How do you use your battery?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.

In the Care and use of the battery pack section I read that I should
disconnect the AC adaptor when the battery is fully charged.


Dunno about anybody else but I never do that.


Like I many people, I suspect, I work on my laptop mainly plugged into AC
power.

The manual seems to indicate that I should either always run off battery or
remove the battery when I'm working plugged in to AC power.

I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging my laptop from AC power if I was
to follow the manuals advice.

I didnt think Lithium Ion batteries required to be treated like this.

I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and uncharging
the battery.


Comments?




Ian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Ian Howard" <ianh7712@nospam.org.au> wrote in message
news:Xns9559B8144EE54abc@66.150.105.60...
| Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
| Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
|
| In the Care and use of the battery pack section I read that I should
| disconnect the AC adaptor when the battery is fully charged.
|
|
| Dunno about anybody else but I never do that.
|
|
| Like I many people, I suspect, I work on my laptop mainly plugged into AC
| power.
|
| The manual seems to indicate that I should either always run off battery
or
| remove the battery when I'm working plugged in to AC power.
|
| I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging my laptop from AC power if I was
| to follow the manuals advice.
|
| I didnt think Lithium Ion batteries required to be treated like this.
|
| I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
| laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and
uncharging
| the battery.
|
|
| Comments?
|
|
|
|
| Ian

I use mine much like you do. Occasionally I will unplug it to let the
battery run down and then recharge.

This strikes me as a fairly authoritative primer on the subject.

http/www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

--
D

I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details.

Remove shoes to E-mail.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Ian Howard" typed:

> Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
> Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
> [...]
> I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
> laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and uncharging
> the battery.

I rarely use my refurbished T21 on battery, and keep the battery in
T21's Notepack (notebook-pack). It has been one month since I bought the
laptop, and so far I have cycled the battery four-to-five times.

--
Ayaz Ahmed Khan

http/fast-ce.org/linux

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

This has been discussed extensively. The best advice, for laptops being
used on AC for long periods of time (more than a day) is to remove the
battery entirely when it's completely charged. If AC use is "long
term", insert the battery and give it a moderate cycle (down to between
about 25% and 50%, but no lower) about once every 90 days. Treated this
way, a Lithium battery can last the better part of a decade.

If you want a UPS, get a 350va UPS when they are on sale ($10 to $30,
sometimes "after rebate"). It makes more sense to buy an inexpensive
UPS than to destroy a $200 battery within 12 to 18 months, which is
usually what happens if you leave the battery in constantly when the
laptop is continually powered from an external source.


Ian Howard wrote:

> Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
> Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
>
> In the Care and use of the battery pack section I read that I should
> disconnect the AC adaptor when the battery is fully charged.
>
>
> Dunno about anybody else but I never do that.
>
>
> Like I many people, I suspect, I work on my laptop mainly plugged into AC
> power.
>
> The manual seems to indicate that I should either always run off battery or
> remove the battery when I'm working plugged in to AC power.
>
> I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging my laptop from AC power if I was
> to follow the manuals advice.
>
> I didnt think Lithium Ion batteries required to be treated like this.
>
> I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
> laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and uncharging
> the battery.
>
>
> Comments?
>
>
>
>
> Ian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I have a ThinkPad A31p with a 1.7 MHz processor. I've tried
everything I can think of, but without the battery, it only runs at
1.2 MHz. So I just leave the battery in, and pull the plug when the
machine is hibernated or off. If anyone knows of a workaround for
this, please let me know.




|This has been discussed extensively. The best advice, for laptops being
|used on AC for long periods of time (more than a day) is to remove the
|battery entirely when it's completely charged. If AC use is "long
|term", insert the battery and give it a moderate cycle (down to between
|about 25% and 50%, but no lower) about once every 90 days. Treated this
|way, a Lithium battery can last the better part of a decade.
|
|If you want a UPS, get a 350va UPS when they are on sale ($10 to $30,
|sometimes "after rebate"). It makes more sense to buy an inexpensive
|UPS than to destroy a $200 battery within 12 to 18 months, which is
|usually what happens if you leave the battery in constantly when the
|laptop is continually powered from an external source.
|
|
|Ian Howard wrote:
|
|> Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
|> Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
|>
|> In the Care and use of the battery pack section I read that I should
|> disconnect the AC adaptor when the battery is fully charged.
|>
|>
|> Dunno about anybody else but I never do that.
|>
|>
|> Like I many people, I suspect, I work on my laptop mainly plugged into AC
|> power.
|>
|> The manual seems to indicate that I should either always run off battery or
|> remove the battery when I'm working plugged in to AC power.
|>
|> I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging my laptop from AC power if I was
|> to follow the manuals advice.
|>
|> I didnt think Lithium Ion batteries required to be treated like this.
|>
|> I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
|> laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and uncharging
|> the battery.
|>
|>
|> Comments?
|>
|>
|>
|>
|> Ian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

If you are cycling it just to cycle it, 4-5 times per month is way too
often.


