laptop battery

Ed Fenwick · Aug 10, 2011

Aloha guys,

Many thanks for all your help in the past. Y'all are the best garus. A fellow was helping me with my laptop and said that if I plug the thing into the wall socket, it is better to take the battery out! He said that the battery will last longer that way. Does this make scene to you?

Thanks and God bless Ed

Thomas Rogers · Aug 10, 2011

Ed,

It depends on the laptop. Most that I have used won't run without a battery within even if plugged into the wall.

For those that can run without a battery, the basis of that advice is that it saves the battery because it avoids constantly recharging the battery. However, i don't necessarily buy that because the main thing that cuts the life of a battery is the number of recharge cycles. If the laptop is plugged in most of the time and the battery fully charged, then the recharge cycles are pretty much avoided as it stays at a full charge. I have had work-laptops that have run on batteries and plugged in 24x7 for 3, 4 or 5 years. Sure, the battery life isn't as good as it was when new after that long, but the battery outlives the usefulness of the laptop for the most part, IMHO.

Also, don't discount the value of having a battery in the laptop even if plugged in for no other reason than to deal with a power-hit if you live in an area commonly hit by lightning, power outages, brown outs, etc.

So, if your laptop can run without the battery when plugged in then you MAY increase the life marginally, but at the increased risk of losing data or corrupting a hard drive in case you get a power hit. Of course, you could invest in a UPS, but I don't recommend that extra cost for laptops.

TJR

EddieS'04 · Aug 10, 2011

MY laptop is plugged in 24/7. I do let it run the battery down sometimes. Then recharging it keeps the battery conditioned. The w/xp dell inspiron, Im using now is 4 yrs old. The battery is still as good now as when new.

I just bought an acer aspire with w/ 7 home premium. Just been too busy to set it up.

Nonthing wrong with this dell. I just got a excellent special I couldnt pass up for new back up. $700 regular for $411 delivered. 500gb hd, 2ghz pentium dual core, 8gb ddr3 ram, multi dual layer dvd, 128mb intel hd graghics, dolby suround, ethernet and wireless card, multi card reader, 15.6" hd led, 6cell LI battery, web cam and mic, 3 usb, 1 hdmi. Gobs more. It was a 2 day ofice max online special. I hope I got a good deal.

Richard L · Aug 10, 2011

Actually my experience is that most laptops WILL run on just the AC charger without a battery installed....I have not encountered any laptop that would not run on just the ac adaptor (with the battery removed) I have encounter many laptops (especially Dells) that would not run off the AC adapter if a defective battery was installed !! Most would short out the AC adapter and the red LED would go out. You had to removed the battery, unplug the AC adapter for about a minute and then the AC adapter would reset and power the laptop without the battery.

Your friend is also correct that you can, over time, ruin your battery if you continue to have it connected to the charger 24/7...I have ruined several laptop batteries that way. My experience is primarily with Dell laptops as an IT Administrator for a large corporation where I supported about 300 desktops and 300+ Dell Inspiron and Lattidtude laptops. The people who had the most battery problems are the ones who kept their laptops on their docking stations 24/7 and rarely took them home...and even the ones who did take their laptops home had a separate AC adapter, and they would just plug it in when they got home...:banghead:

Today's new Lithium-Ion battaries are much more reliable (but more expensive) than the oold NiCad's and Metal Hydride batteries, but they can still be damaged by over-charging

If you locate your owners manual or download one online, check to see if they give a recommended charging procedure...Often times they will tell you not to charge the battery longer than X-amount of hours...usually a maximum of 24 hours or less. That would indicate that they do not have circuitry in the laptop or power adapter to prevent overchargeing and that can damage the battery.

I have an Acer Aspire Netbook with a 9 cell extended battery that I fully charge, remove and let it sit for 2 weeks to a month, put it back on the computer and let it run down completely. Then I fully charge it, remove it from the computer and let it sit again for 2 weeks or more. When new, the battery would last about 8 hours and 10 minutes. The battery is now over 2 years old and can still power the computer for 7 hours and 50 minutes.

...Rich

Thomas Rogers · Aug 11, 2011

RichardL,

To be fair, I haven't tested many of my more recent laptops to run without batteries. So, I did misspeak when I said most that I have used don't run without. I guess I should have said "some" as I am only remember a couple, and never really tried many after that.

I think properly cycling a battery (letting it completely go dead, then complete charge) from time to time would do more for it to increase its life than putting it on a shelf whenever the laptop is plugged in.

I would find it neglectful and a poor product that I think should be recalled if there are still laptops out there that can be overcharged. Another 75 cents worth of circuitry (guessing) is all it takes for preventing that. Most people use a laptop, a majority of the time, by plugging it in and keep it plugged in (I suspect), even if not powered on all the time. Most manufacturers should recognize that. I would hope most do, and have designed their products accordingly. But, then again, some stuff just sucks.

TJR

Richard L · Aug 11, 2011

TJR,

I would agree that manufacturers could easily include circuitry to prevent over-charging, but most still don't...I think that's because newer batteries can tollerate over-charging much better than the old batteries. Perhaps they would rather use better batteries, and the consumer wants better batteries, so they don't include any over-charging circuitry???

You are correct that charging and fully draining the battery from time to time is good, however there is a limit to the number of times you can do that as well.

Most of the newer Lithium Ion batteries can be charged and discharged up to a maximum of about 2000 times while the older NiCad and Metal Oxide batteries could handle about 200-300 recharges. Each time you recharge any of these batteries, they will not charge up to the same full capacity they had the previous time....

Like the battery for my Acer Netbook... Brand new it had 8 hours and 11 minutes run time when fully charged...now after about 2 years of charging charging and discharging about every month, I only get 7 hours and 50 minutes of run time on a full charge, and it has been slowly dropping with every recharge. If I had discharged and recharged the battery more often, I would now have much less run time per charge. If it was not a newer Lithium Ion battery, it probably would be worthless by now.

When I let the battery sit for 2 or more weeks before I recharge it, the charge has already dropped to about 90% of it's full charge. So I put it in the computer and unplug the AC adapter and let it drain the batter down to less than 10% and the computer will go into Hybernate mode. I then plug the AC power back in, let it charge the battery for about a day and then remove the battery for another 2 weeks to a month....I could probably leave it sit longer, and occasionally I do, but so far this schedule has worked well for me.

I will agree that the newer Lithium Ion batteries are much more tolerant of over-charging, but that also depends on the manufacturer...Remember some Dells with Sony batteries actually overheated and caught on fire when plugged into the AC Adapter too long (defective batteries were recalled). So while the battery may meet the standards when manufacturered, some batteries just do not have the lifespan and the endurance of some of the other same batteries. That's why you never get more than a 1 year guarantee on laptop batteries...even with a 3 year Gold Service contract from Dell.

...Rich