Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 73791 2006-10-31 20:53:00 Laptop Battery bk T (215) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
495589 2006-10-31 20:53:00 When using a laptop on Mains power, is it better to remove the battery or leave it on charging (even when it is fully charged)? A friend of mine was saying that if I were to leave the battery on while using the mains power, this will shorten the life of the battery. I'm not too convinced.

What's your view?
bk T (215)
495590 2006-10-31 21:11:00 Even if the charge control circuit is perfect, heat will shorten battery life. This effect is there all the time but laptops usually run faster and hotter on mains as there's no need to conserve power. PaulD (232)
495591 2006-10-31 23:20:00 Newer laptops with LiOn batteries all have smart chargers, which correctly maintain the battery.

The degradation of the battery would be about the same in my view in either scenario, as the optimum storage condition for LiOn is about 40% charge, but self discharge will mean it never stays at that.

Complete cycling of LiOn will shorten the life, but my last few laptops all died of natural causes or were sold before any battery failure occured, and I never remove the battery while in use on the mains, which is most of the time.

The laptop generated heat affecting the battery is a valid point, but in many the battery is more remote from the CPU generated heat. My present Toshiba remains cool around the battery.
godfather (25)
495592 2006-11-02 13:12:00 One consideration is that the battery while "floating" on charge is a fairly hefty sort of spike suppressor. The relative costs of battery vs more-or-less everything else and labour charges for the cure adds another factor. R2x1 (4628)
495593 2006-11-03 03:15:00 When using a laptop on Mains power, is it better to remove the battery or leave it on charging (even when it is fully charged)? A friend of mine was saying that if I were to leave the battery on while using the mains power, this will shorten the life of the battery. I'm not too convinced.

What's your view?

Yes I have been told this by several people in the battery trade who should know what they are talking about. In my case I have bought a new battery to replace the dying one but only use the new one with no mains power. I charge it with the laptop shut down.
The old battery lives in the laptop more or less permanently as I run it on the mains and anyway providing I am only using text work it will keep running for a while on its own.

What surprises me is the number of people who have found their batteries duff but use their laptops on mains because of the very high cost of batteries. And my HP laptop has to have the battery in the laptop to be charged. The next laptop I buy I hope will have the battery capable of being charged outside the laptop. As an ex designer I consider this should be done on all laptops.
Tom
Thomas01 (317)
495594 2006-11-03 03:51:00 The correct way to use a laptop battery is to charge it right up and then occasionly, (one a month), flatten it to less than 80% of it's charge .

Now connect the power and charge to 100% again .

You can now leave it in place for another month . Using this method will ensure maximum life from your laptop battery .

Burnzee
Burnzee (6950)
1