How to treat a laptop battery
Ok guys,
I'm tired of reading threads and threads about dead batteries and people arguing over how li-ion should be used so that it doesn't crap out like, in a year.
so lets get this right this time.
I'm getting an iBook g4 soon, and I want to treat my batt good.
1. How should one treat the battery
2. When I get it should I do a full recharge (without breaks) first or can i start using it normally already?
THanks
Steve.
I'm tired of reading threads and threads about dead batteries and people arguing over how li-ion should be used so that it doesn't crap out like, in a year.
so lets get this right this time.
I'm getting an iBook g4 soon, and I want to treat my batt good.
1. How should one treat the battery
2. When I get it should I do a full recharge (without breaks) first or can i start using it normally already?
THanks
Steve.
Comments
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284
repeat the calibration procedure once a month or so.
only use it on battery power when you need to
Oh yeah. That's the way batteries like to be treated. Don't let anyone tell you different.
Recalibrating every 2-4 weeks sounds like the right way.
Originally posted by Giaguara
The batteries have a total amount of charges they will live.
That seems to be the consensus I've read. They will survive a fixed number of charge cycles (a few hundred, I've heard), but it doesn't matter how deep each cycle is. 90%->100% gives the same wear as 10%->100%. Apple also says you should do a deep discharge/full recharge the first time you use it, like you do with other Li-ions. Keep it plugged in whenever you can, even when asleep, to minimize trickle-drain. Apple helps a bit there by programming the power manager to start recharging only when the battery drops to 95%, so you don't waste a charge cycle every time you unplug.
I think the latter bit may have contributed to my battery's sweet-but-far-too-short life. I plug it in at work, but usually leave it asleep and unplugged in the evenings and weekends when it's not being used. I suspect I wasted a lot of power cycles going from 95% to 100%.
LiIon batteries have a fixed lifetime of 2-4 years, less if treated bad.
Bad things are:
- frequent recharging
- keeping them at hot places
- deep discharging and then forgetting to recharge
- storing them for longer than a couple of months without recharging.
You can prolong the lifetime if you extract the battery and store it in a fridge, recharging it every other month.
My 2.5 years old Titanium battery has a usable charge left of about 20min :-(. I have, however, never been kind to it, kept it in the laptop all the time, worked while plugged into the mains etc.
Originally posted by machem
Treat it like dirt. Stay out late. Talk about alkaline batteries in front of it. Show up at a party with one of those cute fuel cells. Discharge it completely, daily, then forget to plug it in. When it complains say "Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten." Then tell it if it were a 61 A hr battery it wouldn't even need to be plugged in yet.
Oh yeah. That's the way batteries like to be treated. Don't let anyone tell you different.
It's been a while since you had a date last, right?
Originally posted by 666
What's the general opinion on leaving your powerbook in sleep mode? Lotsa peeple I talk to never shut down their powerbooks, I tend to shut down at night and sleep in the day (powerbook, not myself)
A sleeping PowerBook/iBook uses roughly 2% of the power it uses when awake. I leave mine sleeping all the time when I'm not using it; restarting only occasionally. Environmentalists would argue that even the 2% is a waste of electricty. Decide for yourself but I think the advantage of instant-on, and always having your apps running outweighs a slight waste of power. It doesn't do the computer any harm.
2% power hey... I guess you'd then start using up more recharges...
ahh, it's worth it.
Originally posted by machem
Treat it like dirt. Stay out late. Talk about alkaline batteries in front of it. Show up at a party with one of those cute fuel cells. Discharge it completely, daily, then forget to plug it in. When it complains say "Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten." Then tell it if it were a 61 A hr battery it wouldn't even need to be plugged in yet.
Oh yeah. That's the way batteries like to be treated. Don't let anyone tell you different.
Originally posted by Smircle
The most respected German computer tech mag had a story about Li/Ion batteries a month ago. Their conclusion was:
LiIon batteries have a fixed lifetime of 2-4 years, less if treated bad.
Bad things are:
- frequent recharging
- keeping them at hot places
- deep discharging and then forgetting to recharge
- storing them for longer than a couple of months without recharging.
You can prolong the lifetime if you extract the battery and store it in a fridge, recharging it every other month.
My 2.5 years old Titanium battery has a usable charge left of about 20min :-(. I have, however, never been kind to it, kept it in the laptop all the time, worked while plugged into the mains etc.
Mine is just like that as well. Recently dropped down to a whole 40 minutes of charge per cycle and seems to be dropping fast. The new ones are so expensive though. Are there any third party batteries that will last a long time? It would be cool if my ol'Titanium could go like 6-7 hours.
Nick
I'm not sure if it is good for them but I have had them for about 3 years. I never use them unless I absolutely need to. Maybe they are both dead and I don't realize it. The little lights show 4 lit up - so I assume they are both fully charged.
thorTower
Originally posted by mac's girl
i only have the one battery that my PB came with. are you saying it's BAD to use it on battery power even when i am sitting at home next to a power outlet? it runs cooler on battery power, which is why i prefer to unplug it once it's charged.
It's not "bad", but you'll go through more charge cycles, and your battery only has so many cycles in it. You could try turning down your performance settings when it's plugged in, so it runs the same as if it were on battery. I usually plug in whenever possible because I notice the performance hit on the battery settings, but you're right that it does run cooler.
I mean, the basic rule seems to be "if you use the battery, your battery gets used." If you never spend more than 5 minutes away from a power outlet, your battery will last forever...but what's the point? Better to use it as best it fits your lifestyle; just be prepared to replace it sooner or later.
Should you take out the battery if you are running off of a power cord/wall socket?