How do you deal with your battery?

Although people say the batteries today are fine kept plugging in even if you draw power from the wall most of time, I don't want to believe that. The last one I had couldn't store one second of power after connected on the laptop for a while. The capacity just got smaller and smaller until it didn't store one bit. The one from the company I work for seems to last from ~2 hours to 1.5 hours after using it over 1 year.

So what is the best way to keep your battery fresh for a long time. Should I fill it up the first time, and then take it off from the laptop? Or should I just leave it alone until I need to use it?

Thanks for your suggestions,


wfz

 

My battery is currently charged at 40%, and stored in my Vaio box. This is what most people will recommended you do - any cool place will do.

 

Did you charge it to full first? Will you recharge it when it's out of power a few months afterward? Do you try to maintain at 40% all the time?

Thanks for the help,

wfz

 

so that both of you always use the laptop connected to the wall?
i think that if you use it lit a portable you can not be all the day putting and leaving the batery every time you conect de laptop to the wall.

 

Yes, it would be connected to the wall most of the time. This is a home computer so it stays at home 99% of the time.

Without getting other feedback yet, I wonder if I should fill the battery up to 100% first. Then use it up to 40% power. Store it away afterwards. Maybe charge it again every 3 months or more. Is that a good idea?

If I don't charge it now, will it be in state of "new" for a long time?

 

I'd say that it's a good thing to store it about 40-50% charge, cause I've heard that charging too much or too low would render the battery in to either a "deep dis-charge" stage or "overcharge", either way could damage it - "apparently".

So store it half I guess just for safety and glad you don't have it plugged in while leaving it plugged in to the wall 99% - that'll definately kill the battery.

 

My Compaq, which is 2 1/2 years old, spends 99.9% of its time plugged into the wall with the battery still in it. When I do take it somewhere and use it on battery, it still lasts the 2-3 hours it always has. I haven't seen any noticable decline in capacity having it like this.

With this notebook (the Compaq), when it is done charging, it (according to the little icon) actually stops charging and switches to AC. Maybe that has something to do with it. I understand some don't work that way.

For my VAIO, I use it mostly on battery so I charge it up, unplug it, and use it until it reaches about 20%. Then I charge it up again.

 

Good Topic .... I have often wondered the best way to store a battery. I read that the Lithium Ion batteries last longer if you keep them fully charged. I bought the external battery charger and I leave my extra batteries on the charger until I am ready to use them. In the 8 months I have owned the three SZ batteries I have tried to rotate them evenly. In my experience with this setup I haven't noticed any decrease in overall battery performance but if anyone has information that is better please chime in ...

 

i bought my Vaio a week ago, and i haven't used it outside yet. It has always been plugged in with the battery in it. Do you guys think this will decrease the battery performance?

 

Well, I have my sz160p for a year. I have three batteries. 2 hi-cap. 1 normal. I normally charge it full and put it to the side. I've been alternating batteries like once a month. I normally have mylaptop plugged into a wall. And normally use it for a few hours at a time when I do. Sometimes I use it unplugged and normally till my battery runs low. Not a deep drain. Right now, all my batteries last like they were new, and using something like HCT(I think thats the name) all my batteries show they are charging to the fullest with 0% battery loss.

 

I believe it will yes. You really should unplug the battery when you're using the AC outlet for a long period.

 

ok i'll do that. thanks. one more question. should the battery be 100% charged when i unplug it from my notebook?
thanks!

 

Yes it should but you'll probably find it won't be cause of battery wear, so it might be at just under 100% or drop down to somewhere around 90% much quicker - this is usually normal.

 

ok. thanks.