Battery advice for PB

[simon1]

Any advice would be welcome.

I will be using my PB mostly at home so what is the best thing to do regarding the batttery?. When i'm at home, is it better if I use th PB plugged into the mains and keep the battery charged or should I be using the PB with battery only and charge when needed?.

Many thanks.

Simon

[lazyboy922]

I always keep mine plugged in, I don't see any harm in it. But maybe others have different opinions?

[pdrayton]

The battery has an estimated lifetime number of charges that you can expect. Approximately 300-500 full charges.

Apple also recommends periodic "calibrating" of the battery (full discharge until PowerBook sleeps, then full recharge). This will keep your battery meter accurate.

So, keep it plugged in so that you can lengthen battery life. You can also extend the amount of time your PB will last on a charge by dimming the screen (F1... I dim mine to about 1/3rd brightness... still very easy to view) and turn off Bluetooth and/or Airport if you are not using either of those.

When at room temperature I get 4.5 to 5 hours of use on a single charge.

[virividox]

i calibrate about once a month.

you can also reset ur pmu, but i dont do that as often. also try to keep ur pb in good temp, no extremes.

[Fabrix2003]

Yeah i work most of all at home and always keep the powerbook plugged in, although pdraydon did scare me, got me thinking how many charges i have done on mine :D when you try to keep it coool when you use it for like 2 to 3 hours on the trot at home mains plugged in i would reccomend a cooling device to keep it at a sustainable temperature.

Hope this Helps!

[operastarlet]

do you need to calibrate that often for an ibook? In the manual that came with it it said to only do it once? or are powerbooks battery different?