Lithium Ion Batteries

[DanDaMan315]

I was curious about charging my mx1000 that has a lithium ion battery. Should I charge it whenever I get the chance, or should I drain it completely to get all the old charge out? I get confused between Lithium Ion and Nickel Cadium.

 

[CTrainBEB]

i'd like to know myself, bizzump

 

[MercenaryForHire]

LiIon is way, WAY ahead of NiCd.

LiIon cells don't suffer "memory effect" and have many more life cycles.

Generally you should do a full discharge -> recharge at least once a month, just to keep it calibrated properly. Other than that, LiIons are "smart" enough to not overcharge themselves.

- M4H

 

Meh, I just keep on charging it, I don't really leave it or use it for long periods of time.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Ok, because I've been just charging it whenever I 'm not using the computer (this way it doesn't run out in Counter Strike) and I was curious if I was damaging the battery. But according to you I'm not so that's good.

 

[cryogenic666]

Everything I've read has said that LiIon batteries PREFER not to be run dead at all (ever). Apparently when they get close to being dead they start to produce more heat and in larger cells (not such a problem in AA cells) they can actually overheat. In smaller cells, it just apparently causes a very small amount of incremental damage. Basically they run best when they're "topped off" and never run completely dead.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Ok thats even better then.

 

[emeraldsky]

LiIon Batteries are protected from over-charging and they are protected from over-discharging - these are the 2 things that kill NiMh and NiCd batteries.
All rechargeables will last longer if they are discharged as little as possible, with the caveat that they shouldn't be overcharged.

 

[Mykl]

I read somewhere that the worst thing you could do to a LiIon battery is to run it 100% dry.

But the Verizon tech I talked to when I bought my new phone said that every time you hit "full" on the battery it's like taking a tick away from it's life.

So for my phone I bought a second battery. When the battery that's in the phone gives me a "low" warning, I swap them out for the good one. Not only is this convenient, but it lets me get full use out of each batter, for each charge, with no worries of not having my phone.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Well maybe Verizon has cheap chargers that don't stop charging at full.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I use this as my reference for battery usage.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Wow, Apple really has a great site for informing their customers about LiIon batteries. Probably because Apple's non-removable batteries fail at 18 months, when the warranty just ends. Thanks for the post, very informative.

 

[sangyup81]

the discharge recharge thing is for the old NiCad and NiMH batteries

this is one of the reasons why Lithium Ion is so great =)

 

[gsellis]

One thing on charging. It is not the battery that prevents the overcharge, it is the charger. Overcharging a LiIon battery can be dangerous including exploding, catching fire. You MUST use a smart charger with them or the connection must manage overcharging.

IOW, do not build your own charger. Buy one approved for that battery!

 

[rstove02]

The only battery type that you should NEVER completely discharge are lead acid rechargeable batteries. Doing so will 100% kill it. However lead acid is only used in a handful of applications (battery for home alarm systems for example).

 

[Koing]

It will still suffer the memory affect. After 200-300 charges it will be pretty badly knackered and you'll get 2-3hrs TALK TIME out of your phone no matter what.

But still 200-300 charges is pretty good.

Koing

 

[DeeTees]

Every time you do a full charge/discharge it is one fewer cycles that remain in your battery. However it is my understanding that 10 10% discharge/charge cycles equal one 100% charge/discharge cycle. Essentially it does not matter how you pattern your charging as long as you do not drain it dry you can fill up at 90% or allow it to drop to 10% before charging. You will still have used 9/10 of a full recharge cycle. With LiIon there is no memory effect, but there is an aging effect which is accelerated by frequent full charge/discharge cycles.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: DanDaMan315
Wow, Apple really has a great site for informing their customers about LiIon batteries. Probably because Apple's non-removable batteries fail at 18 months, when the warranty just ends. Thanks for the post, very informative.

While it isn't what it used to be, the battery on my 2000 iceBook is working. I'm not sure what you are talking about.

 

[DanDaMan315]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: DanDaMan315
Wow, Apple really has a great site for informing their customers about LiIon batteries. Probably because Apple's non-removable batteries fail at 18 months, when the warranty just ends. Thanks for the post, very informative.

While it isn't what it used to be, the battery on my 2000 iceBook is working. I'm not sure what you are talking about.

I was talking about the ipod, sorry for the mix up.

 

[0roo0roo]

no mem effect. charge whenever