Ayaz Ahmed Khan wrote:

> "Ian Howard" typed:
>
>
>>Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
>>Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
>>[...]
>>I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
>>laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and uncharging
>>the battery.
>
>
> I rarely use my refurbished T21 on battery, and keep the battery in
> T21's Notepack (notebook-pack). It has been one month since I bought the
> laptop, and so far I have cycled the battery four-to-five times.
>

 

[woody]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Everything you read on these groups is pure speculation. No proof has ever
been made one way or the other. Use it as you wish and just plan on
replacing the battery every couple years. The laptop regulates the charging
current so overcharging is not a problem. Heat is the biggest killer of
batteries so keep it kool.....

"Ian Howard" <ianh7712@nospam.org.au> wrote in message
news:Xns9559B8144EE54abc@66.150.105.60...
> Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
> Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
>
> In the Care and use of the battery pack section I read that I should
> disconnect the AC adaptor when the battery is fully charged.
>
>
> Dunno about anybody else but I never do that.
>
>
> Like I many people, I suspect, I work on my laptop mainly plugged into AC
> power.
>
> The manual seems to indicate that I should either always run off battery
> or
> remove the battery when I'm working plugged in to AC power.
>
> I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging my laptop from AC power if I was
> to follow the manuals advice.
>
> I didnt think Lithium Ion batteries required to be treated like this.
>
> I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
> laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and
> uncharging
> the battery.
>
>
> Comments?
>
>
>
>
> Ian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Barry Watzman" typed:
> Ayaz Ahmed Khan wrote:
>> I rarely use my refurbished T21 on battery, and keep the battery in
>> T21's Notepack (notebook-pack). It has been one month since I bought the
>> laptop, and so far I have cycled the battery four-to-five times.
>
> If you are cycling it just to cycle it, 4-5 times per month is way too
> often.

No. Power outages are common where I live.

--
Ayaz Ahmed Khan

http/fast-ce.org/linux

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 20:36:40 GMT, "Woody" <TheDuck@pond.net>
wrote:

>Everything you read on these groups is pure speculation.
>No proof has ever
>been made one way or the other.

The information and data on this site is not speculation:
http/www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 08:05:45 GMT, Ian Howard
<ianh7712@nospam.org.au> wrote:

>Having a quiet afternoon here so sat down to read the manual of my Toshiba
>Satellite Pro 4600 laptop.
>
>In the Care and use of the battery pack section I read that I should
>disconnect the AC adaptor when the battery is fully charged.
>
>
>Dunno about anybody else but I never do that.
>
>
>Like I many people, I suspect, I work on my laptop mainly plugged into AC
>power.
>
>The manual seems to indicate that I should either always run off battery or
>remove the battery when I'm working plugged in to AC power.
>
>I'd be constantly plugging and unplugging my laptop from AC power if I was
>to follow the manuals advice.
>
>I didnt think Lithium Ion batteries required to be treated like this.
>
>I'd have thought it would be better to run with the battery installed and
>laptop connected to AC power rather than constantly charging and uncharging
>the battery.
>
>
>Comments?
>
>
>
>
>Ian

Unplugging after charging is a user simple method to give
reasonably accurate remaining capacity readings ,and good pack
service. .

For example:
Two to three hours off a pack and 4-10 hours charging is a
reasonable estimate of a full user day and would result in several
hundred full cycles or about a year of life -- probably less for a
corporate client since they would change the pack sooner The
capacity gradually decreases during this time but it is well
measured and a user expected gradual decrease.

A possible few hours use on ac after charging finishes is not
important to the pack life. The possibly hot while full charge
induced degradation and self discharge is nil in that time. The
pack will also be well discharged later again soon if the manual
regimen is followed.

Note too that laptops generally run cooler off packs and heat
gives better capacity during discharge so the heat caused
degradation effect is smaller.. . It's the days and days on ac
line while 90-100% charged and hot that make pack cells unusable
in the laptop due to cell internal resistance buildup..

At least your manual seems to suggest removing the pack for
extended ac only usage.but does it give the recommended charge
level for that? It should be in the 40-70% range..

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

FulanoDeTal wrote ...
> I have a ThinkPad A31p with a 1.7 MHz processor. I've tried
> everything I can think of, but without the battery, it only runs at
> 1.2 MHz. So I just leave the battery in, and pull the plug when the
> machine is hibernated or off. If anyone knows of a workaround for
> this, please let me know.

If you are lucky then this is due to "Forced Throttling" set via an OEM
registry setting. Try installing SpeedswitchXP and looking for forced
throttle on one of the option tabs (not sure which since my laptop is at
home). Forced Throttle is set as a % of the maximum clock rate but will
round to the nearest available multiplier setting defined in your BIOS.
SpeedswitchXP allows you to set up a totally user configurable power
mananagement scheme within normal XP power management without having to hack
the basic schemes and you can simply switch between the Speedswitch scheme
and the built-in XP ones.

However many OEMs (eg HP) also utilize Stop-Clock techniques (against all
Microsoft recommendations) using code loaded from the BIOS. In such a case
you are stuffed unless you can find some other workaround. (For example my
HP/Comaq laptop has another BIOS bug that means that the unwanted throttling
is disabled after the computer has been on stand-by whilst on battery
power).

David