DX battery

1766 Views 15 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Makarios, Jan 8, 2013

LDB

Discussion Starter · Jan 2, 2013

Can the DX battery be replaced and if so what does it cost?

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

Ann in Arlington

· #2 · Jan 2, 2013

I expect it can be.

You're probably aware that if there's a problem with it, though, Amazon won't do anything other than offer a replacement. And, if it's out of warranty, may not even do that.

But there's a site called NewPower99, or something like that, which sells replacement batteries for a variety of devices that aren't specifically supposed to be user replaceable. They usually come with small specialized tools to open the case, and there are videos on the web site that show you how to do it. A number of members here have performed the operation on their K2s.

jaimee83

· #3 · Jan 3, 2013

After about 3 1/2 years I replaced my DX battery. For @$30.00 I got the new battery & 2 tools to do the job. There was supposed to be a video included - which wasn't. The company sent me a linc to UTube, I followed the video and replaced my own battery in <10 minutes. Excellent directions. Because of the current life of the DX, I may buy another battery and hold on to it for another 3+ years. I really like my DX, all I do I read on it. Don't need a FIRE or Paperwhite, I just read and the DX is perfect.
https://www.newpower99.com/login.asp

LDB

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 3, 2013

Thanks for the information. For $30 I'll check them out. Thanks again.

Tax and shipping included $36.96 so that's not too bad.

Makarios

· #5 · Jan 4, 2013

Hi all!

Can someone please tell me what the max recharging voltage for the DX battery should be. The 5-volt USB seems awfully slow.

Thank you.

Ann in Arlington

· #6 · Jan 4, 2013

I'd say any charger you have that works with a micro USB slot (as on the KDX) should charge it just fine. It will be faster if you can plug it into the wall, rather than just charging via the computer. And will be faster still if you use a higher power charger -- say, the one that can be purchased from Amazon called "PowerFast".

I charge it using a regular 'kindle' plug and cord usually, but have also used my phone cord as well as the charger for my OFire -- which was the same power as the PowerFast plug, just integrated into the cord.

Makarios

· #7 · Jan 4, 2013

Ann in Arlington said:
I'd say any charger you have that works with a micro USB slot (as on the KDX) should charge it just fine. It will be faster if you can plug it into the wall, rather than just charging via the computer. And will be faster still if you use a higher power charger -- say, the one that can be purchased from Amazon called "PowerFast".

I charge it using a regular 'kindle' plug and cord usually, but have also used my phone cord as well as the charger for my OFire -- which was the same power as the PowerFast plug, just integrated into the cord.

Well Ann; I can tell you I just ruined my iPhone charging it with my Asus EEE Pc wall socket charger (yes, it has a standard USB receptacle!). Putting on my reading glasses and using a powerful magnifying glass I found out that the output was 16 volts. I cannot understand why Asus has built this trap.

Ann in Arlington

· #8 · Jan 4, 2013

Sorry about that Makarios. . . . .I can't speak to Apple or Asus. And I don't understand voltage as output.

The things I've looked at give Watts, or give both voltage and amperage, Watts being the product of the two. 16V does seem very very high unless it draws a very very low current. $:-\$

But I can say I have used my kindle chargers and my Motorola Razr charger (on the order of 4 to 4.5W) with all my Kindles (K4, KPW, Fire1, FireHD7 and FireHD8.9, and, previously a K3K) without any problems.

I believe on Amazon it says that the PowerFast charger (9W) is compatible with all Kindle models, so I've not worried about it and have used it without problems with all the Kindles I currently own.

I admit I've not charged the phone on the PowerFast, but if that was all there was I wouldn't worry about it too much if I needed to use it -- I have another charger in another room that usually gets the phone plugged in to it.

Oh, I've also used car chargers as well, rated at the same approximate Wattage.

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Makarios

· #9 · Jan 4, 2013

Yep.

Think about it: 16 volts at 1,3 amps gives you more than 20 watts...

I better stick to the USB cable out of my computer.

Ann in Arlington

· #10 · Jan 4, 2013

Makarios said:
Yep.

Think about it: 16 volts at 1,3 amps gives you more than 20 watts...

I better stick to the USB cable out of my computer.

Assuming it's 1.3 amps. Many of my chargers are only drawing .4 to .8 amps which would be significantly less. . . . .o'course, if it's made to run a computer, it's not as surprising that it draws more power.

