Caring for Laptop Battery

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Caring for Laptop Battery

eracode

Currently Res in Portugal
3288 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1065

Subscriber

Topic # 65829 7-Aug-2010 05:25

I recently bought an upper-end new laptop (Asus G73) which has a Lithium-Ion battery.

The guy in the computer shop said that I should fully charge the battery from new and then, if I was mainly going be to running the laptop on mains power (which I am), I should switch to battery, run the battery down, charge it back up to 80% then remove the battery and store it separately, i.e. not in the laptop.

Is this correct and good advice?

dman

942 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 29

Reply # 367181 13-Aug-2010 14:17

I'm not expert on this point.... but I see nobody else has replied, so I'll just say that yes it is similar to what else I've heard so I'm inclined to believe this is true.

(except for the storage point... I'm feeling a little bit more iffy on that, I'd suggest you google to check optimal charge level for storage)

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

k1wi

469 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 107

Reply # 367184 13-Aug-2010 14:20

I was of the belief that you need to leave a battery with a 20% charge for long term storage?

I think it depends a bit on how long you mean by "run it on mains". If it was months on end then yes, perhaps it would be an idea to discharge the battery and store it separately, but then you're missing out on one of the great benefits of laptops: they have an inbuilt UPS.

The number of times that I've had the lights go out, but remained able to use my laptop etc is one of the great things about laptops.

(Indeed, with our modem/router on our main UPS, I can even continue to surf the net during a power outage).

heavenlywild

3615 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 172

Trusted

Reply # 367186 13-Aug-2010 14:21

eracode,

First off, that's one beast of a laptop! Congrats. I was so close to getting one myself before opting for a desktop.

Anyway, back to topic. What you have been told is correct. Charge it back to 80% and store it in a cool, dry place. Some even suggest putting it into a plastic bag and in the fridge but I don't think that's needed.

You should however use the battery from time to time too - as in, perhaps once a month at the very least.

khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 137

Reply # 367210 13-Aug-2010 14:58

it is touch and go these days - batteries are going to lose their charge over time regardless of what you do with them. i wouldn't bother worrying too much as it restricts how you would 'naturally' use the device. most batteries today have a recharge cycle count - and beyond a certain number you will lose the charge. you are better off 1) making sure the batteries are not in excessive heat and keeping it charged when you do not need to run off it.

Batman

Mad Scientist
19820 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2681

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 368498 17-Aug-2010 07:23

it's a combination of constant decay from BOTH date of manufacture vs charge-discharge cycles. that means just by looking at it, it's dying by the day. that means everytime you charge it to max it dies a little, if you drain it to the max it dies alot.

that means you can't win, it's going to die. which one makes it die faster nobody knows. i just keep it charged at max all the time - theoritically this minimises the charge-discharge cycle. which really defeats the purpose of a battery!

good luck.

Swype on iOS is detrimental to accurate typing. Apologies in advance.