Battery life on a T 60

My T 60 is a little over two years old. I can't get much more than an hour out of the battery (and never did get better than 3 hours). I realize batteries wear out over time, but was curious if two years is a typical time to replace the battery? When do people typically replace theirs?

Which of the new Thinkpads get the best battery life?

 

you may have a recalled battery, even if the warranty is out but your battery FRU number is on the list of recalled batteries they will most deffinitely reimburse you for a new battery. My T43 is 3 years old and i can still get 3 hours out of it with a 6 cell albeit i have been discharging and charging properly.

 

Thanks for the feedback. My notebook usually stays plugged in, i.e. it is a desktop substitute. Do that reduce battery life?

 

if it is all the time it can be since Li-ion batteries memorize how much they were last charged its like keeping a dirtbike in for the winter, you should start it up once in a while to give it a workout. My T43 is usually plugged in but i take it out sometimes so battery life can be important, i unplug and run on battery down to about 5% then plug in and leave it until fully charged about once a week to work it out a bit.

 

Batteries don't like to be stored at their minimum or maximum charge. They lose their capacity fast that way. Best way to maintain your battery is through the Lenovo Power Manager. In the software you can set what are called charge thresholds to specify when to stop and start charging. Ideally lithium-ion's should be stored at 40% capacity. If your computer is usually plugged in, you should set the charge thresholds to start charging at say 30% and stop at 95%. When you leave your computer plugged in most of the time just discharge it to 40% and leave it there. Once every month or so you should cycle it to keep it healthy.

Btw, this is a great feature within the Thinkpad software, no other laptop vendor offers this and it is vital to maintaining a battery in my opinion. I've had my T400 for a year now and my original 6 cell (have a 9 cell too for trips and what not) still maintains a 57.68 whr charge, design capacity is 56 and when I received it it was at 58.46 whr. I have put about 80 cycles on the 6 cell. When I'm not using the 6 or 9 cell I discharge the battery to 40% and leave it in the box in my closet. Has worked wonderfully for me.

 

Thanks for all of the feedback. I actually asked about leaving the computer plugged in when I first got it, and was told (apparently incorrectly) that it was not a problem. So I may have wrecked the battery and may need to get a new one, sigh.

 

Well, it is fine, it still continues to work doesn't it? Just doesn't maintain the same charge. I believe laptop companies tell consumers that so they have to buy new batteries faster. Lenovo doesn't exacly advertise the charge threshold feature.

 

The amount of charge a battery can hold depends on the quality of the cells, the number of cycles that it gone through, how it was charged, the temperature and charge state in which it was stored.

 

When you do this, do you just run on AC, with your battery bay open?

I'd like to know if there's a Lenovo part that just covers the battery bay, just for this usage pattern.

yes, I understand if I kick the cord I'd be outta power.

yes, I also understand you can set the battery to not charge when AC is connected.

 

I guess I didn't explain that very well. I always have one of the batteries installed, the other battery sits in my closet. I rotate them once a month. However, since I have my charge thresholds set, if I don't move my computer a lot, while it is plugged in it does not charge, just stays at 40%.