Y580- continously plug in adapter or not?

So i have the y580 and i use it for long times each day what im asking is when im using it should i have it recharching even if its 100%? should i have the battery removed while charging? Or should i charge it only when i get low on battery? I used to have it always plugged in with my old hp and that destroyed its life. What should i do to maintain its life?

 

I don't have mine yet but I think I remember reading there is a smart charge function that will only charge it to 60% which is supposed to preserve battery life. Or I could be crazy.

 

Yes there is an option to only charge the battery up to 60% if you are always plugged in.

 

whats the use of it and how do you do it? if you reach a max of 60% should u still leave the adaptar in?

 

Go to start menu, type in Power Management Options, and on your desktop there should now be this speedometer looking app. Click the battery icon and select Battery Protection Mode in there. Lithium ion batteries tend to live longer if they're not fully charged, so if you don't need your battery but still don't want to remove it, then having the system keep it at ~60% is better than near full.

From Wikipedia,

A Standard (Cobalt) Li-ion cell that is full most of the time at 25 °C (77 °F) irreversibly loses approximately 20% capacity per year. Poor ventilation may increase temperatures, further shortening battery life. Loss rates vary by temperature: 6% loss at 0 °C (32 °F), 20% at 25 °C (77 °F), and 35% at 40 °C (104 °F). When stored at 40%–60% charge level, the capacity loss is reduced to 2%, 4%, and 15%, respectively.[50] In contrast, the calendar life of LiFePO4 cells is not affected by being kept at a high state of charge.[51]

This is why I generally remove my battery when not being used, and when it's in the laptop, I use the battery protection mode. This is the first laptop I've ever seen that has this feature, and I'm sure as hell happy it has it. When you leave the adapter in, it'll charge the battery to roughly 60%, and not charge it again until the slow self discharge (over a few days maybe) drops the charge to about 55%, at which point it'll top up again to 60%, and stop charging.

 

Ok I put mine to. 60% but when the battery is at 60% should we still leave it plugged in or wait for it to die down then plug it in ?

 

I have mine set on battery protection mode since I keep it plugged in all the time. Lithium ion batteries are best stored at 50% capacity if you want to preserve its life, which is why a lot of devices you get will have the battery half way charged. If you keep it fully charged at near 100% and never use the battery, it will wear out faster and lose the ability to hold long charges. It's not good for the battery to be at 0% or close to zero either.

 

When you set it to battery protection mode, does it automatically drain the battery to 60% or do I leave it unplugged until it reaches there?

 

If you're going to have it plugged in all the time, just remove the battery. That's what I do. I've never had my battery plugged in.

Apparently you're supposed to store batteries at 40%.

This way you never have to worry about your battery.

 

Thanks! So would it be healthier for the battery to just take it out or to leave it in and charged (but not charging any more) at 55%? It currently isn't going past 55% for me.

 

It would be healthier if it was left plugged out, stored in a dry location, with about 40-50% charge.

This is better than leaving it in the laptop even with battery protection enabled, as the battery still gets warm due to the heat from the laptop, which somewhat shortens its lifespan, depending on how hot it may get.

 

Why not just have it continuously plugged in with the battery out of the laptop?

 

You can do that, but in case of a power outage you'll regret it. In my case I use the "up to 60%" feature since most of the time I'm plugged in. If I know I'll be on battery then I charge it up to 100%.

 

Been using like this for ages. There were 1~2 power outage but good thing I had the laptop off. But then I use my regular computer without backup battery so I guess whatever... It does make sense to use the battery as backup power supply incase power outage.

For some weird reason, my lenovo energy management get resetted every now and then and change charge from 60% back to 100%. So thats why I have my battery out most of the time when it sits on the desktop.

 

I used to remove my battery when not using it with old laptops, but nowadays manufacturers have wised up and dont run the computer on battery power while charging it anymore. That used to overheat my dell's battery something fierce. But batteries stay so cool now.. no point in fiddling around with it unless you absolutely never, ever take it away from its surge protector (i hope you have one).