Should i take the battery out when at home?

Hi.

I just bought an ACER 5672WMli-X1600 and i use it most of the time plugged to an energy source.

Should it take the batery out in this case?

I heard that the battery can became addict and be even more less efective..

Oh, and there is any problem of use the battery just a little bit, like 40%, then charge it, again and again, or should i wait the battery end and then make a full charge?

Thx in advance and sorry for my non perfect english, im from Brasil.

 

Your laptop should work without the battery in it while it is plugged in, doing this will most likely reduce heat and keep your battery lasting longer. You can also put the battery back in while the laptop is plugged in without any adverse effects. The battery you have in your laptop is new lithium-ion, and better than older nickel laptop batteries, in that you can charge and recharge without loosing battery power, much like a cellphone. In older batteries you were asked to fully discharge beore recharging since the battery would loose some of its power storage capacity everytime it was recharged without a complete discharge. A good rule of thumb is to discharge you battery at least once a month, I personally try to do it once a week. This should expand the charge capacity life of you battery. Hope this info helps you.

 

It helped a lot. Thanks... =)

One thing that im not really sure is about havin to take the battery out when usin a lot of time plugged to energy. While the battery is 100% and im plugged to energy source, the battery runs really cold, so im not sure if i really have to take it out. I think i will e-mail acer about it and the i post their awnser.

Thx again.

 

When the battery is in the Notebook and you are plugged in to AC power the battery will charge to capacity then turn off and run off AC. So, taking the battery out of your notebook when its plugged in is not needed to preserve the Battery.

 

If you want to preserve the battery, charge it about halfway and put it in your freezer

http://www.answers.com/topic/lithium-ion-battery

 

Thanks for the link! I would not put my battery into the freezer as I believe the moisture would be bad for it.

 

ahaha, very nice, but i would think 10 times before doin such a thing...

 

What? You bunch of cowards

Li-ion batteries are quite different from NiMH in terms of what is good for them, but when notebooks switched over from one to the other, use and care has remained basically the same.

For instance, repeated deep charge-discharge cycles to 'exercise' the battery as is done with NiMH is not necessary with Li-ion and only reduce the lifespan.

Most interesting (to me) is the huge difference you can make in the lifespan of li-ion batteries by storing them partly rather than fully charged. In one year, at room temperature, a stored Li-ion battery at 100% charge loses about 20% of its permanent capacity. You will only lose about 4% if you store the battery at 40% charge level.

Having the battery sit in the notebook being constantly kept at 100% charge was a good system for NiMH batteries (especially since they self-discharge quickly, which Li-ion do not). It's a bad way to keep your Li-ion battery if you rarely use it and usually use AC power. Heat accelerates the process even further so if your battery compartment is warmer than the rest of the room you're making it even worse.

I'm getting a new notebook next week; that's why I read so much about this trying to figure out the best way to keep the battery (I won't use it much so I just want to preserve it as best I can.) I've concluded I should keep it at 40% charge in a cool dry place when I'm not using it. YMMY.

Li-ion have a 2-3 year lifespan at best I think.

Edit: I meant to add, since the OP asked, that as far as I understand it, yes you're right that when using the battery, you should charge it before it gets very low, frequent shallow charges are better.

There is different information even from computer manufacturers, and not too much info in general, regarding how to take care of these batteries. Strange, isn't it? When you consider battery life is one of the main things people care about when buying a notebook, you'd expect how to prolong the life would be important to know. It's especially important to know that what goes for NiMH does not usually apply to Li-ion.

 

OK. So you charge your battery upto 100%. Then you use it normally in your notebook until it has 40% left. Then you remove it and store it.

But what happens now? Do you just let it sit indefinately until it eventually runs all the way down? Or do you check it once a month and charge it back up to 40% when it needs it?

And what about those unpredictable times when you might just need a fully charged battery....

 

Why should bother with this battery matter.
If li-on battery life span is 2-3 years, it's about the time to get new laptop or just get new battery.

 

Li-ion batteries from what I read self-discharge more slowly than NiMH. In a month I think the Li-ion would lose up to 5%, the NiMH 20-30%. I don't know, I guess yes, you'd just charge it back up. Would you be using it at all or just checking it once a month?

You'd curse me.

They don't take too long to charge up, do they?

I don't know how useful the info is to any particular person, I just find it interesting.

edit: corrected 10% to 5% (even better!)

 

I did alot of research into this a few months back because I also normally leave my laptop plugged in. There have been some good pointers in this thread already, but also some bad information.

Here are my sugesstions for taking care of your notebook battery (li-ion):

• The maximum capacity of a battery always depletes over time
• Try to maintain an average 40-50% charge during your charge/discharge cycles.
• Cycling the battery from full charge to completely discharged is not recommended except to recalibrate the computer's "power meter" (once every couple months should be sufficient).
• Avoid storing a completely discharged battery (0% charge). This could render the battery useless.
• When storing the battery, a full charge (100%) reduces capacity faster than a partial charge.
• Storing the battery with 40% charge is best for prolonging battery life.
• Do NOT store in freezer (temperature too low can also be harmful).
• Store at a cool temperature, such as your refrigerator.
• Wrap the battery in plastic to keep it sealed against moisture.

For more detailed information, check out http://www.batteryuniversity.com

Regarding the original question about whether to remove the battery when at home ... If you leave the laptop plugged in for long periods of time, it is probably best to remove and store the battery as I've described above. The main reason for this is because of the continual 100% charge vs. the 40% charge you'd maintain in storage. Also, when the battery is attached, heat from the notebook will further reduce the battery's life. Storing the battery in a cool place with a 40% charge can make a big difference in battery life.

One big downside to consider is that your battery serves as a back-up for when there is power failure. If the AC power cuts out, your computer just dies if the battery isn't attached. You may lose data if this hapens.

HTH.

 

Very good point! Most people overlook the fact that the battery functions similar to an uninterruptable power supply when there is a loss of main AC power. Even if you are in a bomb-proof bunker with multiple backup generators; well, you could accidentally pull out the AC plug from your notebook...its been known to happen.

Thanks for the great info. I find this quite useful because I also have the optional HP Li-Ion 8-Cell Common Travel Battery (PB993A), which I use even less than the standard battery.

 

Leave it in, just remember to drain it out at least once a month. I drained mine today, as I had left it a while.

My designated capacity is ~65000mwh. Before I drained it it was reading as ~58000 full charge, now up to ~62000mwh after running it down completely this morning. Long as you do that once in a while to keep the charge levels up you will be fine.

 

From what I've read, draining the battery (also called cycling or priming) is not neccessary or even recommended for LI-ION batteries. Frequent cycling from full to zero charge may actually shorten the lifespan of the battery. It is best to simply charge frequently and not let the battery run down too far (the opposite is true for NM-HI batteries).

The only reason to cycle LI-ION notebook batteries is to recalibrate the computer's "power meter". Notebook computers rely on software to estimate the % of power remaining in the battery. The computer only knows this by comparing the fully charged state of the battery to the discharged state. When a battery is cycled from full to completely discharged, the computer resets this information.

If you do not cycle the battery for a long periods of time, the estimated % of power remaining shown in your "power meter" becomes increasingly inaccurate. Except to reset the power meter, I believe it is better to avoid draining the battery completely.

 

Thx for all the adicional info guys...

Well, here where i live blackouts are common, so im usin it plugged...

Any way, ill try to use it as you all said.

Thx again!