Lithium Ion Laptop Battery Care

fatsheepfatsheep
edited June 2008 in Hardware
I just got a Gateway tablet that takes Li-Ion batteries. They cost $130 a piece so I'm looking for ways to get the most out of them. A lot of the material on the internet seems to conflict so I'll ask here.

1. I am supposed to discharge a new battery ~3 times to reach its full capacity, correct?
2. After that, should I continue to discharge the battery? If so, how much? Online sources have told me 2-4 weeks but the Gateway rep told me every week. :shifty: One week seems too often...
3. If I want to store a battery, should I discharge it completely first? Or should I only partially discharge it?
4. What about overcharging?

Comments

  • -MBG--De-Sniper-MBG--De-Sniper Alaska
    edited June 2008
    I'm not sure on the first one but it might be a good idea.

    ok first of all if your going to leave it stored have it charged to about 50%

    Well, I would say just unplug your laptop every time you think about it and run it down that way it gets used and should work really good.

    You won't overcharge a battery that is in your laprop. They continue to charge just to keep the battery fully charged, then the charge that is in the battery is transferred to your laptop. Unless your laptop PSU malfunctions then you could overcharge it. If you take the battery out of your laptop then the power isnt routed through your battery.

    I'm not positive on this but I think its right :)
  • mas0nmas0n howdy Icrontian
    edited June 2008
    fatsheep wrote:
    I just got a Gateway tablet that takes Li-Ion batteries. They cost $130 a piece so I'm looking for ways to get the most out of them. A lot of the material on the internet seems to conflict so I'll ask here.

    1. I am supposed to discharge a new battery ~3 times to reach its full capacity, correct?
    2. After that, should I continue to discharge the battery? If so, how much? Online sources have told me 2-4 weeks but the Gateway rep told me every week. :shifty: One week seems too often...
    3. If I want to store a battery, should I discharge it completely first? Or should I only partially discharge it?
    4. What about overcharging?

    1 & 2. That depends what you mean by "discharge." It is suppossedly a good idea in the first few uses of a Li-Ion battery to get down around 20% before a recharge. Personally I think this is rubbish. Li-Ion Polymer batteries have no "cell memory" and are pretty much indestructable so long as they are not exposed to extreme temperatures and not subjected to "deep discharges" (i.e. do NOT run the battery ALL the way down, EVER.)

    3. If you want to store a Li-Ion battery long-term the best thing to do is drop it to a 40% charge and keep it in the freezer.

    4. My understanding is that there is really no such thing as an overcharge with Li-Ion batteries. If the battery is used frequently the best thing you can do is keep it at 100% charge in between uses and keep it cool.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-ion_battery#Guidelines_for_prolonging_Li-ion_battery_life
  • fatsheepfatsheep
    edited June 2008
    According to the reference guide, the battery should be initially conditioned (fully charge and discharge) for the a few times during the first several weeks. Batteries that are going to be stored should be discharged to 40%. Once the laptop is on AC power and the battery is fully charged, it should be removed:
    When the battery is in the convertible notebook and the convertible notebook is running on AC Power, the battery constantly charges, even though it has a full charge. This reduces the life of the battery. If the battery is fully charged and you want to run on AC Power, remove the battery.

    I'm now storing my backup battery in the refrigerator as the guide recommends. However, it also recommends using stored batteries every three to four weeks. I thought you could store Li-ion batteries for longer than that. I guess not...
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