Preserving the Macbook's Battery

Hey guys, first off I'd just like to say this board was essential in helping me decide which laptop to purchase. I honestly never thought I would get a Mac and was on path to get a Vaio Z, but after alot of reading and research I decided that this was a perfect opportunity for some change. I ended up purchasing the Aluminum Macbook (2.4 Ghz) and after my first two days as a Mac user all I have to say is that I'm very impressed!

My transition from Windows to Mac has been a pleasant one, however I do have a question pertaining to the preservation of the Macbook's battery... Simply put: how should I be handling my Macbook's battery?? I should also mention that for a majority of the time my Macbook is hooked up to an external DVI monitor and is essentially being used as a PC.

I've done my fair share of research on the issue but there doesn't seem to be a consensus out there. According to this site, full discharge-recharge cycling is not recommended for Lithium Ion batteries. Neither is leaving the battery in a fully charged state for an extended period of time (ie leaving the Macbook plugged into the AC adapter after the battery is 100%).

That said I've read some other forums and there have been posters who do deep-cycling and leave the laptop plugged in for long periods of time and still have excellent battery health, even after high cycle counts (300+).

It would be much more convenient if I were just to leave the Macbook plugged in all the time but I decided my plan was going to be to charge the battery once it dropped to 40-45% and unplug the laptop once it reached 80-85%. After two days I already have gone through 4 cycles but my battery life is still 100% (according to iStat nano).

I'm a little concerned about my cycle count since at this rate my battery will have gone through 600+ cycles in just one year. So to all the experts on this board, I'm just wondering how you guys charge your batteries and what you people would recommend for me.

Sorry I had to clutter up the board by starting new thread but I couldn't find a clear answer anywhere.

 

Well you could always take the battery out and just run off AC power that way you're not really leaving it in too long. I usually do that and my battery life is at 94% and I've had my macbook pro almost a year now.

 

I am not so sure that taking out the battery is a good idea. I always thought that the battery smoothes out electrical spikes and brownouts. I would leave the battery in.

 

i would also leave the battery in.

you get a bit of a drop-off in performance when the battery is out, and you dont want to be doing something important and have someone trip over the magsafe. i dont think that the battery life you save by always taking it out is very significant, a few %age points at best.

 

Well I was told by guy who worked for the apple genius bar when first getting my macbook, and I mean for the most part I do leave it unless I start getting to hot and my fans are running faster then usual then I take out the battery and make sure no one is around to trip over the cord and that usually helps cool it off a bit, I do take it out sometimes still just cause but I don't know it does help a bit.

 

leave the battery in, it is not recommended to take the battery out. performance will automatically be clocked down to 70% if you take them out, this is by design.

that article in batteruniversity.com is trustworthy.

the battery will age and eventually die wheter you use it or not.
it is depended on age and cycle count both.
cycling it frequently is not necessarily a bad things, as it kept the cell from oxidising.

battery is not gonna be going dead when it reach certain cycle, it will slowly takes longer to recharge and stores less and less energy. i think at 300 cycle or 3 years, they are usually should retain 80% if im not mistaken. if not, then the battery could be considered defective.

just use the battery, if it die prematurely, apple will replace it for you.

 

I would leave it in as well, for me it is a UPS, should the electricity goes out in the middle of using the comp

cheers ...

 

I leave mine in all the time, but have only had 39 cycles on my battery in one year and it is sill holding 4+ hours of charge and has a health of 99%

 

Thanks for the responses. As wobble said, there is a significant performance decrease when the Macbook runs exclusively on AC power, so leaving the battery in was a given for me.

How were you able to keep your cycle count so low? Do you just continuously leave the AC adapter plugged in even if the battery is fully chaged?

 

Yep, I just leave in the Battery when I am hooked up to A/C, and havn't had any ill effects yet! I try and keep my cycle counts down, and also keep it charged at the same time, so I just use A/C with the battery in. Works great!