[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Should I Remove My Laptop Battery to Increase its Life? here

[databaseben]

best practice is to use the laptop via the battery once in a while to allow it to drain to 0 power. then recharge it while the laptop is on ac power.

this is good exercise for the battery.


also, newer laptops have laptop battery life management systems

This post has been edited by databaseben: 03 November 2011 - 06:38 AM

[jeepmanjr]

Li-On: Most packs last three to five years, less if exposed to high heat and if kept at a full charge. The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case when running a laptop on the power grid. Under these circumstances the battery will typically last for about two years (so I've read), whether cycled or not. The pack does not die suddenly but will produce decreasing runtimes as part of aging.

Ni-Cd: Every 30 days or so after removing the battery, even if you don't need to use it, you still need to discharge it, then recharge it. This will help avoid creating a "memory" in your Ni-Cd pack (reduced run-time) and ensure you retain close to 100% of the battery's potential.

Ni-Mh: Generally you don't need to cycle these batteries. They can be brought up to max voltage and kept there. I've read that these batts can be recharged around 400 times from a discharged state.

Because every battery will self-drain about 1% to 3% on a daily basis (+ -), by the 30th day the battery may be close to zero volts. A completely discharged, prolonged state is a battery killer (for all types)!!

[WallyDuke]

databaseben, on 03 November 2011 - 06:32 AM, said:

best practice is to use the laptop via the battery once in a while to allow it to drain to 0 power. then recharge it while the laptop is on ac power.

this is good exercise for the battery.


also, newer laptops have laptop battery life management systems

I confess I'm not an expert and I may be wrong about this, but everything I've read about Li-ion and Li-polymer batteries seems to imply that the lower the DOD (depth of discharge) that these batteries experience, the better. This is apparently why devices with these Lithium chemistry batteries are programmed to shut the device off at about a 30-40% DOD. Fully draining an older style battery would "balance" the cells and could help extend battery life somewhat, but everything I've read about Li-ion batteries seems to imply that there is not a benefit to fully draining them. Again, I'm not an expert, and may very well be wrong.

[databaseben]

Well, it is hard for me to actually get the charge down to 0. For the most part when i reach 10%, i switch over to ac. But batteries have micro chips in them now a days, which helps prolong their life - if the batteries are actually used and not simply stored away.

[nilux]

I'm using Dell and I installed quickset . it has option that I can disable charging during AC plugged.

[Evildave]

Doesn't seem like an option for my little Macbook Air.

Removing even an 'easily removed' battery isn't such a good idea. You're putting stress on the hardware that holds the battery in, and the mechanical electrical contacts, too.

In other words, you might end up with a 'perfectly good' battery that either falls off your computer when you pick it up to move it, or that no longer provides a secure electrical connection, and then while it sits on the charger overnight, it overheats and starts a FIRE that kills you in your sleep.

There are always little trade-offs with things. Your battery will probably last as long as you use your notebook.

If you always use it plugged in, it won't matter much to you that your battery life sucks, and only runs the computer for as long as a UPS would run a desktop.

And BTW, many 'battery' devices, including many notebook PCs won't even start without the battery attached. So disconnecting the battery when on AC isn't really even an option, and as the article does state, kind of a stupid option, since any hiccup with the power, or someone tripping on the cord, will lose you all of your work, if not send your structurally weakened (without the battery) notebook crashing to the floor.

Most Lithium Ion batteries will lose substantial charge capacity within three years, whether you use them or not. Unless you charge them to about 85% state of charge, bag it with some silica gel and stick it in the fridge... in which case, you'll get little use out of the battery, anyway. NiMH and NiCad are basically extinct in consumer notebook computers. If you have a notebook old enough to have older battery technology in it, you've probably replaced that battery more than once already, and you could buy a brand new netbook for the cost of replacing that battery again, and that netbook will be better than your dinosaur notebook in virtually every way possible.

[joecomputerso0ws]

my stupid 2002 ibook battery wore out when constantly charged,

then i told everyone to remove bty when using notebook,

Battery Bar monitored a few notebooks i have, no wear ah

[ajd2006]

I have the Dell XPS 15 L502x, and according to the Dell Support website, it automatically stops charging that battery after it reaches 100%. Therefore, leaving the battery in the laptop while the laptop is plugged in will not shorten the life of the battery.

[TechGuideReview]

Removing the battery is an excellent idea - leaving it plugged in at all times with the battery is only killing the life. That's why so many people have this problem of their brand new battery's not being able to provide lengthy charges after only a few months.

I know it seems inconvenient, but I will say that this advice in this article is best for people who have a laptop that they use in the same spot everyday (like me).

If you're someone that's always taking it to Starbucks or your parents house or something, yes, taking out and putting the battery back in will be annoying.

If you're going to be stationary for a while though, take the battery out...or just use the battery alone. DON'T leave it plugged in with the battery for hours and hours everyday. It's not a clock radio.
This goes for any "rechargeable battery".

[francisjav]

I am organized like that. In this economy I can't afford a new battery.
I think for large number of reasons I won't discuss here, we should take care of our devices in a conscious way, just saying!

[WallyDuke]

ajd2006, on 04 November 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

I have the Dell XPS 15 L502x, and according to the Dell Support website, it automatically stops charging that battery after it reaches 100%. Therefore, leaving the battery in the laptop while the laptop is plugged in will not shorten the life of the battery.

