Batteries

Will batteries loose their charge if you dont use them? I am looking at getting a E1405 with a 6 cell and 9 cell. Since I am only taking one summer class I dont need to use them both much. Once fall semester starts, will the batteries loose some of their charge?

 

Well...according to my personal experience..they do. I bought my Inspiron 6 years ago and when it was brand new, the battery lasted around 2.5 hours. I hardly ever used the battery. As far as I can remember, I only used the battery twice. The rest of the time, I just used mains power. Now, the battery lasts like half an hour.

 

From my understanding they tend to lose their ability to hold a charge over time. Some people refrigerate their batteries to help prolong the 'decay' of diminishing capacity.

I charge mine to 50% and store it.

 

Form my sxperience, they wont loose as much charge if when on A/C power, you disconnect the battery. That way, it won't recharge the 1% it looses every time you turn off the laptop and quickly eat your 300 charge cycles.

 

what do you mean by "300 charge cycles"? because i use the batteries of my notebook everyday and usually charge it again when i have time and it's around 20-50 % back to 100%. does it mean my battery will have to be replaced after 300 cycles for optimum life?

is it better to keep my battery charging throughout the night? cuz if i don't do this, my battery usually loses around 7 % (in around 10 hours) and i prefer starting my day with the extra 20-30 mins that % provides

 

300 is very conseritave. I seem to get 500+ out of my Li0-ion batteries. Li's do run on a cycle count. Personally, I would leave it un-pugged all night, and just plug it in when I get in the shower to get that little bit back. That way it isn't doing that 1% over and over agin during the night. Unless the battery charger is smart enough to only charge at like 5% loss or more, but I haven't tested that yet.

 

Related Question: I know on a previous cell phone, the vehicle charger supplied power and also charged the batteries, and I thought laptops worked like this as well.

Our latest cell phone, they said not to use the phone with the vehicle charger, just charge it up and then use the battery.

If the laptop will be mostly on AC power, are you recommending to remove the battery for longer useful life of the battery?

(Not sure I recommend this anyway, as leaving it connected gives you a virtual UPS?)

 

A charge cycle is not recharging the 1% over and over 300 times. Otherwise most batteries would be gone in just a few months. Taking it out and using A/C only won't help keep the battery like new.

Two things comspire against you: Time and complete discharge and recharge cycles.

All li-on batteries beging to lose life over the course of their life from the moment the cells are made. There are many good websites that have info about how to make them last:

Basically, feel free to "top off" as often as you'd like; Don't store a battery fully discharged (50% mentioned above is good); And let it fully discharge and recharge immediately about once a month.

 

when you mean "full discharg" do you really the 100% or does 25% and below count? because i charge my battery up this way almost everyday! i carry my notebook around every day and usually don't get to charge until i need it to.

 

batteryuniversity.com

 

I'm about to get a D620 next week and I found an earlier post that said to charge the battery a good 6 to 7 hours before unplugging it (may I use the computer during this time: Does it matter if you charge with the PC on or Off?)

Batteries in the fridge? Never heard of it, but sounds intriguing.

 

If u dont use it, u loose it, but serously, if u constently use the battary it should last u a year or 2 years or more!

If u leave it in the outlet all day, what do u expect? (the battary dies)

 

Again, while charging the first time should the PC be ON or OFF?

 

I don't think it matters.

It will fully charge either way, just may take a bit longer when "On."

 

Everything you ever needed to know about lithium ion batteries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion