iBook/Powerbook Battery

[CubaTBird]

Do most of you mac users who either have a ibook or powerbook keep the battery in the unit even when its plugged into the wall outlet? Would it be best to take the battery out when used at home? Or does it make no difference at all whether you leave it in or not?

 

[mkrishnan]

Do most of you mac users who either have a ibook or powerbook keep the battery in the unit even when its plugged into the wall outlet? Would it be best to take the battery out when used at home? Or does it make no difference at all whether you leave it in or not?

The battery only charges while its plugged in, if it falls below 95%. In general, its best to discharge the battery pretty much completely and recharge it completely. So basically, its fine to leave the battery in the computer all the time. If you unplug it for whatever reason and it stays above 95%, go ahead and plug it back in. If it goes below 95%, you might want to leave it unplugged and use it that way until it gets relatively low, and then plug it back in.

Or you can plug it back in right away, but sometimes there is a slight memory effect -- if you do this several times, when you finally go to use the battery, it will claim 99% charge but will last for a much shorter time than you expect. This is much reduced with modern Li-Ion batteries but it still occurs a little.

 

[CubaTBird]

ok.....

But isn't true that if I constantly leave the battery in while plugged in at home, wouldn't the battery wear out faster? Or is that just bogus?

 

[mkrishnan]

But isn't true that if I constantly leave the battery in while plugged in at home, wouldn't the battery wear out faster? Or is that just bogus?

Not totally bogus but not too significant. If you never use the battery and you want it to last as long as possible, I suppose the best thing you could do would be to discharge it, wrap it up, and put it in the refrigerator. But short of that, the battery is basically pulled out of the loop when it is charged and you are running on wall plug power, so having it in the computer shouldn't be an issue.

 

[wide]

Not totally bogus but not too significant. If you never use the battery and you want it to last as long as possible, I suppose the best thing you could do would be to discharge it, wrap it up, and put it in the refrigerator. But short of that, the battery is basically pulled out of the loop when it is charged and you are running on wall plug power, so having it in the computer shouldn't be an issue.

I always put my batteries in the freezer. Is that okay? Or should I clean out my fridge ...??

 

[mkrishnan]

I always put my batteries in the freezer. Is that okay? Or should I clean out my fridge ...??

LOL ummm...dunno. I think the whole freezer / refrigerator thing is so that at the reduced temperature the conductivity of air is reduced, so that any seepage of current across the battery nodes is reduced. I think you have to wrap it so water doesn't perspire onto the nodes and defeat the whole purpose. And so it won't smell like onions when you take it out.

But freezer? I guess it all depends how cold your freezer is. Def don't want anything to freeze inside the battery! But with all those solutes and stuff, the freezing point of the solution in the battery must be quite low, eh?