Does it make sense to get a second battery when you order?

Laptop batteries seem to be a lot cheaper when you order them along with the computer -- at least if you're buying them from Dell. But if you're mainly going to be using only one battery, does it make sense to buy an extra and store it until the time when your main battery gets too much wear? Or is it just a nuisance to have to keep checking to see that the charge on the spare isn't dropping too low? (I think the optimum for storing a battery is 40% charge).

 

See the thing is, if you have 2 batterys & both start to wear as soon as there made(whether you use them or not) You have to batterys that are constantly wearing so in a sense it's more expensive.

 

No, read the battery guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=91846

 

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

 

i actually did not know that lithium ion batteries deteriorate whether they are used or not... i bought a 6 and a 9 cell. whoops.

my 9 cell was at 40% charge in my mini-fridge freezer in a ziploc (when i had my 1520). oh, and they don't freeze at the same temperature as water- so a freezer is ok. i think the liquid in the battery has to get much colder than a regular freezer will go in order to actually freeze.

 

The battery guide is quite useful. I no longer let my cell phone run dead before charging it - this is why they show noticeable deterioration within less than a year.

 

Yee but most cell phones don't use lithium ion batterys which have no memory affect & it is advised to run them down.

 

Huh?

Open your cell phone and take out the battery, it will be Li-Ion as they're the smallest batteries and most cost-effective kind of battery on the market today.

 

It only makes sense if you need extended battery life.

 

I know. I would have thought keeping the battery in a plastic bag in the freezer (and maybe occasionally checking the charge) would have kept it in near new condition.

 

With breaks in between to shut down/ hibernate while changing out the batteries.