can you help me with getting a new t520 battery online?

Hey!

I'm looking to get a new T520 battery.

I currently have a 6 cell and know the FRU, but wanted to confirm the right FRU for the 9 cell.

Do you happen to know it, or where I can find it?

My T520 model # is 4239CTO, and wanted to make sure I identified the right battery compatible with my system before pulling the trigger.

Also, out of curiosity -- what's the difference between 55+ and 70+ batteries?

Thanks so much!!

 

Go to Lenovo's web site and hit the "accessories" tab, then choose "battery finder" and enter in your model number. The difference between the 55+ and 70+ is rapid charge compatability for *30 series. The 70+ is designed to be recharged quickly and is compatible with *30 series Thinkpads. The 55+ does not have this capability and will not charge on *30 series Thinkpads. Since you have a T520, you can use either.

 

Thanks a lot!

I found it on the Lenovo site and found it for cheaper on eBay, right here.

Is there any worry of getting the one off eBay? Could it possibly harm my system?

They claim it's genuine, but it's the internet, so.... just being extra safe, lol.

Many thanks!!

 

The thing about buying a battery from eBay is that battery was manufactured in December of 2012, so it's been sitting for almost two years. Due to the chemical properties of batteries, they degrade over time. It might be fine or it might only have 90% of it's charge capacity remaining. You could always send it back of course or perhaps negotiate with the seller for a better price if it turns out to have less than the design capacity, but you won't know until you get it.

 

I also wonder what companies Lenovo used for those batteries. My x120e battery (Sanyo), ~3.5 years old, has 30% wear and I suspect a dead cell. Maybe 150 cycles. On the other hand, I have HP 6530b batteries that are 4.5 years old with 15% wear, and that work perfectly fine. Fewer cycles most likely, but they were left at 0% charge at least a few times. (I got them used from work/surplus.)

 

Sanyo is the main supplier, but Panasonic and Sony do make batteries as well. Supposedly Panasonic batteries are the ones to get. They can have high cycle counts, but don't seem to wear much. They used to have separate part numbers for each of the batteries, so they were easier to find, but I believe that is no longer the case. I know Panasonic made some for the X220, but I have no idea if they making any for the newer machines.

 

Maybe Panasonic stopped making or greatly reduced their number of manufactured notebook batteries after their deal with Tesla to make automotive batteries, which are probably more lucrative.

 

FRU for a Panasonic 9-cell for T *10/20 series is 42T4801 according to what my own battery reports back via Power Manager.

Hope this helps.