Will this make my laptop battery last longer?

[Guest]

Hey everyone, how's life
Okay, I've just got myself a new laptop
It's an HP ENVY
Now, I generally don't use it outdoors. It's always home, and it's always connected to the mains while in use.
My last computer's battery died on me after about a year. I'd keep it plugged in all the time, and this one day, i think of takin it out to a friend's, the battery dies after about half an hour.. it keeps gettin worse and in a month it'd not last for even 5 mins.
I was thinkin, maybe continuous charging killed the battery?
What if I charge this new laptop for 24 hours, pull the battery out, put an adhesive tape on the battery contacts, and put it back in? What if I then use it on the mains and maybe remove the tape and charge the battery for 6 hours once every month?
Will this make the battery last longer before it needs replacement? Of will this make things worse?

 

[WR2]

Hello ST;

I was thinkin, maybe continuous charging killed the battery?
Probably not. Most laptops are connected to the mains the vast majority of the time - some never go mobile.

What if I charge this new laptop for 24 hours, pull the battery out, put an adhesive tape on the battery contacts, and put it back in?
I can't think of any reason that would be a good idea. The battery will only 'charge' till it's fully charged.

What if I then use it on the mains and maybe remove the tape and charge the battery for 6 hours once every month?
I can't think of any reason this would be a good idea. If you're on the mains, the battery isn't charging, it's running off the mains.

Will this make the battery last longer before it needs replacement? Of will this make things worse?
Probably not. I don't think it would make a difference in the long run.

Bottom line: The laptop itself is the best manager of the battery. Let it do the work it was designed to do.

Battery University: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries

 

[Pyree]

Never put sticky tape on metal contact surface. You want to keep the battery contact point clean not sticky and greasy from the tape residue. Leave the main plugged to the laptop. If the battery is fully charged it will be disconnected and stop recharge automatically. If the battery is naturally discharged and drop a few percent, it will resume charging and this works well with Li-ion battery. They work better on trickle charge as oppose to full drain and full charge cycle for older Ni-Cad battery. Full discharge kills Li-ion battery and you should never do that (Window 7 will take care of that and shut down at 7% to avoid damage to battery).

 

[Guest]

Best answer selected by the_substitute_teacher.