X61s battery dilemma, powder-like residue [long post]

I took out my battery and this is what I found :

http://images49.fotki.com/v1502/photos/4/430929/1767722/IMG_5683-vi.jpg

Here is another photo :

http://images15.fotki.com/v265/photos/4/430929/1767722/IMG_5686mod-vi.jpg

Can someone tell me, first of all, the functions of the areas circled in red (the larger circle seems to be a vent, but it becomes completely obstructed when the battery is attached) ?

I also noticed a crack on my battery :

http://images56.fotki.com/v168/photos/4/430929/1767722/IMG_5710-vi.jpg

Having established the above facts, the purpose of my post is to figure what caused what. I believe that the 2 things pictured above were caused by one or both of the following events :

1. About 2 months ago, I flew on American Airlines and was made to put my laptop in the area underneath the seat in front of me. (I was not allowed to keep my laptop on my lap during take off and landing.) A little more than halfway through the 3.5-hr flight I reached down for my laptop and noticed that it was ice cold, as though I'd left it in a refrigerator. In fact there was a vent right next to where the laptop lay (I had a window seat), a vent blasting cold air. I wasn't pleased with this, but the laptop seemed all right when I got home. (I could have sworn the HD seemed a little bit sluggish but there were so many other factors that there was no way to know if the temporary "refrigeration" was responsible.)

2. Yesterday on a United Airlines flight I was leaving the plane and another passenger taking down her suitcase from the overhead compartment put it down onto my seat that I had just vacated. I had (unwisely, perhaps) left my laptop and a library book leaning vertically against the backrest of my seat before I went to get my own suitcase from the overhead compartment behind my seat. I turned in time to see the passenger's suitcase come down on the library book (hard enough to bend one of the covers) - she had put down her suitcase on my seat without looking to see if there was anything there - but it did not seem like there was a direct hit on my laptop (leaning vertically, like I said - so it was not lying flat on the seat). I looked the laptop over and everything seemed fine, but I asked the passenger if I could have her name. She refused, and I went to one of the flight attendants about the matter but she said that I did not have the right to get the woman's contact information. By then everyone was walking out, I had 15 or so minutes for a connecting flight, so I let the matter drop. It was only today (the day after) that I noticed a crack on one end of the battery - an extended battery, as the photo above shows. The rest of the laptop doesn't have a scratch on it (the laptop was inside a SF Bags sleeve).

My questions :

Could the powder-like residue have leaked out after the battery was (I can only deduce) cracked by that woman's suitcase on the UA flight ? (I don't mean leaked out of the crack but the crack caused the battery to leave the powder-like residue pictured, somehow.) or was the powder-like residue (I'm not talking about the crack here, just the powder) a result of the "refrigeration" the laptop went through on the AA flight ?

Since the laptop was not used, or turned on, since yesterday when the UA suitcase incident occurred, would I be safe in assuming the powder-like residue occurred before that ?

I also don't understand how the battery was cracked but not the rest of the laptop (if indeed the suitcase incident caused the battery crack) since the battery - if you lean the laptop vertically with the lid facing outwards - would be set more "inward" than the laptop lid - ie. the laptop lid would be the top floor and the battery would be on a lower floor if you think of the laptop's orientation as a multi-story building. I'm just not sure how the damage to the battery occurred in that context.

At this point, I'm debating about complaining to AA (if the refrigeration could have damaged my laptop) or UA. In any case, whoever is responsible for my laptop's condition.

I would also like to know if the powder-like residue - at least - is something that happens in general to laptop batteries - please let me know if that is the case.

One last note : I treat my Thinkpads like fragile antiques so I am fairly certain that I didn't crack the battery myself on some other occasion.

I apologize for my lengthy post and thank anyone for reading all of it.

[X-posted on forum.thinkpads.com]

 

Hello,
I have an x61s and the battery cracked in the same spot. Worst than yours though, eventually the corner cover just ripped right off. I ended up buying a new battery from Lenovo, which isn't cheap, cost me almost $200. If you decide to try and save money by buying the battery from a 3rd party make sure to do your research, find some posts from people that have bought from them before. If you buy from Lenovo you know for sure you're getting the right part.

The crack on your battery isn't as bad as mine though. You might be able to glue it, but gluing plastic can be tricky. Putting tape over it, like gorilla tape might work, but it'd look kind of janky.

As for the dust, I doubt it's coming from the battery, it just looks like regular dust to me. It looks like it's coming out of the vent on the x61s. If you've ever taken a notebook apart, or a desktop computer, that find dust collects everywhere inside. Use a can of compressed air to blow the dust away.

As for asking for that ladies name and contact info. If I was in her shoes, I wouldn't hand over my info either. Stuff happens. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up. As for contacting United Airlines, hehheh, good luck with that.

 

Are you saying that the crack just appeared or did you bang the battery against something ?

 

Well here's the thing. It's not really my x61s. It belongs to a familiy member who has no respect, patience, or appreciation for technology. So I have no way of knowing. I suspect they carried it around in an unpadded briefcase, and that it got banged a little too hard.

Here's what they did to an x40. Hehheh.



