Leave Laptop Plugged In?

[bilyo]

Can't find any advice on this. Maybe I'm using the wrong search words.
Does anyone have any advice on whether or not it is a good idea to leave your laptop with Lithium ion battery plugged in all the time that power is available? My Li-ion powered tool manual says it is OK to leave unused battery on the charger indefinitely. Can the same be said for laptops?
Thanks

[Crow]

I have a Toshiba laptop which I have used at the office daily (workdays) from 8 to 3, sometimes more during the last 4 and a half years, Linux 99% of the time, always plugged; when new battery lasted 2 hours 15 min. a couple of weeks ago at home I forgot to plug it and it gave me about 90 min.

There was another machine,same model that was bought at the same time and assigned to another person who frequently forgot to plug it and let battery drain, he used Windows XP 100% of the time; that battery died about 6 months ago, suddenly just stop accepting charge and you could only work with that computer retiring the battery before plug it in.

My conclusion?  Windows kill batteries    but you may have a better opinion from that stories.

[T6]

"he used Windows XP 100% of the time; that battery died about 6 months ago, suddenly just stop accepting charge and you could only work with that computer retiring the battery before plug it in.

My conclusion?  Windows kill batteries"

i remember a identical story with a hp laptop here on this forum but using pclinux so pclinux kills batteries too 

in a manual i found that it was recommended to remove the battery if you work all the time connected to the wall

on another manual i found that it was recommended to keep the battery in place because charger and internal system stops charging battery when it reaches 100% so all is ok

on another one i found that you can remove the battery with the laptop turned on, and on another one you do that and the laptop will explode, i tried to make it explode and failed miserably 

the battery on my netbook seems to have lost charge on this 11 months i had it, supposedly it has lost 10% of the original capacity, this is reported by linux and windows xp(hwinfo free tool can give you this information)

i sometimes leave the laptop connected all the day and sometimes disconnect it when it is completely charged and let it discharge but rarely i leave it drain completely, reach charge under 4%, only a couple times i left it go to 0%

the logic says that if you are not using something, just remove it/unplug it

[Crow]

Aside from jokes, some new batteries has a chip that somewhat fails (don't remember how) if you let them drain completely but some cell phones I used gave more time if you drained batteries once a month.

In some old computers batteries didn't last much if you let them plugged all the time but I think that has changed

And no, real men doesn't read manuals unless they are really, really bored     

[T6]

[Crow]

 

 

[sammy2fish]

Aside from jokes, some new batteries has a chip that somewhat fails (don't remember how) if you let them drain completely but some cell phones I used gave more time if you drained batteries once a month.

In some old computers batteries didn't last much if you let them plugged all the time but I think that has changed

And no, real men doesn't read manuals unless they are really, really bored     

Yes, even my laptop has "Li-ion 6 cells (standard)" batteries.  I try to drain my batteries once every couple of months.

Just unplug the AC-plug before going to bed.  Leave the lid up, and let it drain.  In the morning plug the AC plug in, and you're good to go...

[Vorteggs]

About draining:
From my school knowledge the batteries have a limited life because have a limited number of charging/discharging cycles.
That's why trying to work with them to the lower charge (but not completely discharge) means you minimize these cycles and the battery lives longer.
From this point of view you don't have to drain the battery "artificially".

[sammy2fish]

About draining:
From my school knowledge the batteries have a limited life because have a limited number of charging/discharging cycles.
That's why trying to work with them to the lower charge (but not completely discharge) means you minimize these cycles and the battery lives longer.
From this point of view you don't have to drain the battery "artificially".

Running PCLOS, it has many options by default, that will not want to completely drain your/my batteries...

[OMSkates]

Laptop batteries just SUCK in general, its a conspiracy in order to sell more new batteries   AC chargers too, they all suck!

[kernowyon]

Laptop batteries just SUCK in general, its a conspiracy in order to sell more new batteries   AC chargers too, they all suck!

+1   

I have also seen many laptop batteries go from working fine (although perhaps not lasting quite so long as when new) to dead overnight (my wifes HP did this for example).

Another tip - never store the battery, either on your laptop or off it, for a long period uncharged or in a low state of charge. If allowed to completely discharge (which they don't do under normal use - even if it claims to be discharged, there is still some charge in there), they won't come back from the dead.

[ElCuervo]

google is your friend (yes, really, Andy ):

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

Simple Guidelines for Charging Lithium-based Batteries

    A portable device should be turned off while charging. This allows the battery to reach the threshold voltage unhindered and reflects the correct saturation current responsible to terminate the charge. A parasitic load confuses the charger.
     
    Charge at a moderate temperature. Do not charge below freezing.
     
    Lithium-ion does not need to be fully charged; a partial charge is better.
     
    Chargers use different methods for “ready” indication. The light signal may not always indicate a full charge.
     
    Discontinue using charger and/or battery if the battery gets excessively warm.
     
    Before prolonged storage, apply some charge to bring the pack to about half charge.
     
    Over-discharged batteries can be “boosted” to life again. Discard pack if the voltage does not rise to a normal level within a minute while on boost.

The whole article is worth a read.

[T6]

"Laptop batteries just SUCK in general, its a conspiracy in order to sell more new batteries   AC chargers too, they all suck!"

old laptop batteries, before 2006 are terrible, if still exist

ac chargers, well, the only ones i hate are the ones from lenovo or hp, the rest, i find them decent, good quality and mostly not so heavy

[The Chief]

Can't find any advice on this. Maybe I'm using the wrong search words.
Does anyone have any advice on whether or not it is a good idea to leave your laptop with Lithium ion battery plugged in all the time that power is available? My Li-ion powered tool manual says it is OK to leave unused battery on the charger indefinitely. Can the same be said for laptops?
Thanks

In a word, NO!  It will kill your battery.  Always remove the battery if you're going to leave it plugged in for an extended period.

[T6]

there is a problem with that, some laptops and netbook s have tiny chargers conectors and easily unplug themselves

if you remove the battery this could be a problem