Won't be using laptop battery - better to remove it or leave it in?

I have an old SZ laptop that is plugged in 100% of the time and used about an hour a day. Is it better to leave the battery attached, or remove it? I don't want the battery to go dead.

 

unplug your laptop, use the battery to about 70-80%. Then remove it and use the AC adapter

 

Discharge to 70% then stick it in the fridge, not the freezer.

 

Taking your battery out and storing it at 40% in a very cool place is really the best way of storing a battery and potentially extending the life of your battery.

I own a SZ and my battery wear at about 2.7 years old is still at 0% according to HW Monitor. I used it quite a bit about 16 months ago and then capped my battery at 50% using the Sony battery care software.

 

Use the Battery Care Software like Rachel recommends. My battery in my FW is at 80%, stays plugged in mainly, but is used for moving around the house and frequently when I travel. Computer is 2 years old, wear showing 1%.
The Battery Care software works very well.

 

Discharge to 50-60% and remove. Store somewhere away from heat/sun etc.

 

I second (third?) Rachel and J&SinKTO's suggestion. There is value in leaving the battery plugged in. One day, right when the power outage hits, you to will agree.

By using battery care at the 50% or 80% option, it removes the main wear component for the battery.

If you do go with the fridge option. Don't just forget about it in there. The fridge slows down the discharge rate but does not eliminate it. It will still run down eventually. When these batteries discharge below a certain level, they disable themselves permanently.

 

+1 Using vaio care, at 50% if you hardly ever use it or 80% if you need it often and need the extra juice.

About the fridge, well, be very careful with ice and condensation. It might be a good idea to fill the electric pins with to get them well isolated.


To me, the vaio care route seems easier and 99% the same results...

But hey, I always run low in fridge space...

 

Darn, too late. Just found out the battery is dead already. It had been plugged in constantly for about a year.

 

Yep. Leaving the battery in and keeping it plug in is the best way to kill a battery. Sadly that's what most people do and that's why the quoted life of most laptop batteries is 1 year, that's how long it takes to kill.

The battery care function is a good thing to do. I do it. But if you really don't use the battery, it's best to pull it out and fridge it. Even with the battery care function, after a year or two my batteries are at about half capacity. What was once a 4 hour battery is now a 2 hour battery. Batteries I've kept in the fridge are good pretty much forever. I've have batteries that are up to 10 years old that are still 90%+. Sadly, the machines for them are now useless. Yes, LiIon batteries do self discharge, but the lower temps in a fridge really slow down the rate. Just make sure to let them warm back up to room temperature before using them again.

 

Maybe keeping those old laptops in the fridge as well, would have helped...

 

I put a M1330 battery in the fridge and i won't do that again. It seemed to take a while for the battery to reach top performance again and even double bagged i was very concerned about moisture, but if it works for you.