how do you treat your laptop battery? (charging procedure)

[LS21]

i have a 6-cell lithium ion on the lenovo ideapad... should i leave it plugged when possible? should i only top to 100%, then run on battery, and recharge? etc?

how do you handle yours?

 

[Barfo]

I leave it plugged all the time.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Barfo
I leave it plugged all the time.

Same. I don't care what it says on the packaging, no battery likes being deep cycled. It's best to keep it as close to 100% as possible. Overcharging is also bad, but most modern devices sense voltage, so that isn't much of a concern.

 

[RichieZ]

however you feel like, and then at 1yr call up lenovo and say your battery is bad and they'll send you a new one.

hell apple even does it after the warranty is up, but then their batteries really are defective (<70% capacity with < 100 cycles)

 

[jpeyton]

Lithium ion batteries last longer with fewer deep discharge cycles. You can run down the battery to 0% if needed, but if you can charge it before it reaches that point it's better for the life of the battery. Keeping it plugged in whenever you're not mobile is fine.

If you ever put your battery/laptop into long-term storage, don't store it with a full-charge; store it with a 2/3rds full charge, and store it in a cool/dry place.

 

[dguy6789]

Mine is always plugged in.

 

[Jeff7]

I've read that it's best to store Li-ion cells at 50% charge for long-term. Other than that, I unplug my laptop when it's not in use. I think li-ion cells retain their charge fairly well in storage.

 

[frostedflakes]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
I've read that it's best to store Li-ion cells at 50% charge for long-term. Other than that, I unplug my laptop when it's not in use. I think li-ion cells retain their charge fairly well in storage.

Yeah I was under the impression that for Li-ion it is best to keep them from being either fully charged or fully discharged, you'll get best longevity if you keep it between about 25% and 75% SoC. I always keep mine fully charged, though, but rarely deep cycle it.

 

[Mr Smiley]

I left my Dell e1505 battery plugged in all of the time. It died after 2 years and I barely used it. With the replacement, I am taking the battery out when I'm not using it.

 

[Lean L]

Best method is to plug it in whenever using in a non-mobile situation and then unplug when turned off. Of course power cycle once every month or so

 

[DayLaPaul]

Keeping it plugged in can be bad for the battery, not because of overcharging -- because most devices have some sort of overcharge protection, but because of heat issues. Nothing kills a battery faster than extreme heat.

 

[nobody554]

Originally posted by: DayLaPaul
Keeping it plugged in can be bad for the battery, not because of overcharging -- because most devices have some sort of overcharge protection, but because of heat issues. Nothing kills a battery faster than extreme heat.

This. I've got an HP Pavilion dv6815 and I pull the battery out when I've got my laptop plugged in for an extended period of time. The bottom gets so hot, I don't want it to affect the battery.

When I use it on the battery., I'll run it down usually about 40-50% before I can recharge it.

 

[Bateluer]

I usually leave mine plugged in all the time, its more of a desktop replacement notebook though. If its going to be sitting idle for a long time though, I'll usually unplug the power cable.

 

[eelw]

I also don't like leaving a battery in if plugged 24/7 because of heat.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: Barfo
I leave it plugged all the time.

 

[vshah]

i leave them plugged in all the time...they usually last 2-3 years for me. my laptop gets frequent mobile use though.

 

[xanis]

I leave mine plugged in all the time unless I go sit outside for a while or something.

 

[Brainonska511]

I keep my battery in my laptop all the time. I don't bother going doing anything special for it. Still get 1.5 hours out of it after 3 years (started at about 3.75 hours).

 

[Tiamat]

I leave it plugged in all the time. Battery lasted 1 year and 1 day. POS dell e1505 battery. Never deep cycled. Too bad you cannot take out the battery when using the laptop using wall power. The damn battery has one of the rubber feet necessary to keep the laptop level as you type. Crappy design. My laptop has had the blinking battery light for over 2 years now. I just cover it up with tape. I refuse to pay 180$ for another battery just for it to crap out again.

 

[Gunbuster]

Seems like they (dell at least) have the current battery process control down to an art. Tons of battery's going bad one day after the one year warranty.

A free little app called Battery Bar will tell you how much wear the battery currently has.

 

[Farang]

I leave my laptop plugged in constantly with no surge protector in three different continents and after 3 years, no problems. Except for the OEM defects of course.

 

[aceO07]

I set my Thinkpad to recharge if under 65% back to 93%. I only charge to 100% if I'm going on a trip.

 

[MotionMan]

LOL. Seems like the answer is that there is no agreed upon answer.

MotionMan

 

[Synomenon]

Li-Ions are supposed to be kept topped off. If you try to discharge them all the time, copper shunts will start forming inside the cells causing the battery to short itself.

 

[Mo0o]

I think heat is worse than anything for the batteries.