Whats the proper care for a battery?

[mrderisory]

How do I properly care for my battery on my mac.

If my macbook is fully charged does it hurt to leave it plugged in? Will this "over charge" the battery?

Whats the lowest I should let the battery get before plugging it back in?

the reason I ask is, I have a 2 week old Macbook and I already have 21 cycles and my battery capacity is 89%....... It would seem I am doing something wrong.

My current method is to unplug it as soon as the charger gives me the green light. But I just realized this is causing it to go through a "cycle" everytime. So is that worse or better for it than leaving it plugged in even if its fully charged.

Thanks.

 

[Zedsdead185]

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Mine tends to be plugged in most of the time, and i unplug it and wander around wirelessly now and then. i had my battery replaced a few months ago and i have a health of 91% after 71 cycles.

 

[testcard]

Regular calibration is also a good way to keep your battery healthy:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1490
Also Google for coconutBattery - a useful free app for monitoring battery performance.

 

[bimmerfreak0]

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Mine tends to be plugged in most of the time, and i unplug it and wander around wirelessly now and then. i had my battery replaced a few months ago and i have a health of 91% after 71 cycles.

Wow that sucks...I havent replaced mine in a year...according to Istatnano I have 192 cycles, 99% health & 4062 mAh....I keep mine plugged quite a bit but I don't run it down all the way that often

 

[mrsir2009]

You should calibrate it at least once every 3 months.

 

[mdw180]

ive had mine for three weeks and i've already lost 5% after 17 cycles. is that on par?

 

[Richard1028]

Wow that sucks...I havent replaced mine in a year...according to Istatnano I have 192 cycles, 99% health & 4062 mAh....I keep mine plugged quite a bit but I don't run it down all the way that often

Istat nano reports mine anywhere from 83-95% depending on what color underwear I have on.

This morning for example it said 94%. I used it on battery power for a couple of hours then plugged it back in. It's now at 88% health. (90 cycles). I do calibrate it every couple of months.

I don't think there's any consistent logic to battery "health" so I quit worrying about it.