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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Laptops & Notebooks > General Laptops & Notebooks > Extend Battery Life?

Extend Battery Life?

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Anonymous   09-30-2004 at 03:13:38 PM

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

My girlfriend just got a Dell Laptop, Brand-New. It is usually on AC power
at all times. Is it a good idea to take out the battery while it is on AC
or should I just leave it in. Also it is left on for days at a time, if
that makes any difference. I am fairly new at laptops and she knows little
about computers at all. Any help is appreciated thank you all

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Anonymous   10-02-2004 at 05:15:12 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

"Frank J Wolz III" <wolz.2@wright.edu> wrote in message
news:cjh0qo$fs9$1@proxy1.wright.edu...
> My girlfriend just got a Dell Laptop, Brand-New. It is usually on AC
power
> at all times. Is it a good idea to take out the battery while it is on AC
> or should I just leave it in. Also it is left on for days at a time, if
> that makes any difference. I am fairly new at laptops and she knows
little
> about computers at all. Any help is appreciated thank you all
>
>

Read the manual first and go with that.

In general, for li-ion, leave it on will kill the battery within 6 months if
not sooner and that's what I did with mine but my Compaq, purchased new and
sealed in box, didn't come with a manual and no manual replacement is/was
available. Anyway, cycle it (charge it full and discharge) a few times then
pull it out at half full and store it in a cool place. Meanwhile, as an
option, buy a cheap UPS (much cheaper than a new $200 battery) and use that
instead.

Reply to Anonymous
dennis   10-02-2004 at 02:40:28 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

Based on my experience and of others:
I say keep it in the PC, Li-Ion Batts degrade regardless of usage. You
should get at least 2 or 3 years of life.
I kept my in the laptop for more than 2 years still 100% good. I dischrage
it 4 times a year down to 20%.
Good luck.

"Frank J Wolz III" <wolz.2@wright.edu> wrote in message
news:cjh0qo$fs9$1@proxy1.wright.edu...
> My girlfriend just got a Dell Laptop, Brand-New. It is usually on AC
> power
> at all times. Is it a good idea to take out the battery while it is on AC
> or should I just leave it in. Also it is left on for days at a time, if
> that makes any difference. I am fairly new at laptops and she knows
> little
> about computers at all. Any help is appreciated thank you all
>
>

Reply to dennis
Anonymous   10-05-2004 at 08:03:00 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

I own my SONY TR1 with a LI IO Battery for a year now.
I haven't done anything special to preserve my Battery (e.g. take it
out) and it still has approximately the same Lifetime as it was new.

I use my Laptop every day, sometimes (one or two times per week) I
use it on battery not looking if its empty or half full until I put
it on the AC adapter again. When it's turned off I leave it plugged
in most times.

There are people I know who work their ass of to do everything for
their batteries as decribed in manuals. But often enough their
batteries die sooner than my heavy and carefree used ones.


Your Laptop's worth half the Prize in a year anyway. And if you
haven't needed the battery until then it's very unlikely that you
will have to use it any time later (on an old machine)

You've paid for it. Use it.

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 03:59:21 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

I owned a Sony SR21k and the battery died after 7months of normal usage. I
left it in the Laptop. Bought a second one- same problem. Some advices:
1. Take the battery out after it is half way full. Fully charged it will be
drained after 3 months. Half charged only after 6 months!!

2. Try to keep the temperature around under 60°Celsius. If not it is trashed
in no time- depends upon the heat design. I am using a Latitude from Dell
and their batteries ar mostly save against this issue.

3. Check when the battery was manufactured. Li-Ion do die after 3-4years. No
matter you have used them or not. Try a search on the internet for "diefer +
Speedswitch" or his IKfangui. These programs work with most Dell laptops and
give you intersting information about the laptop as well as control over the
cpu-fan.

4. NEVER let the battery drain under 20%. If you do so the Li-Ion corrodes
and has lost some of its power.

relax and enjoy your new mobility.
NX

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 03:59:22 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

> Take the battery out after it is half way full. Fully charged it will be

> NEVER let the battery drain under 20%.

The problem with this is that a battery would cycle between 20% and
50% full leaving 30% of the battery. A typical battery is rated about
2 hours. This means using the battery for ONLY 40 minutes at a
stretch. This isn't practical in many circumstances.

Conway Yee

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 05:36:07 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

I am sorry I don't get this. Could you explain in details, pls?
What i meant was: if Windows shows you only 20% left try to stop working on
battery. If not you Li-Ion will take severe damage. My Dell lasts for about
4hours. So I only have 3,2hours left. I can live with this.

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 04:05:06 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

Conway Yee <yee@bronze.lcs.mit.edu> wrote
> > Take the battery out after it is half way full.
> > NEVER let the battery drain under 20%.
> The problem with this is that a battery would cycle between
> 20% and 50% full leaving 30% of the battery.

No. "Take the battery out after it is half way full," refers to
taking the battery out and storing it while the laptop instead
is powered by the AC adapter.

"NEVER let the battery drain under 20%," refers to using the
battery to power the laptop, where the battery is also
initially charged to 100%.

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 10:28:47 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

"NX70" <jangkai-!DONTSPAM!-@yahoo.com> writes:

> I am sorry I don't get this. Could you explain in details, pls?
> What i meant was: if Windows shows you only 20% left try to stop working on
> battery. If not you Li-Ion will take severe damage. My Dell lasts for about
> 4hours. So I only have 3,2hours left. I can live with this.

OK, let me try. But I suspect we have a serious disconnect with terms.

You wrote:
> Take the battery out after it is half way full. Fully charged it will be

This means to me 50% charged. In other words, a 4 hour battery, if
run dry would work for 2 hours.

> NEVER let the battery drain under 20%.

This means to me that a 4 hour battery, if run dry, would work for 48
minutes.

I wrote:
>The problem with this is that a battery would cycle between 20% and
>50% full leaving 30% of the battery. A typical battery is rated about
>2 hours. This means using the battery for ONLY 40 minutes at a
>stretch. This isn't practical in many circumstances.

If I read your post correctly, you cycle your 4 hour battery between 2
hours of charge left and 48 minutes left. This means that on each
cycle, you can only use the battery for 1 hour 12 minutes. While this
is OK if you have access to AC power but in this case, why are you on
battery anyway? Batteries are needed when you AREN'T near a power
outlet. This means that you can only use your laptop for 1 hour 12
minutes at a time which is certainly insufficient for ANY real work.

Conway Yee

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 06:34:25 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

Now I get it:
Sorry for my poor English explanation.
I am talking about two different situations:
If you want to STORE the battery longer than a few days or two weeks without
using it- then charging it to only half way full is better, because it
doesn't drain as fast as it would do if fully charged.

If you are using it, then charge it fully before travelling and then dont
let it drain under 20%.
That was my faulty explanation I apologize for that.

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   10-14-2004 at 11:07:00 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

 

"NX70" <jangkai-!DONTSPAM!-@yahoo.com> writes:
> I am talking about two different situations:
> If you want to STORE the battery longer than a few days or two weeks without
> using it- then charging it to only half way full is better, because it
> doesn't drain as fast as it would do if fully charged.
>
> If you are using it, then charge it fully before travelling and then dont
> let it drain under 20%.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Conway Yee

Reply to Anonymous
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