But, again, the chargers Amazon sells -- or that are readily available elsewhere -- for mobile/personal electronics, are going to work just fine. You just have to make sure they're not more than 9W or so. . . and most of them are NOT.

Morf

· #11 · Jan 4, 2013

Be careful calculating the wattage and working from that. 240V even at a tiny current will fry things...

You need to consider voltage and current separately.

1) Voltage. Virtually all USB chargers put out 5V - 5.5V, and this is what your Kindle (and phone, tablet etc) wants. As long as the voltage is about 5-6V you will not have a problem. DON'T use anything with a higher voltage. It won't be faster, it will just go bang!

The Asus charger which is putting out 16V is very much non-standard, and I'm certainly not impressed with them putting that voltage out through a USB port. Get a marker pen and write "NOT FOR ANYTHING ELSE" on it!

2) Current. Remember that current is sucked (drawn) not pushed. The Kindle sucks as much as it wants, and as long as the charger is capable of supplying that much, everything will be fine.

USB from your PC will allow up to about 500mA (0.5A) to be drawn. This is the "norm", if you like, and everything will work with it, but it is quite low, and that's why charging your Kindle from your USB port is slow.

I believe Kindles can draw up to about 800mA (e-Ink - Fires can probably draw quite a lot more).

Avoid a charger which gives less than 500mA. You sometimes find these for old phones. Using one of these can damage the charger (not the device).

As long as the charger is rated higher than 500mA, it doesn't matter how high the rating is. Remember this is the maximum the charger can let out, so even if it's higher than the Kindle rating it won't matter.

Most chargers are 1A, which is ideal and will be faster than your USB port. Some chargers are 2A or more. You can use any of these, but once the rating is higher than the Kindle's maximum draw (about 800mA I believe) it won't be any faster.

The cheap ones for sale on Amazon tend to be 1A, anything higher than that tends to be more expensive.

Think of it like sucking water up a straw: the limiting factor is how hard you can suck. Using a thin straw you won't get much water, and if you suck too hard you could make the straw collapse. Sucking water up a hosepipe will still only let you get as much water as you can suck, but you won't do any harm.

(The water will probably taste horrible out of a hosepipe, but that's a different matter!

)

TL

R summary: use a charger rated at 5 - 5.5V, 1A.

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Makarios

· #12 · Jan 4, 2013

I think Asus deserves a proper whacking because of this.

I have learned my lesson by now. The iPhone service bill ran at 140 euros...

Morf

· #13 · Jan 5, 2013

Ouch! You have our sympathy.

And yes, pretty shoddy thing for Asus to do.

jaimee83

· #14 · Jan 7, 2013

iPhones, iPads, Ipods, Kindle Fire & DX. They all come with charging cables. For the Apple products (7 over the years) it seems every cable is different while all being identical. I finally marked the latest that only works for the iPad or the only one the iPad works with. My point, after reading this, I'm going to mark each product & cable with the proper charging power (that it absorbs), don't want to run into a 16v cable. Also, I run these on 220v from time to time without any problems.

Morf

· #15 · Jan 8, 2013

jaimee83 said:
...don't want to run into a 16v cable. Also, I run these on 220v from time to time without any problems.

The 220V is the input voltage, what's important here is the output. Mains transformers (like you use in a wall socket) will be marked with both, the input is normally 110-250V 50/60Hz AC, the output is the one to check. As long as it's 5-6V DC and 1A or so, you'll be fine.

The Asus problem that we discussed is pretty unusual, and is actually a very naughty thing for them to do. The USB standard defines voltages and currents (5V, 500mA). They really shouldn't be using a USB plug and putting 16V DC out of it. There's no law against it unfortunately.

Makarios

· #16 · Jan 8, 2013

Morf said:
The 220V is the input voltage, what's important here is the output. Mains transformers (like you use in a wall socket) will be marked with both, the input is normally 110-250V 50/60Hz AC, the output is the one to check. As long as it's 5-6V DC and 1A or so, you'll be fine.

The Asus problem that we discussed is pretty unusual, and is actually a very naughty thing for them to do. The USB standard defines voltages and currents (5V, 500mA). They really shouldn't be using a USB plug and putting 16V DC out of it. There's no law against it unfortunately.

Of course the output is stated on the charger itself. Printed with grey on black and the font size is off all charts...

They probably saved a bundle in using an industry standard at least on one end of the cable.

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