9 Cell Battery wear level

I've had my Dell XPS m1530 for exactly 32 days now. Today I wanted to check out my battery wear level as I've noticed I'm no longer getting the estimates I once was. The program used to check wear level is Notebook Hardware Control 2.0 Pre-Release-06 (the latest version from main website)

Keep in mind, I never checked what my capacity was when I first got the notebook. I only use it on battery when I am in lecture or need to take my computer around the house. Most of the time, I leave it plugged in without the battery.

So after 32 days of usage, I am at a wear level of 7%. I am only using the 9 cell battery. I know that over time it will lose capacity but does 7% wear sound about right after 32 days?

I have a 5 year old Compaq Presario that used to only get 2 hours on battery. It now holds a charge of about 30 mins so presumably the wear level on that is 75% (rough estimate, not actual figure). On the Dell, I get consistent 4+ hours on max battery.


At 7% every month, I am looking at 12months x 7%wear = 84%wear level in a year!

 

Keep in mind it decreased from the time it was manufactured up til the time you tested it. Factors such as being near a heat source will drain it faster too.

 

The wear level tends to rise quickly in the first few days, presumably because the battery is not 32 days old but actually quite more (because its age is since it was built, not since it was sold).

7% is still a bit high, but I'd wait one more month to see if it continues to grow like that. If it passes 15% in one more month I would ask for a new battery. If not, it is nothing out of the ordinary.

 

You can try to ask for a new battery but if you wait too long, they are going to tell you no because batteries wear down! that does seem like a lot for 32 days but i would say you contact them sooner than latter, if you are expecting them to do something about it.

 

don't worry my 6 cell also says 7% and it has been that way for a while.
NHC tries to estimate so don't freak out. I use the battery from 100% to 20% several times a week. Just dont let the battery charge drop past 10% if you can. Discharging it to 20% is the best idea if you need to go that deep. Or else shallow discharges are better. If you aren't going to use it for a little while charge it up to 40% and take it out and put it somewhere dry. If you arent going to use it for a long while have it at 40% and put it in fridge (not in freezer). Use ziplock to keep it dry/clean.

 

Ask for a new battery. They'll send you one.

 

There is nothing wrong with it.

 

rechargeable batteries have what's called a "cycle life" a typical li-ion rechargeable battery will have a cycle life of 500 cycles. the cut-off for cycle life is 80%. that is when a fully charged battery retains less than 80% of its original charge it is considered to be a the end of its life-cycle (though it is still useable). If your battery drops below 80% while you are still under warranty get a new one. and yes 7% in a month is alittle high but rechargeables often exhibit somewhat erratic behavior during their first charge/discharge cycles. if it's 14% in a month then it's either getting really hot or you've got a bad cell.

 

Don't worry, NHC is just an estimate and can be quite off, so I really think you should just take it with a grain of salt. I think a better estimate is to just check the date of the battery. I'm not sure if your battery would have a manufacture date on it but the one for my Dell does does, there is a sticker that you can see if you remove the battery that has the manufacture date of the battery. Mine says 2008.3.7 on my newer battery that I just got a month ago, and I have an older one as well from late 2007. From my experience Dell ships pretty up to date batteries since I got mine towards the end of March, that would make the battery only a couple weeks old at most.

 

well before ur warranty run out, call Dell and ask for a new battery. I did and got a new one

 

I have a question for your guys that seem to know something about these batteries, if you are going to use your computer plugged in most of the time, then is the best way to get the most out of you battery is to leave it 40% and take it out of your computer completly?

will it hurt the battery if you just leave it in there and the cord is plugged in as well?

 

There will always be the argument of if it really does hurt your battery if you keep it in while fully charged and plugged in.. I personally think that it does not matter, I keep the battery in at all times. I haven't had any problems with any laptop batteries in my experience.

My old Sony Vaio is 5 years old, and is ALWAYS plugged in. Whenever we go on vacation, the battery lasts for a good two hours and it's the same battery that came with the laptop.

 

I think multiple cycles per day is more of a problem than leaving them in. The only downside from leaving them plugged in is LiIon batteries like to be around 40%.

 

if you are gonna leave it plugged all the time, discharge it to 30% once per week.

the problem with leaving it plugged is the heat, not from the battery (it has a circuit wich disconect it when fully charged) but from the computer. Maybe is a good idea if your computer runs too hot to take it out. You can of course touch the battery or tha base without it to know if it gets hot when the computer is in heavy duty, if not, then there's no need to take the battery out.

and try not to use the battery below 30%, if is not necessary of course. I had mine for 6 months and is still 0% wear, i try to do all the recommmended stuff

 

Are you saying that it is recommended to plug in the battery in order to be charged by the time it gets at 30%?

 

I was also wondering this!

as well as I am using a notebook cooler (which has worked exceptionally well, if the notebook is seated on the cooler correctly, if not well then uhhhh.... yeah) but if it stays cool while running, it should be all fine; correct?

 

Yes, I think so. What cooler did you get?

 

I got the belkin laptop cooler stand.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...olers&lp=6&type=product&cp=1&id=1186003682177

when its on a desk it works great, when its on your lap it sucks (just being honest), and when i use it while i am laying down in bed (finishing home work, or surfing the web) before i go sleep or just being lazy! i just prop it up between two pillows, and it works great this way as well.

so to be honest with you if your looking for a laptop cooler that you need on your lap, i would not buy one of these, but i dont use it on my lap very often, because i dont have any chairs in my room, except for at the desk. and when its on a desk it works great, and propped up so that the back is on one pillow and the front is on another, and there is a gap between them it also works great!

i can run speed fan for some reason on this comp because it doesnt register any info on this computer, but i ran it on my old dell inspiron 9300, and I had it set to fahrenheit and it lowered it by about 5-7 degrees.

on this one, my inspiron 1720, you can litterally feel the bottom and the top of the chasis and they are still cool to the touch, and cold where the fan is directly blowing up.

again if you want it on your lap though dont buy this one, and the rear back plastic piece that holds it up on a desk does not lock into place, so if you move it around alot the thing will collapse on you, i have not had a real major problem with this, but just a heads up.

 

I was actually thinking about buying a http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/07/zalman-techs-zm-nc1000-laptop-cooler-not-as-noisy-as-you-think/

 

how do u test the batterys wear? I got a replacement unit sent so i have 2 batteries Im curious to check to see the wear on both so i can keep the better of the two .

 

I use RM clock to check the remaining capacity of my li-ion battery.

 

sorry! i meant plug in the AC connector so the battery doesnt go below 30%!

you can also check the wear with notebook hardware control, or everest