Hi. I've never really cared much for laptop batteries until I got a 12 hour battery for my netbook. Now, most days I'll only use around 50% of that and then I get home and plug it into the charger. Would it be better for the battery to be discharged all the way before charging, or does it not matter?
Doesn't really matter, no.
Yeah okay, so I just have to discharge it fully once in a while to keep it calibrated I assume.
[QUOTE=Warship;35314565]Yeah okay, so I just have to discharge it fully once in a while to keep it calibrated I assume.[/QUOTE]
Not really. There shouldn't be a problem unless you leave it unused for many months at a time.
No man, don't charge it until it is 100% empty, unless you want it to become 2-3 hour battery.
Just for 1 time isn't matters, but if you are using it daily on battery mode, I really ADVICE you to charge it after being sure it is 100% empty.
[QUOTE=Kastro;35315310]No man, don't charge it until it is 100% empty, unless you want it to become 2-3 hour battery.
Just for 1 time isn't matters, but if you are using it daily on battery mode, I really ADVICE you to charge it after being sure it is 100% empty.[/QUOTE]
Isn't this only a problem on Ni-Cad batteries? I read that the problem (called the "memory effect") is only apparent on those batteries. That's what wikipedia says, anyway.
But some people claim that Li-ion batteries have the memory problem too (although not to the same extent).
So I'm confused.
[QUOTE=Warship;35315673]Isn't this only a problem on Ni-Cad batteries? I read that the problem (called the "memory effect") is only apparent on those batteries. That's what wikipedia says, anyway.
But some people claim that Li-ion batteries have the memory problem too (although not to the same extent).
So I'm confused.[/QUOTE]
He's an idiot, you're absolutely correct.
Can't remember where I read it, but for Li-ion batteries, it's fine to part discharge them etc but every now and then do a full discharge-recharge cycle.
Whether this is correct or not, I have no idea.
Do what ever you want.
The only things I have heard about Li-ion batteries is that you don't wan't to have it sitting at 100% all the time say if you mostly have your laptop sitting at your desk plugged in. Other than that you should try to avoid running the battery dead dead; they will either not supply the voltage or shut off before reaching levels that will cause severe damage though.
For my laptop I always keep my extra battery around and swap out at about 5-10%, my laptop also can be set to not charge more than 80% so I also use that to extend the lives of the batteries.
[QUOTE=Bonzai11;35317685]
For my laptop I always keep my extra battery around and swap out at about 5-10%, my laptop also can be set to not charge more than 80% so I also use that to extend the lives of the batteries.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I can't do that but I'm just gonna do what 1solidsnake2 said. That's what seems the most logical to me.
I'm using my laptop as a desktop basically..
Is it better if I pull the battery out and just leave the power connected or does it make no difference?
[QUOTE=maxolina;35332775]I'm using my laptop as a desktop basically..
Is it better if I pull the battery out and just leave the power connected or does it make no difference?[/QUOTE]
Best to leave it out if you're not using it. The computer gets hot, so does the battery, and batteries don't like heat.
LiIon batteries are one of the topics with the most bad advice I see around. The "Batteries are made to be used, so use them" argument is a particularly bad one - it's like saying "gasoline is made to be burned, so burn it" and encouraging people to waste their gas in bonfires.
Here's the gist:
Laptop batteries wear out the more they are used, but they also wear out (slower, of course) when not used. If you're not going to use one for a long time, charge it to 40% (open voltage per cell = 3.80V, for the record) and put it in the refrigerator; this way, yearly wear is only 2% (it's around 20% if charged to 100% and left at room temperature). Note: wear means "amount of total capacity that is forever lost".
That said, as with all things, the more you use them the more they wear out. Do NOT use your laptop's battery pack if you have a mains outlet nearby. LiIon batteries have a finite number of cycles; while the amount of wear is not linear with the discharge (read: a 100% discharge counts as one cycle, but a 50% discharge counts as less than half a cycle), it still impacts the total.
Source: dansdata.com (the dude is a goldmine of battery knowledge), reading all over the internet and experience. I still have the bare cells (they're called "18650") from a ten year old Toshiba laptop battery I dismantled; they have nowhere like the original capacity left, but they're still functional and I can still use them for flashlights and such.
[url=http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries]Here[/url]'s some information about the refrigerator thing.
Edit: I should mention two more things.
It's true that a LiIon cell/battery does not start out at full capacity; it needs a few (5-10) cycles in order to "set in" and deliver its maximum capacity. From that moment onward, it'll start slowly declining. This doesn't really matter, because the not-yet-set-in capacity is not very much lower than the maximum. We're talking, I dunno, a 10 to 20 percent increase, maybe less. I've heard many people say "I'm getting awful battery life from my <INSERT GADGET NAME HERE>, but I'm sure as I use it it'll improve to what it should be" - that's not how it works.
Also, from many accounts, it's *probably* true that an occasional deep discharge is useful in keeping the battery gauge accurate.
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