Laptop battery general question

[iedgar10]

Hello!

I recently purchased a laptop and I'm trying to take good care of it because it's meant to last me at least 3-4+ years...hopefully.

I want to know what the best way to make my battery last longer (durability wise). I use it at a desk when i'm at home so it pretty much stays in one place when it's at home. Is it a good idea to take out the battery when I'm going to use it at home? Or is it okay to just keep the battery in there? Or should I fully charge the batter and once it's charged remove the plug? I'm just trying to make the my battery last as long as possible so I don't have to buy a new one within a couple months.

Any suggestions would be awesome!

 

[WR2]

Hello iedgar10;

What laptop did you get and what battery did it have?

 

[iedgar10]

I got a Dell Latitude e5410 with a 9 cell battery. I

battery specs:
9 cell
li-ion battery
rating: 11v
type: wu841
capacity: 85Wh

Laptop specs:
bios revision: A07
CPU: dual core i7 m640 @ 2.80 GHz
graphics: Intel integrated HD
ram: 3gb
OS: win7 Home Premium 32bit

Hello iedgar10;

What laptop did you get and what battery did it have?

 

[WR2]

How Lithium-ion Batteries Work
http/electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery.htm

Cliff notes:
They start degrading as soon as they leave the factory. They will only last two or three years from the date of manufacture whether you use them or not.
They are extremely sensitive to high temperatures. Heat causes lithium-ion battery packs to degrade much faster than they normally would.

Bottom line:
It's OK keep the battery in there all the time.

 

[WR2]

The really technical stuff:

Battery University: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries
http/batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

Notice the "Depth of discharge" vs "Discharge cycles"

 

[iedgar10]

so what i got from the graphs was:

a- don't do 100% discharges
b- store @ 40% charge level
c- charging at low voltages provides less charge but more charge cycles

So is it safe to say that besides the effect of the rules above:
it doesn't matter what you do, leave it in, take it out, it's going to degrade at the same rate.
?

 

[WR2]

a- don't do 100% discharges

Doing a 100% discharge can actually cause a failure.
See: How Lithium-ion Batteries Work
■ If you completely discharge a lithium-ion battery, it is ruined.

There is still the issue of how you use the laptop. If you drain the battery every day and recharge at night the
300-500 full charge cycle life span is a worst case scenario.

■Lithium-ion batteries age. They only last two to three years, even if they are sitting on a shelf unused. So do not "avoid using" the battery with the thought that the battery pack will last five years. It won't. Also, if you are buying a new battery pack, you want to make sure it really is new. If it has been sitting on a shelf in the store for a year, it won't last very long. Manufacturing dates are important

 

[iedgar10]

So, yes.
That stinks. I guess I'll have to buy another one eventually.

 

[randomstar]

As a note: the laptop wont "let" you discharge it beyond the safe level. generally the electronics are set to tell the notebook and you that it is " dead" at 40% plus or minus a little.. (60% on some devices!)

leaving it in the unit is a great idea- then it can act sort of like a UPS for the notebook. just keep your notebook set up so it cools appropriately and does not run hot all the time. it is no coincidence that laptops that run really hot either have the battery far away from the heat sinc / cooling path for the GPU/CPU or have short life expectency on the battery.

use the battery. you paid for it and the circuitry to charge it. going out of your way to not use the battery when you could use it for a while without cords is kind of like buying a giant bag of candy and not eating it because it would be gone. and then the rats eat it or it goes stale.
use what you paid for.
my opinion.

 

[iedgar10]

Best answer selected by iedgar10.

 

[iedgar10]

randomstar:
haha i guess i'm the type of person that wants things to last as long as possible. I don't think I'm cheap I just like taking good care of my things lol But will do! I will enjoy my battery for as long as it's good.