Laptop battery usage?

[awa355]

This new laptop sits in one place and always has the power connected.

Should I remove the battery, as I hardly ever run on battery power?

The battery icon never seems to show as charging much above 80%.

Should I expect the battery icon to be showing/sitting at 100% all the time?

Appreciate any advice.

[caspernz]

My approach (as advised by my computer techie) has been to use the laptop plugged in most of the time, then at least once a month run it on battery down to where the low battery warning comes up and then plug the bugger back in. Seems to work as it negates memory effect in the battery, and I've never bought a new battery for my laptops over the years.

But hey, ask five different experts and you'll get about three different answers...:rolleyes:

[pzkpfw]

I had a Dell Latitude 4.5 years ago now, at my last job, that for about 3.5 years spent 99% of it's time on a docking station with AC power permanently applied. The battery in that laptop still gives me 1.5 hours of use (I go back and do stuff there sometimes, they've reserved it for me.)

My own HP consumer-grade laptop, within about a year, and carefully charged-up/run-down, gives me just 45 minutes of careful low-use. ("Luckily" my Daughters Compaq, which died, had a compatible battery so I have a "spare").

Maybe I'm saying buy a Dell? Too late? ...

[FJRider]

May be handy in a power cut. You'll still be able to log onto KB ...

[iYRe]

shouldnt make a difference.. but sometimes it does so its best to just remove the battery if you dont need it.

(they dont have a memory any more, but they do lose the ability to hold a charge when they get hot, etc)

[Akzle]

This new laptop sits in one place and always has the power connected.

Should I remove the battery, as I hardly ever run on battery power?

The battery icon never seems to show as charging much above 80%.

Should I expect the battery icon to be showing/sitting at 100% all the time?

Appreciate any advice.

musta been sitting a while if it'll only take 80%. or you never broke it in properly...

drain it completely, charge it completely, repeat about 5 times. then take it out and chuck it in the freezer for 6 months. then repeat the charge-discharge thing.

[Gremlin]

Yep, if you're not using the battery I'd be removing it. For a long life, it pays to cycle the battery fully every month or so (depending on use).

[p.dath]

This new laptop sits in one place and always has the power connected.

Should I remove the battery, as I hardly ever run on battery power?

That's a really tough question to answer. It will depend on the battery chemistry, the charging controller, and the sensors the charging controller has access to (some are getting so advanced now they have a "gas" sensor to measure the tiny gas discharge to help determine the battery health).

I guess my thoughts are that if you rarely use it on battery you probably don't need a lot of battery life. I'd probably be lazy, and just leave it in, and rely on the charging controller taking proper care of the battery.


The battery icon never seems to show as charging much above 80%.

To prevent batteries developing a hysteresis pattern some charging controllers don't charge the battery right up unless the charge has dipped below a certain level. For example, on my laptop it is set at something like 95% of 99%.
This prevents the case where you take it off the AC for 5s and then put it back on (and in this case, it won't charge it to 100% because it hasn't dipped below 95% - something like that).

Try flattening the battery down to 30% or so, and then put it back on the mains and see if it charges right up.

Also note that as you get closer to 100% charge that some battery controllers will slow down the charging rate.

[Akzle]

That's a really tough question to answer. It will depend on the battery chemistry, the charging controller, and the sensors the charging controller

I guess my thoughts are that if you rarely use it on battery you probably don't need a lot of battery life. I'd probably be lazy, and just leave it in, and rely on the charging controller taking proper care of the battery.

Also note that as you get closer to 100% charge that some battery controllers will slow down the charging rate.

most modern battery tech, with the exception of lithium polymer, (which need to be balance charged,) require at least 3 stage charging (bulk<80%, absorbtion-95%, float 96-110%) and cycling for optimal performance and life, while battery technology has by and large erased "memory effect", looking after a battery well will increase it's longevity. heaps.
your laptop battery is likely a lithium ion cell pack, which will have it's own onboard charging-use regulator wizardry, asides from anything in the PC. this will take care of the 3+ stage charging your battery needs.

i would not trust either of these to properly cycle a battery if left on mains power.

[awa355]

I ran it on the battery, until at 7%, I got a message to recharge. Plugged the power back in and it re charged up to 80%.

Holding the cursor over the icon gets a pop up message saying 80% avalible ( plugged in, not charging).

It's not really a biggie, as I rarely use the laptop on battery power. 80% gives me about more time than I would use.

[p.dath]

See if you can find a manufacturers power manager tool on your machine. It sounds to me like the threshold at which the battery stops charging has been changed by accident. It should be at least 95 percent.

[Gremlin]

See if you can find a manufacturers power manager tool on your machine. It sounds to me like the threshold at which the battery stops charging has been changed by accident. It should be at least 95 percent.
Either that, or some laptops have tools to calibrate the battery...