Lithium Ion batteries and charging

Silaqui

Hi all,

I'm finding loads of conflicting information on the net so wondered if anyone here could give me a definitive answer?

I've just upgraded to a HTC Desire S phone which has a Lithium Ion battery. Now I know some batteries like to be run all the way down, then charged up, and some like to be charged as and when to keep them topped up.

Are the LiIon's the ones that are best charged often without letting them run down?

For the first few charges I've charged it right up, then ran it right down to configure the battery but don't want to do this all the time if it's better of the other way.

Thanks in advance

Hammyman

Just use it and charge it when you need to. Lithium Ion batteries DO NOT like being run flat. The charge circuit will ensure it doesn't get killed if you leave it on charge all the time and just use it on battery when you need it mobile.

Now someone will be along to tell me I'm talking rubbish and that their laptop which was plugged in all the time had the battery die at 6 months old. It wasn't being on charge that killed the battery - it was excessive heat.

fwor

You're pretty much exactly right already - no, they don't need to be fully discharged, and it can shorten their lives because they heat up more to fully charge.

Yes, charge them fairly frequently - I charge mine when it shows anything lower than three quarters capacity left.

Don't leave it plugged into the charger once it's charged - it depends on the design of the charge circuit whether that will reduce its life, but even if not it's a waste of electricity.

spud17

Agree with Hammy and fwor,

I know more about cordless drills etc, , with drills (Li-ion) it's best to charge as soon as performance starts to drop, occasionally, say once a month, let them run down.

For the first few charges I've charged it right up, then ran it right down to configure the battery but don't want to do this all the time if it's better of the other way.

Not necessary with Li-ion, in fact undesirable, but a couple of times ain't going to hurt.

Silaqui

Brilliant thanks everyone, I have just dug out an old nokia charger which has the same connector and the load is the same so I will keep that at work and charge it up as and when!
Thanks for the replies!

spaceboy

It's NiMH batteries that should be run down low before r=charging, but even they can be run down too much (eg in an LED torch)

marms

spaceboy wrote: »

It's NiMH batteries that should be run down low before r=charging, but even they can be run down too much (eg in an LED torch)

No it isn't, it's Ni-Cad, NiMH batteries don't have to be run down before recharging.

savemoney

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

"Li-ion should never be discharged too low, and there are several safeguards to prevent this from happening"

spaceboy

marms wrote: »

No it isn't, it's Ni-Cad, NiMH batteries don't have to be run down before recharging.

Ah I see. Thanks.

savemoney

NiMH do loose charge over time you can get better NiMH that loose much less like Sanyo Eneloop


http://www.eneloop.info/

kwikbreaks

The OP has a smartphone. It will need charging overnight every night and quite possibly during the day too if it gets played with very much.

Mobile phones started big with abysmal battery life. Just after they shrank to the point you might need your glasses on to find them and couldn't remember when you last charged yours along came smartphones which need big pockets and a daily charge - plus many are poor at making calls

I've got a smartphone but I leave an old Nokia in the car just in case.