External Laptop Battery Pack

April 5, 2007 8:28 PM

Is there a way to reuse an apple powerbook g4 battery to power a macbook pro? I know that it doesn't fit, but I'm hoping there is some kind of external pack that can accept and charge a powerbook battery but which can power a macbook pro. Any ideas?

In november, I bought a core 2 duo macbook pro because my powerbook died. I have 2 powerbook batteries, though. Obvioulsy the powerbook batteries don't fit in the macbook pro. I'm wondering whether or not there is a device which will fit a powerbook battery and which you can plug into the wall to charge and which has a magsafe adaptor on the other end. I know this is a tall order, but I travel a lot and it seems a waste to get more batteries for the MBP if there's a solution that involves my 2 old batteries. Also, are there any other external battery solutions that might have more capacity than a standard mbp battery? One that might be a better buy?Thanks.

posted by jwiener to computers & internet (5 answers total)

No there's really no way to use the old battery. L Your best bet is to sell it and put it toward a new battery/
posted by nathan_teske at 8:39 PM on April 5, 2007

no, the g4 power supply is rated at 65W, while the Macbook Pro requires 85W.
posted by now i'm piste at 8:42 PM on April 5, 2007

It's likely that your Powerbook G4 battery doesn't provide the same power as the MacBook Pro battery, given the processor type and devices being powered in the MacBook Pro.

Even if you stuck two batteries together, you'd need some kind of transformer to get the right power from them.

Given the small likelihood of customers having two old batteries and wanting to remake them into another battery, and the warranty and support costs for a custom design, it's unlikely you'll find a vendor for such a product.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:44 PM on April 5, 2007

Are the old batteries at the same voltage as the new battery, or the new power adapter? There are other issues, like the possibility of charging circuitry and/or over current protection, but if the voltage is wrong by a significant percentage, but by a non-integer multiple, there is really no point even beginning to think about it.

Your old powerbook will be worth much more if it has a functional battery. If you use it's battery for your new hardware, it won't be functional for long - batteries wear out.

On the other hand.. External battery packs are not uncommon, it would appear, and there really is no such thing as "different types of power", but there certainly are lots of subtle electronics related issues that might crop up.
posted by Chuckles at 9:04 PM on April 5, 2007

No.

Sell the old batteries. You could even sell them along with the dead powerbook on eBay. People buy that shit.
posted by blasdelf at 3:58 AM on April 7, 2007