Take battery out or leave in when not in use?

I have a couple battery questions. I'm sure these have been asked before, but I'm going to ask anyway.

I have a 6 & 12 cell battery. I don't use them much, (in fact haven't used the 12 cell yet) as 95% of the time, I use an outlet. So, should I leave in the 6 cell battery, put the 12 cell in the Fridge or does it matter? I'd like to save the 12 cell until I actually use it.

I've heard of people taking the battery out altogether when using an outlet. Does this help or not?

 

You should charge both to about 40%, and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge. That way you save 'em, and no moisture can get in. That's just my opinion though.

 

If your area has no history of power problems then it's fine. Li-On batteries have no memory effects so you can store them for long periods.

 

Definitely take out when on AC (only issue is if a power failyre occurs while you are working...I have a UPS for such times..).

My old battery crapped out in 4 months beecause I used to leave it plugged in all the time!! This is bad for ANY rechargeable battery

 

There's some good info on wikipedia here

 

I always leave mines on and never had any problems

 

Batteries don't like heat. So long as they stay relatively cool there's little point in removing them. I left the 12 cell battery in my zv5000z in place and after almost 2 years I was still getting 3-4 hours of battery life. That's unusually good but you see my point.

Some batteries just didn't cook well at the factory and won't last long no matter what you do.

 

That was a very good article... everyone should read it. Thanks!

It answered my question of if to charge my 12 cell and leave my 6 cell in the notebook:

In circumstances where a second Li-ion battery is available for a given device, it is recommended that the unused battery be discharged to 40% and placed in the refrigerator to prolong its shelf life. While the battery can be used or charged immediately, some Li-ion batteries will provide more energy when brought to room temperature.

 

Yeah, nitpicking again, but I can accept the word "mines" barely even as slang, but as a written word? Come on. "I always leave MINE on" is the only acceptable answer.

 

Dang, no doubt that's in the realm of nitpicking. That's not even beneficial to this thread in any level. What does it even matter if you can or can't take "mines"? You should probably keep those opinions to yourself as they don't help the original poster in anyway. Besides, it's most likely a typo anyway with the e and the s key being close to each other.

Anyway, to the poster, I have a 6 year compaq laptop with its original battery and I always leave it in. I would say it hasn't lost anymore than maybe 20 minutes of it's charge time from its brand new condition. With some batteries it's just hit or miss. With any man made thing there will always be a few lemons out there, batteries included. Hope that helps.

 

Doesn't seem like anyone aggrees with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery#Guidelines_for_prolonging_Li-ion_battery_life
In circumstances where a second Li-ion battery is available for a given device, it is recommended that the unused battery be discharged to 40% and placed in the refrigerator to prolong its shelf life. While the battery can be used or charged immediately, some Li-ion batteries will provide more energy when brought to room temperature.
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Let me rephrase this in another way:
Since I have two batteries, should I leave the extra 12 cell battery in the case or would I get better life putting it in the refridgerator?

 

There are only so many charge & discharge cycles in any given battery. So if you leave it in the machine, every time you plug and unplug the AC power and it starts charging or running on battery, you use a cycle. It does not have to be a full charge or discharge to count as a cycle.
I recommend only having the battery installed when you run on it. If you keep it in the fridge make sure you let it get to room temp before using it. If your laptop was hot from being in a car in the sun, let it cool before running it.
If you go against any of the guidelines above it will not cause immediate problems, but may bring on the end of their service life a bit prematurely.

 

Makes Sense!

 

I'm just gonna do whatever is convenient. Unless the battery dies within 4 months, I'm pretty sure I can just afford to buy a new one for $100.

 

Don't need to store the battery in the fridge. A cool dry place is fine. The technology for making batteries with improved chemical compositions makes it un-necessary to store in the fridge. Don't know where they get the magical number of 40%! I've stored mine fully charge and no problems. I had a cell phone battery which I didn't use for at least 6 months and it still had 85% charge.

 

Maybe the testing showed 40% is best for storing....?
I will at least take my 12 cell out and keep in cool dry place and keep the 6 cell in the notebook.