"Roger Long" wrote in
:

What is the best way to maximize Lithium Ion battery life in laptop
computers? Should the computer just be plugged in whenever possible
while it is used or should it be run on the batteries down to some
optimum battery level and then recharged? How does deep discharge
effect these batteries?

Morning Larry.

--
Roger Long





Lithium Ion batteries are just like your house batteries....float
batteries. They should be plugged in at your earliest opportunity and
NEVER left in a discharged state for any period you can help.

There is only one condition that happens to them where they should be
run down as far as the onboard IC controller inside the battery pack
will allow, which is by the way about 50% of total charge.....

The IC controlling the charge/discharge cycle is incapable of
understanding the drift in the charge state caused by Lithium oxidation
over time. So, the IC gets "out of sync", so to speak, with the true
charge state of the battery. When this happens, because of the way it
happens, the IC cuts the discharge off prematurely high above the
allowable discharge floor it is designed to set. The procedure to
restore its sync is very simple. Run the device until the IC shuts down
the device telling you the battery is discharged. Wait a few minutes
and run it down again, teaching the damned IC a less about who is in
charge, here. That runtime will be quite short. THEN, IMMEDIATELY,
plug the device into its charger and do a FULL CHARGE. The IC will
automatically note its mistake and allow the charge to reset the IC's
memory. I do this procedure on my devices about every other month.
Some of my Li-Ion batteries are 5 years old and work fine, including the
$130 one in my Gateway laptop that's capable of cranking a diesel.

The rest of the time, simply plug the device into its charger at EVERY
opportunity, even if it has only been discharging for 10 minutes....The
IC controls the charge. You cannot overcharge a Li-Ion device! The
charge-full light will simply come on quite fast. You can leave the
laptop power supply plugged in PERMANENTLY without damaging the battery
pack. Mine has been plugged in for years.

Hope this helps. I've been a bit busy today trying to recover from the
Wachovia Bank crash without having to deal with FDIC or the new owners.
I got my money out even before the bank's own employees found out about
the crash this morning, moved my money to Community Firstbank of
Charleston, a locally owned bank company whos CEO is a SAILOR! John
owns a nice new Beneteau Sloop that walks by the Amel Sharki in any
cruiser race like we are parked. It's his company and I feel much safer
personally knowing the CEO. Of course, that meant moving my Direct
Deposit Socialist Security, Autopay accounts for
power/internet/sellphone over to the new account.....a good day just
wasted. But, tonight, I feel a little more secure. This little bank
makes a nice profit and doesn't loan money to people who can't
repay...very carefully....

Besides, they gave me a nice new red backpack with a built-in beer
cooler in the bottom to match my scooter!....(c; Oh, and one of those
waterproof plastic document boxes with the O-ring seal that floats and
has a lanyard to store my documents in on the boat....

.....They don't have toasters, though, I noted....(c;