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

On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:28:56 -0400, Roger Long wrote:

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.

Lithium Ion batteries don't have a memory, so several partial discharge/
recharge cycles are better than a complete discharge. Also, if you are
going to leave it plugged into AC, it's better to remove the battery as
heat is a problem.

I think this little Asus Eee PC 900 must have a pretty good charger. Even
plugged in all night, the battery doesn't get warm. I'm reluctant to take
the voltage smoothing capacity of the battery out of the system; especially
with the less than perfect AC from a small inverter on a boat.

--
Roger Long

On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:12:05 -0400, Roger Long wrote:

I think this little Asus Eee PC 900 must have a pretty good charger.
Even plugged in all night, the battery doesn't get warm. I'm reluctant
to take the voltage smoothing capacity of the battery out of the system;
especially with the less than perfect AC from a small inverter on a
boat.

But does the CPU? The heat from a CPU could be a problem to battery
longevity. Then again, you may have a point about the inverter.

On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:44:32 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:12:05 -0400, Roger Long wrote:

I think this little Asus Eee PC 900 must have a pretty good charger.
Even plugged in all night, the battery doesn't get warm. I'm reluctant
to take the voltage smoothing capacity of the battery out of the system;
especially with the less than perfect AC from a small inverter on a
boat.

But does the CPU? The heat from a CPU could be a problem to battery
longevity. Then again, you may have a point about the inverter.

When I'm on the boat with our laptops I leave them plugged in, and in
suspended state when not in use. They use minimal power that way and
generate very little heat. The battery stays charged and everything
is ready for immediate use.

On 2008-09-29 12:39:50 -0400, Wayne.B said:

When I'm on the boat with our laptops I leave them plugged in, and in
suspended state when not in use. They use minimal power that way and
generate very little heat. The battery stays charged and everything
is ready for immediate use.

Where the power usage isn't a factor, I agree with this. My desktops
for the last decade or two have been on 24/7. At work, my machines
typically have fewer problems that can be blamed on the thermal shock
of being turned on each workday.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

On Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:05:28 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

When I'm on the boat with our laptops I leave them plugged in, and in
suspended state when not in use. They use minimal power that way and
generate very little heat. The battery stays charged and everything
is ready for immediate use.

Where the power usage isn't a factor, I agree with this. My desktops
for the last decade or two have been on 24/7. At work, my machines
typically have fewer problems that can be blamed on the thermal shock
of being turned on each workday.

In a suspended state a laptop uses almost no power at all, just enough
to keep the memory alive.

"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;

wrote in
t:

it's better to remove the battery as
heat is a problem.


I respectfully disagree!

The battery pack on the laptop is the perfect Uninterruptable Power Supply
to save the data on the hard disk from corruption or self destruction if it
is writing to disk WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT!

You never need to plug a laptop into a UPS like the office PC SHOULD be
plugged into because its battery pack is online to run it on any power
failure or brownout condition.

This feature is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than "saving the battery", no matter
what!

Anyone having to start from scratch with a trashed hard drive you can't
even boot from will wholeheartedly agree....LEAVE THE BATTERY IN IT!