New Laptop - how do I maximise battery life?

esuhl

In my (limited, not-scientifically-proven) experience, removing the battery or keeping the laptop plugged in all the time causes the battery to deteriorate so it's useless within a few years.

On my own laptops, I use mains power to charge the battery and only plug it back in when the battery is close to being flat.

free4440273

Hungerdunger wrote: »

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to reply. Unfortunately I'm not very much wiser as each option has been recommended at least once!

I think on balance I'll go for the option of keeping it permanently plugged into the mains with a weekly discharge/recharge.

that's what I do !

andy69_2

when you use the battery make sure it totally runs out before charging it again, thats what i have been told many times, that includes all batteries

John_Gray

Well, you have been told wrong! That applied to NiCad batteries; but not to Lithium Ion (as used in PC batteries). A little Googling, or even a look at my Battery University link (see #5, above), will indicate the truth of this.

andy69_2

John_Gray wrote: »

Well, you have been told wrong! That applied to NiCad batteries; but not to Lithium Ion (as used in PC batteries). A little Googling, or even a look at my Battery University link (see #5, above), will indicate the truth of this.

well thats what i do with mine, and they have all lasted a very long time with me doing it, rather than letting it get half empty then charging it back up i leave them till they are totally empty then charge back up. Up to the op if they want to try it im just stating what i personally do

thescouselander

I have to agree with John - you shouldn't discharge Lithium based batteries completely - that advice applies to NiCad batteries only as they suffer from memory effect.

buglawton

I believe this comment from the Apple website

"For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month"

http://www.apple.com/batteries/ipods.html

neilwoods

That's the only trouble with so many replies, so many conflicting answers.

For lithium ion, doing a full disharge or deep dishcharge is bad. As said as well, they don't have a memory like the NiCad. What causes the most damage to lithium is heat. So many people put the laptop on there lap or a cushion which then cover the vents for the fans.

missile

Hungerdunger wrote: »

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to reply. Unfortunately I'm not very much wiser as each option has been recommended at least once!

I think on balance I'll go for the option of keeping it permanently plugged into the mains with a weekly discharge/recharge.

Do whatever is convenient for you. :j

AlwaysSomething

Okay, this advice applies to Lithium Ion and Lithium Polymer batteries (the sort you get in laptops and ipods), not to NiCad or NiMH batteries.
Keep it cool. Don't cycle it unnecesarily.
Heat increases the wear and tear on the battery, so if you take it out, it will live longer. Downside is that if you accidentally unplug the power, you lose everything you are doing. Also can leave an odd shaped gap in your laptop. But, unquestionably, your battery will live longer if you don't keep it inside a warm laptop.
Never, ever allow the battery to totally discharge. Your laptop probably has settings to make it shut down just before the battery runs out. That is the way to do it. If you let the battery run right out it's possible that one cell could be subjected to reverse polarity for a moment. That would be end of battery.
So best advice is to fully charge your battery, then take it out. It will self discharge very slowly. If you want to run it out now and again, that's fine - I can't say for certain if that's necessary. But do not cycle it regularly (daily or weekly) just to keep it healthy. You are using up a significant proportion of your battery's life just cycling it. Typically a battery will be down to half its original capacity after 500 cycles, so every cycle counts.

NiCd or NiMH batteries do suffer from memory effects, so they do need to be fully discharged from time to time. This doesn't apply to laptops.