New Laptop Batteries
For the second time in the last few months I've just ordered a new laptop battery. This time for the iBook (Cromarty). The other week it was for the Dell (Lundy).
Remember Lundy was on his last legs recently, but had a revival and I saved myself the cost of the T41 I wanted.
Well, Lundy has spent getting on for year with no battery. This meant you had to have it plugged in at all times, which was a bit of a pain. The reason I didn't get a new battery for so long was the price. With certain things I just can't bring myself to spend the cash. Batteries at £90 a pop is one of them.
Then the connection point for the power lead at the rear started playing up. It would come loose and power-off every now and then. Getting power back was often a case of finding the right angle for the plug and somehow supporting it in place, while trying not to move the laptop about at all.
Because I had to spend some time on client site with it I decided I couldn't risk loss of power and so forked out for a new battery. Not long after that the power connection stopped working completely and now I have a new battery that I can't charge and, so, a laptop I can't use. It's stuck in the cupboard waiting for me to get it fixed, somehow.
In the mean time the girls and I have been using Cromarty. Now his battery has packed up too. Typical. Selling him on eBay is actually on my to-do list! Looks like I might keep him a little longer now and get some use out of the £88 battery.
Anyway, to the point. How do you dispose of old batteries? Being environmentally-minded I want to do it the right way. I just can't find any information about what this is.
PS: While ordering the new Apple battery I took the chance to order a Mighty Mouse. For a small price I can get that fix of having a new piece of kit delivered and a box to open. The normal one-button Apple mouse just doesn't work for me and I've been using a Microsoft Intellimouse with the Mac Mini since I bought it. Just doesn't seem right does it.
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Pearsons (Thetford) should be able to take batteries off your hands. (As far as I can tell, the municipal battery programs are just proposals at this point.)
I recently sold my daughter's old iBook on eBay and was surprised how much someone was prepared to pay!!
Jake, my dell laptop power went haywire recently too. I ended up buying a docking station for it (ebay bargain) as I thought the internal connections were knackered - turned out a new power supply was all I needed.
Now, if I could only fix the crazy, wandering trackpad!
I recall your T41 debate awhile back. I just took delivery on a T43, 1.5 GB, 60GB 7200 RPM, fingerprint reader, AC/DC Adapter, DVD Burner, etc. I've had half a dozen Thinkpads over the last ten years and this is by far the best. Much faster and lighter than my T22. Sweet! Took about a week from order to delivery on the IBM/Lenovo website.
Jake, some of our local waste recycling centers (council run) accept batteries. It might be worth contacting your nearest / largest one.
I think the US has different battery disposal procedures than the UK, so I can't help there. But regarding the new mouse, here's a chuckle for those of you who felt the need for it:
{Link}
(A bit racy; perhaps not safe for work.)
Paul's right, your local council-run dump should accept all sorts of electronic parts as well as batteries.
If in doubt ask someone who works there (they're easily distinguishable by their surly manner and the way they check to see if anything is worth keeping for themselves).
Sods law isn't it - when your battery dies (like on one of my laptops) - you rely on the power supply, then the cable or psu knackers up so you're forced to buy a new battery as the constant crashing drives you up the wall... then once you get a new battery the psu finally conks out! I think someone must be 'avin a larf with ya mate ;)
As already mentioned - your local tip should take batteries (and the laptop if you so wished!)
Esther. Funny. Thanks for that.
Dave. At my local tip (i.e you could walk there) they are ridiculous. I think they sometimes forget it's a public service they're running and take on the role of State Refuse Police. I once had a run-in with one of them (I burly-looking woman) who asked me what was in the binbags I'd brought with me. "Rubbish" I told her. "What kind?" she asked. "Just general rubbish" I told her after a pause while I wondered what she could mean. I then went on to explain the situation - {Link} . I tend to drive out to the next nearest tip (10 miles away) now as they run a no questions asked policy.
Yesterday I stripped the laptop down hoping I'd find a loose connection near the power connection. No luck. It's just too sealed to do anything with it. So I've bought a "new" mobo off eBay for £145. Sooner or later I'm going to have to buy that T41 though...
Seems dumps must only hire a particular kind of person.
Before we emigrated I took along a load to our local dump. I had all the paperwork to prove I was local ready, though in the end nobody could be bothered to check. I followed the sign marked "public refuse/recycling" (or something similar) and drove on in. I got out of my car and started to unload. After a while one of the "customer service operatives" finished his chat and fag and wandered over to tell me I was in the wrong place. I should be at the dump on the other side of the wall (to which their is no sign). To reinforce his point, 3 garbage trucks rolled on in to do their thing, blocking my exit. I was sat there for ages like a fool while him and his chums had another fag.
Yeah, they all seem the same to me. Which kind of puts me off taking the batteries there. Can you imagine? "Hello there. I've got two batteries and would to dispose of them in the correct manner". "Yeah, right mate" he says, throwing them in the normal skip as soon as your back's turned.
I also rehabilitated a laptop whose power socket had come loose by buying a docking station on eBay. Far less than a new mobo -- but of course it's now only useful as a desktop or for as long as the battery lasts.