Laptop battery storage

[OnYourMark]

Hey everyone. I have a question about a 6 cell Li-ion battery for an HP dm4 laptop. I mainly use the laptop plugged in at home, so I thought that removing the battery would be a good idea to lengthen its lifespan.

Is removing the battery a good idea? Also, do I store the battery in a fully-charged state? Should I recharge (or maybe even discharge) the battery once in a great while?

Thank you for reading!

[CrowdAds]

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by OnYourMark

Hey everyone. I have a question about a 6 cell Li-ion battery for an HP dm4 laptop. I mainly use the laptop plugged in at home, so I thought that removing the battery would be a good idea to lengthen its lifespan.

Is removing the battery a good idea? Also, do I store the battery in a fully-charged state? Should I recharge (or maybe even discharge) the battery once in a great while?

Thank you for reading!

It's my understanding that yes, removing the battery would be good if you don't need it very often. But no, do not store it fully charged, or fully discharged, somewhere in the middle is preferred.

I do think cycling the battery once in a while is a good idea though, so that it doesn't run down all the way in storage.....but I'm not sure just how often that would be recommended.

[copeys]

I agree with marv - it is best to keep your battery out of your computer if you are not intending to use the battery for a while.

I believe it is not so much to do with the power supply (as the computer runs off of the mains when the battery is fully charged) but more about protection from the heat.

One of the main killers in laptop batteries is heat, as most people would know can get pretty toasty. Under high processing, my new lappy gets a toasty 97C... lucky I can't feel that through the enclosure with its good cooling system.

[JK98]

A 97 degrees C laptop? I wouldn't want that on my lap!

I agree with Marvin. Keep the battery at around half a charge. Cool temperate would also help. Don't freeze it, but you could put it in the fridge if it is sealed well in plastic bags so the humidity won't harm it(perhaps keeping it in a fruit or vegatable bin in the fridge which doesn't get so cold is a good idea. Take it out every 6 months to a year to check the charge level, and add some power to it if it needs it.

[sYlt]

Originally Posted by copeys

Under high processing, my new lappy gets a toasty 97C... lucky I can't feel that through the enclosure with its good cooling system.

Paradox? How is it you can say it has a good cooling system when it gets up to 97C? That's killing your laptop. Hopefully you are getting wrong temperature results

[copeys]

That's what it says what the CPU runs at when converting videos. Other places are nowhere near as hot though. But I can't feel a thing on my lap, hence why I said it has good cooling. If the heat don't spread, its got great cooling in my books.

Before video conversion:
Temp1.jpg

During video conversion:
temp3.png

[musichound]

Pardon me for jumping in, but 97C equates to 207F, more than enough to fry an egg and boil water! In my book the CPU temperature should not exceed 60C (140F)

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by musichound

Pardon me for jumping in, but 97C equates to 207F, more than enough to fry an egg and boil water! In my book the CPU temperature should not exceed 60C (140F)

That's why there is still a place for a good desktop in today's computing world, despite what many would have you believe. A desktop can be pushed much farther because there are no battery limitations, and you can run crazy-ass liquid cooling systems.

[copeys]

Originally Posted by sYlt

Hopefully you are getting wrong temperature results

Originally Posted by musichound

Pardon me for jumping in, but 97C equates to 207F, more than enough to fry an egg and boil water! In my book the CPU temperature should not exceed 60C (140F)

100C boils water (depending on salt concentration and pressure - can't tell I learnt that at uni yestie ). But, indeed close enough

It is not everyday that I am converting videos and doing intense CPU heavy stuff on my lappy, and I am not saying that it is indeed good for the laptop - I was just illustrating a point that it can indeed, get quite hot in that little case.

Originally Posted by copeys

During video conversion:
Attachment 11115

[eboyer93]

Thats really high for a CPU.

[steinburger1109]

Originally Posted by OnYourMark

Also, do I store the battery in a fully-charged state?

Just to give you a specific mark, a good rule of thumb is that Li-ion batteries like to be between 15% and 85% charge.

[sideways]

Don't Li-Ion batteries do best with moderate use? Personally I'd use the laptop with the battery in and plugged into the AC. Using it unplugged a few times a week to give the battery a bit of a workout. Let it run down totally maybe once a month. Or you know just use it any way you want to and don't worry about it. Li-Ions can take quite a bit of abuse.

If you want to store extra laptop batteries for future use, don't. They wear out with time.

[OnYourMark]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I've decided to keep the battery out of the laptop with about half charge. And I'll probably be using the battery once in a while too, if I bring my laptop around..