Re: Slightly OT: Battery usage

["Stefan Dösinger" <stefandoesinger-RbZlAiThDcE@public.gmane.org>]

> Also, I read that the battery should be kept at 30% of its capacity in a
> relative cool environment. But, does this mean that if the laptop is always
> on power I should remove the battery.
From the battery side of view, yes, but the battery really helps to secure the 
laptop against power failures while on AC power. Keeping the battery in a 
cool environment is useful if you have 2 batteries and you want to keep one 
for later use in a few years time.

See
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm(general) and
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Battery-Powered/index.html (more Linux specific)

> As I am not an expert on batteries usage, I need your expertise.
> I have a laptop with a Li-Ion battery. The company told me that I should at 
> least once a month fully discharge it and then charge it. But, from what I 
> have read this is wrong and will deteriorate the battery.
I can't judge on this, but in most cases, the battery is used at least once a 
month. If not, then the uprising question is if it's needed at all. If you 
don't use the battery at present, but you'll need it heavily in, say, 2 
years, then it may be best to remove it and store it seperatly. (Depending on 
how stable the AC power is). I had one power failure since I own my Laptop, 
and this was right at one of the seldom times when I removed the battery.

Keep in mind that companies tell you what's best for them. But on the other 
hand, there are other things than battery lifetime, and keeping the battery 
in the laptop is a good choice for the avarage users IMO. See above.

> What is the definition of a cycle? How can I tell how many cycles my battery 
> has? Is it wise to keep the battery on the laptop, when the laptop is on 
> power?
I don't know what exactly a cycle is, but AFAIK it means discharging the 
battery reasonably and reloading it. I've heard that Li-Ion batteries survive 
only 200 cycles, and my battery was at 1/3 of it's original capaticity after 
~400 cycles.

Cheers,
Stefan


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