Laptop battery - I need advice on what to buy

[PC Hobbyist]

I have an Acer Aspire Timeline 4810T laptop.
I'd like to buy a battery for it to have as a backup. An original Acer 6-cell battery costs a little over 100 dollars. Other no-name compatible batteries on Amazon and ebay cost 50 dollars for a 6-cell and about 75 dollars for a 9-cell. I don't think Acer makes 9-cell batteries for my laptop.

Do I risk damaging the laptop (or starting some fire) with a cheaper no-name battery? Is it safe to order them from China?

Do any of you use 9-cell batteries? Are they too bulky or heavy in your opinion or are they okay?

Thanks for any input - especially if you have first-hand experience with this.

Cheers.

 

[johnb35]

Contact Acer for an OEM 9 cell replacement battery. You will be spending more money but you'll be saving money in the long run. 9 cell batteries will give you more runtime then a 6 cell.

 

[tlarkin]

Yes, non specified batteries can damage your system. Remember the recall that Dell did with the batteries exploding? That is because they were using cheap, non specified batteries to run off their hardware specs.

 

[PC Hobbyist]

Thanks for the input, guys,
Yeah, I think I'll stay away from non specified batteries. I'll look into getting an Acer battery - perhaps a 9-cell if they make them for my laptop (haven't seen them from Acer).