Vostro 1520 Battery Revival

I'm trying to prep my mother's Vostro 1520 for some upcoming travel that she's planning, and just doing some overall upkeep on the hardware itself. The system is well overdue for a full disassembly and cleanup. As of right now, the original two year old battery gets about an hour of battery life, if we're lucky. I'm considering replacing it - and going for the extended life battery while I'm at it, but prices are rather high, and if I could get 2-3 hours of life out of this battery, I'd be happy. I haven't had much luck locating any Dell tools that can test the battery and give me a health status, or even breathe new life into the old battery. Are there any such tools in existence for Dell hardware? Also, are there any decent 3rd party battery vendors that sell Vostro 1520 compatible batteries? Dell's prices are just silly, but if I have to go that route for a bit of extra juice, I will, albeit reluctantly.

 

I recommend only Dell OEM parts. You can find them on Ebay, just make sure you get a reputable seller.