My x40 still works fine, no cracks, and I got it in 2005.
I use a Sumdex Impact guard sleeve. It's got a handel which is handy. You'll have to see if it'll fit a x220, I use it for my x40.
ImpactGuard Computer Sleeve - 12.1"PC - Sumdex, Inc.
Review: Review -- Sumdex ImpactGuard Notebook Sleeves


I also use a padded case from TomBihn.com, called the BrainCell. I bought the vertical one cause I wanted to use it in a backpack. Take up more space than other sleeves but has more padding.
The Vertical Brain Cell Laptop Bag by: TOM BIHN

 

These dusts don't look like anything that the battery can produce. It is most likely just fine dust particles from the air.

I have four 8 cells battery and none of them will crack like that, unless there was a moderate force applied to it, such as dropping it or a large load was applied to the battery on that end.

For future references remove the 8 cells battery when you carry it in a bag, and if you really don't want to store the laptop with that battery removed.

Finally, you can get some high quality electrician tape to tape over that edge of the battery, and it should function as normal.

P.S. From the pictures you shown, the laptop does seem to be in a good condition, with the corner of the laptop still retaining the rubberised coating.

 

To begin with...it looks like you are only after someone to blame. You arent going to get anywhere with either of those routes....and honestly, I hope you dont. Your post mostly rubs me the wrong way. It sucks your laptop broke, but you assume certain risks when taking stuff out and about like that. It's not like someone snatched it out of your hands and purposely broke it.


That said, I am a flight mechanic and spend A LOT of time in the air in a cargo jet that isnt near as insulated or as well temperature controlled as your typical airliner. I can tell you right now probably all of my past laptops have been exposed to equally cold or colder temps in flight many times...as well as sometimes leaving 1 of 2 laptops usually carried on the jet overnight in actual temps well in to the negatives F. I've never had any problems related to it. In fact, the only ill effects I have ever had was from the later, leaving a laptop on the jet overnight in extreme cold. I've had em not turn on at all untill warmed up some at worst, to just the LCD being noticeably sluggish which was most common. I would be VERY surprised if an air leak by your seat had any affect on it at all, and if somehow it did, only in the capacity that it was just aggravating something that would of surface eventually as it was.

One thing that has me curious is the powder. The way most laptop batteries are constructed, the overall battery casing isnt usually THE battery case. Usually, inside that shell are several smaller batteries....for example if you took like 12 AA's, encased them in an outter plastic shell, and called it a single battery. Therefore a crack on the battery case isnt going to cause a leak unless one of the actual batteries inside was also damaged. In addition to that, it usually takes a little bit of time before getting a good amount of powder from oxidation going. Based on that, I'm thinking it's possible one of the cells went bad and started leaking, and possibly a little swelling of said cell being the real root cause of the crack....which would also explain why no other part of the laptop was damaged and how there was enough oxidation to make it's way out....IF that is oxidation and not some other random powder from somewhere that somehow made it on there.

 

From other posts that the OP hae made, it seems that OP likes to over worry himself over minor things.

 

This seems to be the overall consensus. I would agree, but the residue in the smaller red circle area appears to have corroded the screw there.

I should remove the battery when the laptop is in the sleeve but I shouldn't keep it in the sleeve with the battery removed ? Don't really know what you're trying to say here.

Yes, I said in my original post that the laptop itself is fine physically.

Well, given that damage was done to my property by someone other than myself, of course I'm looking for someone to blame. I don't know what is so outrageous here. If someone damages your property without meaning to, then they're not to blame ? If I accidentally dent your fender in a parking lot because I was distracted, would you let me go on my way if I decline to give you my personal info ?

I have no wish to enter into an argument about whether I have the right to take action for what happened. We obviously have different ideas about personal responsibility. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and giving a detailed response about battery construction. It does seem like the powder residue, occurring over a longer period of time, might not be due to the UA suitcase incident, which means that there might not be any link between the powder and the crack in the battery.

You have every right to think that. My view is that worrying about whether I can safely use a battery with a crack on one end is not "minor things".

That said, I still appreciate you taking the time to post. This is more than I expected to receive in terms of replies on these forums.

 

FYI, you can store a battery in a fridge. And most air cargo are delivered in temperature similar to what the these air conditioning vents are putting out. Laptops are designed to be stored at these sort of temperature, as long as they are not running. I have used my X61 in -15 degrees centigrade condition.

Also, flight attendants can't stop people to get their name and address, because they do not have the authority to do so. Airline must respect other people's privacy, just like they have to respect yours. If your things get damaged in such a way, then you would have to take it up with the airline, but i don't think they would do much for you. They would most likely would tell that they are not responsible for these damages as it is not caused by them, and you did not take enough due care, etc.

Next time if you want to prevent any physical damage to your laptop from bumps and bruises, make sure you carry the 8 cells battery and the X61s separately. Or use a more protective case (i.e. Pelican case). Regarding why the laptop did not crack, while the battery did, well i guess that comes down to lot of factors (i.e. direction of impact, load distribution, etc), and also the laptop has a magnesium alloy construction (the battery is covered in a thin layer of ABS/PC plastic).

Finally, regarding the battery leaking and stuffs, i think you can google what happens when you try rupture a lithium ion cell.