) Li-ion battery pack
44.4 Wh, 4000 mAh (6-cell) Li-ion battery
29.6 Wh, 2000 mAH (4-cell) Li-ion battery

Typically, laptops can work over a pretty wide range of input voltages. 14.8V doesn't sound too high to me. I can't find any specs from their website to confirm that 14.8V is OK, though.
Going from 6 to 8 cells will increase the voltage proportionally. Think of going from 6 to 8 AA batteries.
Here is an article on Notebook Battery Cells that presents an 8-cell battery being 14.4V as pretty common."
Guest [Entry]

"I've found that power circuitry typically has a little bit of tolerance in the voltage, but it's certainly best to use the recommended voltage. I would err on the side of caution with a 11.1v to 14.8v increase!

However, it's safe to use a power supply or battery of equal or higher amperage. The device will only draw the amperage it needs, and as long as your supply at least meets those needs, you'll be alright."