Two issues with your statement. First, after the battery is fully charged and the charging circuitry is shut off, the battery will not be in use but will still very slowly drain until it reaches a state of charge where the charging circuitry kicks back in and tops the battery off again. This cycle will slowly repeat itself, having a rather small negative impact on overall battery life. Second, and more significant, the heat from the laptop is bad for the battery. Removing the battery from the heat source that is a running laptop will extend the useful life of a battery, by how much is highly debated though.

[ajd2006]

WallyDuke, on 04 November 2011 - 10:33 AM, said:

ajd2006, on 04 November 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

I have the Dell XPS 15 L502x, and according to the Dell Support website, it automatically stops charging that battery after it reaches 100%. Therefore, leaving the battery in the laptop while the laptop is plugged in will not shorten the life of the battery.

Two issues with your statement. First, after the battery is fully charged and the charging circuitry is shut off, the battery will not be in use but will still very slowly drain until it reaches a state of charge where the charging circuitry kicks back in and tops the battery off again. This cycle will slowly repeat itself, having a rather small negative impact on overall battery life. Second, and more significant, the heat from the laptop is bad for the battery. Removing the battery from the heat source that is a running laptop will extend the useful life of a battery, by how much is highly debated though.

Good point. I don't think that in my case removing the battery would make a big difference, and would actually be too much of a hassle. This is because I unplug it and either use it in another room or take it with me to my college classes almost everyday.

[jscott418]

So laptops will actually reduce cpu speed when a battery is not installed. You battery is not constantly charging so I don't think your really extending life of your battery or computer. A better suggestion would be to disconnect from power a couple times a month and let the battery run down then recharge. This would keep the battery in peak condition.

[simpleminded]

Here is a good site that explains how to preserve lithium-ion batteries at peak performance.

http://batteryuniver...based_batteries

Long story short, charge early charge often. Your li-ion battery will last much longer if you charge at 75% than 25%. Never run a li-ion battery dry if you can help it. My current phone has rarely ever dropped below 40% before getting charged and 99% of the time I charge at or above 60%. After 8 months of use I can't tell a difference in battery life from when the phone was new.

[WallyDuke]

ajd2006, on 04 November 2011 - 12:16 PM, said:

WallyDuke, on 04 November 2011 - 10:33 AM, said:

ajd2006, on 04 November 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

I have the Dell XPS 15 L502x, and according to the Dell Support website, it automatically stops charging that battery after it reaches 100%. Therefore, leaving the battery in the laptop while the laptop is plugged in will not shorten the life of the battery.

Two issues with your statement. First, after the battery is fully charged and the charging circuitry is shut off, the battery will not be in use but will still very slowly drain until it reaches a state of charge where the charging circuitry kicks back in and tops the battery off again. This cycle will slowly repeat itself, having a rather small negative impact on overall battery life. Second, and more significant, the heat from the laptop is bad for the battery. Removing the battery from the heat source that is a running laptop will extend the useful life of a battery, by how much is highly debated though.

Good point. I don't think that in my case removing the battery would make a big difference, and would actually be too much of a hassle. This is because I unplug it and either use it in another room or take it with me to my college classes almost everyday.

Actually, I'm with you too. I leave my laptop battery in most of the time.

[madooo12]

a good thing to remember is that charging the battery at like 50% or 75 % will give you much more cycles like if you charge it at 0% it'll last 500 times but at 50% it'll last 1500 times (not just the double) read that somewhere on HP

and the batteries are Li-Ion (Lithium ions) not Li-On

[shanedr]

Before replacing any lithium ion battery use this trick. If you have one of those food storage devices that sucks all of the air out. Run the battery out, then place it in one of those bags and pump the air out. Put it in the freezer for two days. Then remove it and allow it to reach room temperature. Cut the seal and fully recharge it. If you followed these instructions your old battery will work like new. Warning: this only works if the battery is in a vacuum when you freeze it. And only if you allow it to reach room temperature afterwards before recharging.

[sirc4526]

ajd2006, on 04 November 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

I have the Dell XPS 15 L502x, and according to the Dell Support website, it automatically stops charging that battery after it reaches 100%. Therefore, leaving the battery in the laptop while the laptop is plugged in will not shorten the life of the battery.

Hmn.. yes there is actually a circuit that stops the charging process once it reaches a certain threshold; but the charging process is not the whole story on why the battery fails. The battery is stressed due to being overcharged and also due to being held at too high or too low charge. for Cadmium batteries it is advisable to do full discharge-recharge but to Lithium batteries that is a bad practice, Lithium batteries tends to get worst when left at too high or too low charge level (and temperature), this is the reason that it is recommended to place lithium batteries at approx. 50% if you will not use the batteries for prolonged periods and also the reason why new gadgets turns itself off before it even reaches 0% charge. There is also a danger of having a dead battery due to being discharged below allowable thresholds (though most of the time this can be fixed by charging the battery long enough for it to reach atleast 10% charge), this mostly happen on laptops which is detected as non-charging batteries.

[TheOldTopkick]

databaseben, on 03 November 2011 - 06:32 AM, said:

best practice is to use the laptop via the battery once in a while to allow it to drain to 0 power. then recharge it while the laptop is on ac power.

this is good exercise for the battery.


also, newer laptops have laptop battery life management systems

Dropping your charge to zero was a good idea when we werer using nicads, but I understand the composition of batteries has changed. I wonder if discharging your battery is still needful. If I am wrong, sombody correct me.