Laptops How to keep laptop battery healthy?

A

archish

Skilled
I have read lot of articles as how to extend the laptop battery life like storing it at 40% charge at cool place n all but would like to know any practical methods to increase life while using the battery? I am not looking for any software solution like keeping it charged to maximum only 40% which seems to be possible in lenovo laptops.

Should I discharge the battery completely weekly?
should I discharge completely or half and then recharge it?
I am trying to keep the batter in good condition so that it comes at least for 2-3 years. Last time I used my dell laptop the battery came about a year before it died completely. Any one who has managed to keep their battery in good condition for more than 2-3 years please do chip in with your feedback.
 
hey mate..i am gonna write down my whole battery experience for u:)

i have a dell inspiron 1525 bought about > 2 yrs !

still i use it and the battery seems to be as healthy as it was 2 years before (not absolutely)

i too have a netbook(acer aspire one 751h) about 10 mnths old!

my both books batteries have never gave me any worries ....reasons

1.Try to use the adapter instead of batteries when at home

2.When outside do not change the battery plans frequently

3.Many less people follow this but take the battery out of the lappy as minimum as possible

4.Discharge the battery fully after every 15 days

these all worked for me and will work for anyone

cheers,

M@crosoft
 
You mean get it down to the ~10%-3% levels? Deep discharge is never recommended.
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it's ever recommended !

from discharging i mean discharge...till ur lappy hibernates and if it does it in 10% -3%

then yes
 
I agree with m@crosoft. When I bought my acer laptop almost two years back I was told the same thing by the sales rep. To fully discharge be battery once every 15 days. And nit to robe the battery from the laptop too frequently.
 
This is about an Ibm thinkpad model 2005, yeah its old..This laptop had been taken from the Gitex Dubai by my brother, and was never really used as a portable laptop, and was always connected to the mains. End result, when I took it, i realised that the battery after charging lasted for only 20 mins. Gave up hope and decided to use it on mains only. But this time I kept charging and discharging for quite a long time, end result got back the full charge ie 3 hours.

My 2 cents !
 
archish said:
Any one who has managed to keep their battery in good condition for more than 2-3 years please do chip in with your feedback.
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I managed 5 years before it died completely on my thinkpad.

Did not use any software at all, the secret ingredient was BESCOM :D

Laptop is always connected and on, BESCOM obliges with 1-2hr power cut at random times of random duration through out the year.

Complete battery charge recycling is the result. with Li-on battery, I believe this like going to gym for battery.

If you want long battery life, you need BESCOM :clap:

In Bejing nanjing i think you will have to look for alternate solution :(
 
@blr_p

100 % true. BESCOM Rocks :p

Is there any way to use Dell laptops directly using power ? It should switch to battery only when power goes off..
 
Some tips from a generic site on how to take better care of Bettery

Laptop Battery life is a big concern among users due to the high costs of battery replacement. While many people concern themselves with how many hours they can squeeze out of each charge, it is also important to know what things you can do to keep your battery running at all.

- It is best to leave the battery inside the computer even when plugged in for long periods of time for maximum Laptop battery life. Removing the battery causes it to discharge slowly and makes it more difficult to recharge to its full potential

- That being said, your Laptop battery life can also be adversely affected by never using the battery even though it may be plugged in. Even if you spend all your time using your Laptop computer plugged in at a desk, unplug it occasionally and force it to use the battery if you want to have optimum Laptop battery life.

- If for some reason you need to store your Laptop battery for a long period of time, experts recommend that you leave the charge at around 40%. This seems to be the magic position that enables it to charge and recharge to its full potential once you start using it again. You can also help maintain your Laptop battery life by storing it in a cool, dry place.

- On occasion it is a good idea to fully discharge and recharge your notebook battery. Once a month seems about right. Laptop battery life can be reduced if the battery never gets to experience a full discharge and charge.

- Nearly every Laptop comes with a Lithium Ion battery these days. The Laptop battery life of Li-Ion batteries is typically 2-3 years or 300-500 full charge cycles. With that in mind, be very careful not to discharge it unnecessarily (outside of emergencies and full discharges for maintenance purposes.)

- Since Laptop battery life is dependent on the number of charges and recharges, it is helpful to get as much time out of each charge as you can. Try to use the power saver settings on your computer system, keep the screen as dim as you can stand, and use hibernate mode.

- Heat is a major enemy of your Laptop Battery . life. Keep your battery out of direct sunlight and hot cars.

- It is also recommended that you clean the battery contacts with rubbing alcohol from time to time to prolong your Laptop battery life. When the battery doesn’t have a clean contact, it has to work harder.
 
blr_p said:
If you want long battery life, you need BESCOM :clap:

In Bejing nanjing i think you will have to look for alternate solution :(
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it was opp for me :mad:

Last summer thanks to no rain and powercuts by BESCOM my almost new dell laptop sanyo battery died in 6 months. Morning 2hrs discharge followed by charging session and evening 2 hours discharge... it killed the battery completely. Dont want to kill the new battery again this time.

My 2nd experience is with the office latptop battery which has managed to die off in 8 months time.... form 2 hours backup to 20 mins now. I did my best to follow most of the patterns metioned above. Let me hope the new batt lasts better next time :)
 
It's recommended never to let your battery discharge below 20%. If the power's out and your battery drains down to that level then its time to hibernate. Control Panel->Power Options->Alarms (set it to display a message or other) when battery level reaches 20%.

Complete discharges are bad for Li-On battery longevity.

There is one additional step you could do and that is calibrate the battery gauge regularly. To do this you need to run the battery till its completely dead. Do this step once a month. That way when the gauge says 20% it really is 20% and not something else.

It does seem counter-intuitive to what I said above but its a necessary evil as the battery is going to wear out on its own anyway all you can do is slow it down slightly based on your use. So you get 12 complete discharges this way per year instead of maybe five times as many by running it down completely.

These batteries are good from anywhere to 200-800 complete discharges anyway. If you lost a battery inside of 6 months then you've had far too many complete discharges in that period.
 
i use my mini laptop for download rig at home...what suggestion you guys have on this (continuous use of laptop,should use battery or direct)
 
it doesnt matter even if you let it be on battery as once it is charged, the computer will be sucking it AC only.

And, once a month, doing a full cycle discharge is a good idea.
 
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