laptop batterys

paste · #1 12-13-2011, 01:26 PM

Since I never move my laptop anywhere and keep it charging almost 24/7, I decided to just take the battery out and use it plugged in to save the battery life. Im wondering on how I should store laptop batterys becuase I have heard some batterys can spontaneously combust out of nowhere.

BurningSkies · #2 12-13-2011, 01:29 PM

Why not just use it more regularly? I just got a new macbookpro and unlike the old one that I only cycled a handful of times, I'm using the battery a couple times a week. Should last longer and hold a charge better.

paste · #3 12-13-2011, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Why not just use it more regularly? I just got a new macbookpro and unlike the old one that I only cycled a handful of times, I'm using the battery a couple times a week. Should last longer and hold a charge better.

Wouldn't using the battery more just wear the battery more making its life shorter? Anyways no point in keeping the battery in there when its not even being used IMO.

BurningSkies · #4 12-13-2011, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paste

Wouldn't using the battery more just wear the battery more making its life shorter? Anyways no point in keeping the battery in there when its not even being used IMO.

Using a battery, especially cycling it from full to near-empty actually is better for it than not doing so.

Selta · #5 12-13-2011, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Using a battery, especially cycling it from full to near-empty actually is better for it than not doing so.

This depends on the battery type. Draining a Li-Ion battery completely degrades battery performance and life. Generally you don't want a Li-Ion to fall below 20%. Keep it at 100% of the time is also not good for them. Best storage for Li-Ion is to get it to about 40% charged, and kept cool and dry of course. But, realize, it won't be 100% after being kept in storage. Even if kept at 25*C, it'll lose 4% of it's total ability. Higher storage temps will cause more wear. You will also need to make sure that the voltage in the battery never drops below 2.00V for more than a week, or else you might as well toss it out. Put something non-conductive and non-corrosive over the contacts while in storage will help prevent shorting and possible fire.

fhm555 · #6 12-13-2011, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paste

...Im wondering on how I should store laptop batterys becuase I have heard some batterys can spontaneously combust out of nowhere...

If it's any variation of a lithium battery, charge (or discharge) it to half it's rated capacity and leave it someplace where you will see it every day. if it starts to swell, punch a hole in it and drop it in a bowl of salt water before you dispose of it.

An alternative is to store it in a chafing dish (with top) or some other fire safe container. The idea is to contain a fire, not to protect the contents from a fire.

fhm555 · #7 12-13-2011, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Using a battery, especially cycling it from full to near-empty actually is better for it than not doing so.

+1

Exceptions to this are any of the lithium types. If you deplete them past 1/3 of their rated capacity, most auto chargers won't "see" them when connected.

There is a work around, but it requires an older dry cell (nicd or nimh cell type) charger and some practices specifically proscribed by any charger manufacturer so I won't go into it here. If you know someone who races electric r/c cars, they can help you, and most likely have the equipment to do it.

paste · #8 12-13-2011, 04:22 PM

what the... So I decided to put my battery back on and "cycle" the battery instead of storing it and now theres an X mark over my battery icon on my computer saying "consider replacing your battery

P.S. I took the battery out while the computer was on standby mode (screen closed) and put the battery back in while it was on "sleep" mode.

Selta · #9 12-13-2011, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paste

what the... So I decided to put my battery back on and "cycle" the battery instead of storing it and now theres an X mark over my battery icon on my computer saying "consider replacing your battery

P.S. I took the battery out while the computer was on standby mode (screen closed) and put the battery back in while it was on "sleep" mode.

I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea in general to hot swap the battery, even if in a low power state such as sleep, standby or hibernate... try rebooting?

paste · #10 12-13-2011, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea in general to hot swap the battery, even if in a low power state such as sleep, standby or hibernate... try rebooting?

aw shoot.. I didn't know that

anyways I shut it down and still no good, red X is still over my battery icon. By rebooting you mean, shutdown, right?

Selta · #11 12-13-2011, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paste

aw shoot.. I didn't know that

anyways I shut it down and still no good, red X is still over my battery icon. By rebooting you mean, shutdown, right?

Yeah. Could always try re-seating the battery (pull it out and put it back in, make sure it clicks or screws into place well, whichever it's supposed to do). Could just be the contacts not making well enough.

L-A · #12 12-13-2011, 05:47 PM

I don't know what your computer is, but it should have voltage controllers you can reset or recalibrate.

I'm pretty sure they went haywire if you hot-swapped the battery.

paste · #13 12-13-2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

Yeah. Could always try re-seating the battery (pull it out and put it back in, make sure it clicks or screws into place well, whichever it's supposed to do). Could just be the contacts not making well enough.

Just tried that, still has X mark over battery but it's managing to work properly without needing to be plugged in.

paste · #14 12-13-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-A

I don't know what your computer is, but it should have voltage controllers you can reset or recalibrate.

I'm pretty sure they went haywire if you hot-swapped the battery.

"ASUS Notebook K52F/K62F Series" is the model of this laptop im using. Not sure where to find the voltage controllers...

L-A · #15 12-13-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paste

"ASUS Notebook K52F/K62F Series" is the model of this laptop im using. Not sure where to find the voltage controllers...

You don't have to yank anything out

Usually, the procedure is to shut the computer down, unplug the charger, remove the battery, then hold the power button down for ten seconds.

You then put the battery back in, plug the charger, and power up the laptop. I'm telling these steps out of memory, and they might be non-standard for your laptop.

paste · #16 12-13-2011, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-A

You don't have to yank anything out

Usually, the procedure is to shut the computer down, unplug the charger, remove the battery, then hold the power button down for ten seconds.

You then put the battery back in, plug the charger, and power up the laptop. I'm telling these steps out of memory, and they might be non-standard for your laptop.

Hahahaha it actually worked! Thanks guys for all the

Edit: to tell you the truth I was pretty skeptical about holding the power down for 10 seconds while the battery and charger was unplugged

but hey it worked

MX21 · #17 12-14-2011, 10:58 AM

I leave my battery in all the time, even when plugged in most of the time. I live rural, so AC power glitches occasionally and the laptop battery is like a UPS. If you didn't have the battery in, then if there's a power spike or brownout, you lose all your work.