Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (
More info?)
Michael Geary wrote:
>
> > Dave wrote:
> > > I run my laptop primarily plugged into the outlet. My question
> > > is should I take the battery out of the unit since its plugged in??
> > > Will it be getting over-charged since its plugged in all the time
> > > and that's the way to charge the battery if it is dead. Am I
> > > ruining the battery by not taking it out??
> > > Thanks in advance to anyone that is knowledgeable in this area.
>
> Capt. Wild Bill Kelso wrote:
> > Dave, you didnt say what make/model, or OS, but generally, once the
> > battery is fully charged, take it out. Keeping a battery installed but
> > running off the charger can kill the battery, and/or the DC subcard.
>
> Kill the DC subcard? Never heard of such a thing, certainly not on any
> modern notebook. They are all designed to be plugged in 24/7 with the
> battery installed.
oops, cross-linked sectors in the grey matter, 'kill DC card' goes with keeping
a BAD battery in or trying to charge it.
> Now about battery life... You have to choose your priorities. Which is more
> important to you, the shelf life of your battery or the security of your
> data? A battery will last the longest if you never use it. But you'll regret
> that missing battery the first time you're in the middle of editing a
> document and have a power failure, or forget to put the battery back in
> before pulling the AC power.
Security of data? Isn't that why you make backups? Save often?
> If you really want to prolong the shelf life of a Li-ion battery, you
> shouldn't give it a full charge before removing it anyway. You should store
> it uncharged, or charged to to only 30% or so. You may note that Li-ion
> batteries shipped from the factory never have a full charge on them. Here
> are a couple of references on this:
>
>
http/www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm
>
http/www.buchmann.ca/Chap15-page2.asp
>
> That would be an incredible pain, wouldn't it? You'd have to plan ahead any
> time you want to use the battery, and top it off just before you go.
> Realistically, what you'll probably end up doing is what the Captain said:
> charge the battery completely before you take it out. But that's not much
> better for the battery than keeping it in the machine all the time.
How much time do you leave it out? Hours, days, weeks? My kids use their
laptops in their rooms with the charger, no battery in. THe batt sits nearby.
If they want to roam thru the house, they put the batt in, unplug and roam till
the batt needs charging. If they're going to be somewhere for a while, they
take the charger with them. Yes, the batt becomes a UPS in a sense. But over a
year running like this and the batt runs for over an hour.
> You may as well keep the battery in the machine so it can protect you for
> power failures.
>
> -Mike
Realistically, a reason to keep the battery in is to get the CPU to maintain
rated speed. Many high-speed CPU's fall to slower speed when on - just - the
chargers. Not enough current from just the charger. You want a 2+GHz cpu to
run that fast, you may have to use both, charger and batt.
TJ
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The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.