How to extend the battery life of my Dell?

Not in one charge, more over time.

Is it better to charge the battery up and then unplug it to let it run down again, or is it ok to leave it plugged in continuously?

thanks

 

Honestly, I did not see any much real difference with all the different things people do to try save battery life in the long run. Probably just couple percentage worth at best anyways.

Myself, I did not see much different neither. If the batter is old, it will get old.

I just have it charged and plugged in. I almost drain it full out and recharge on a daily basis. This apparently is hard for the wear level, but I need batter for work so it's not like I have access to the heavy AC.

 

This. Don't worry about it and buy a new battery when you need it. If your battery dies an early death, it was more likely a problem with the battery than anything you did to it.

 

By the time your battery starts REALLY lagging charge due to abuse in charge cycle, your battery will be worth $15-$20 on ebay manufacturer refurbished. That is why I don't care with mine.

Unless you have the battery as beautiful as the Adamo 13 slice.. Now that is one thing to take a real good care of. I only have the luxury to use it on the weekends for that reason. LOL

 

Thanks for replies. Will not give it a thought again.

 

Yea don't listen too much what the battery fanatics say and argue about. Because in reality, "itsnotlikethat." LOL

 

Yeah the most value we get in any batt is in the use..... so.. just make use of them. After a time most battery degrade, some more than others. I find that business grade machines' batteries fare better with longer life. I do get a spare battery when getting a new laptop, makes life easier. Given the choice, when the times comes for replacement I prefer to recell them with higher capacity cells but currently I am not sure whether my current laptop's batt can take that treatment because my regular guy still dont have the code to reflash the chip inside to remove any error necessary in fitting new cells. Its a Latitude E6320.

 

Lithium-ion batteries degrade with time and use. These cells are typically rated for 500 cycles, so the best way to prolong the life of your battery is to simply not use it.

Whether you keep it fully charged or remove it, the difference is minor, but if you frequently charge and discharge it, you'll hit 500 cycles within a year or two.

 

reason why i get a second batt when getting a new laptop. It's cheaper then.

 

Do you use both batteries? Because they degrade whether used or not, I would think it more prudent to buy when needed.

 

I do. I have 2 6-cells and one media bay batt. With those three i have no worry whatsoever and i can use my laptop for wateva purpose for one day. Generally running one connected via 3g does consume a bit more juice. I do find that batteries that come with business grades degrade a low slower than consumer grades. And at USD70 for the original 6 cell 60 Whr is worth the price for mobility.

 

kinda late reply i suppose. I use the main batt and one media bay batt. On top of that I carry another 6 cell as spare so have to worry about runtime and use my laptop as I please. Been a while now. My 6320 is now parked permanent in a dock and now am using E6230. Better runtime means I only have to carry one 6 cell spare (6230 doesnt take media bay batt). The 6 cells are interchangeable for the two models so that is a bonus.