Laptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Hey all,

 

I own a Samung NV 5000 laptop and the battery could now only last for 30-45 minutes :s. I read from here:

Apple Notebook Batteries that it would be best to discharge your battery once a month.

 

Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month.

 

Although I don't own a laptop notebook, it should be similar to all Lithium-ion batteries, right?

 

 

So my question is: how do you discharge a battery?

 

 

xboxrulz

[Sarah81 0]

Discharging a battery = unplugging the AC adaptor and using the battery power sometimes. However, you shouldn't drain a Li-ion battery completely. Wikipedia says that this reduces the battery's capacity. As did several other sites that I checked (mainly because your post made me curious about my own laptop, hehe).

[iGuest 3]

If you are only getting 45 minutes out of a full charge, then the Battery is wearing out. I have had mine for a year already and use it pretty much everyday on battery power and still get 3 hours or more depending on the processing I use it for. A replacement battery will be required soon, I would think.

[sonoftheclayr 0]

My battery isn't very good, however I do not have the funds needed to purchase a new one so I discharge the battery, freeze it in a plastic bag overnight, return to room temperature, wipe away any condesation that forms, recharge the battery, refreeze and repeat until it is operational. For best results freeze for several days at a time instead of just overnight.While this method is time consuming I can now get more than 20 minutes out of my battery!

[kaputnik 0]

Discharge is a simple process, leave your machine running without the power cable plugged in.

For a really good discharge, I'd suggest you change the power settings of your computer to 3% of Battery before automatic shutdown. The reason for this is that most Li- batteries, tend to hold a charge that is equivalant to the last discharge. Although according to this link, there is a last charge memory only for Ni-Cad batteries and not for Ni-ion batteries. Extract:

Nickel Cadmium-NiCd
Nickel Cadmium batteries may suffer from reduced run time if they are are not discharged completely before being recharged. This is the so called memory effect which reduces battery life but can be reversed by completely discharging (Not to zero volts but 1 volt per cell. Running the device until it powers down is sufficient.) and recharging, sometimes over a number of cycles (at least 3 times). A more common reason for reduced life is overcharging by poorly designed battery chargers which continue to charge the battery rather than automatically shutting off and is not reversible. You can determine if this is occurring by checking if the battery is warm or hot sometime after the charger indicates a full charge.
Ni-Cd batteries use cadmium which is highly toxic to the environment if not disposed of properly. They have a life of approximately 800 cycles or 3-5 years but in practice this is probably much less due to memory and overcharging.

Nickel Metal Hydride-NiMH

Nickel Metal Hydride batteries have an approximately 40% higher charge density and will run longer on a charge than an equivalent NiCd. They do not suffer to the same extent from the memory effect and do not need to be fully discharged before recharging although occasional discharging may be beneficial. They have a life of approximately 400 charge cycles.
Ni-MH batteries are a more environmental friendly alternative to Ni-Cd.

Lithium Ion - Li-Ion

Lithium ion batteries have the greatest charge density (twice that of Ni-Cd) and do not suffer from memory effect. Although more expensive they offer longer use, lighter weight and less self-discharge than other battery chemistries. They have a life of approximately 400 charge cycles. They are more environmentally friendly as they don't contain toxic materials such as Mercury or Cadmium.

Lead Acid and SLA (Sealed Lead Acid)

Lead Acid batteries are the same as the one in your car and are generally very reliable . They should be kept fully charged and there is no requirement for discharging prior to recharging.

So I guess, if your battery manual suggests a next to complete discharge every now and then, it's probaly because there's a bit of memory effect latent in your battery pack.

Personally, I've been using a Tosiba 3000 Sattelite for the last 6 years (I really need to get a new machine), and the battery life has come down from the previous 2 & 1/2 hours to about 40 minutes. However, after I'd read about the memoy effect and the need to discharge the battery every now and then, I've been undertaking a complete discharge at least once a week (not a problem in India where the power tends to cut out for no apparent reason in most areas of te country at least twice a day); the battery life has increased a bit to about and hour and 20 minutes. This is really satisfying to me personally and I'm going to try a complete discharge more often.

This is also the advice I've received for my cell phone from the shop I made the purchase from. I was told that I ought to completely discarge my battery so that the charge lasts me a lot longer. I have personally experienced this. When I charge my battery without a complete discharge, I manage to use my phone for about one day; but, if I let it discharge completely before charging (I force this now-a-days by using all the features available that I don't get charged for lie putting on my bluetooth, infrared, radio with the speaker) and te charges last me a good 2 days.
Edited May 7, 2006 by kaputnik (see edit history)

[roggle 0]

Also in the future if you leave your notebook plugged into an AC outlet for long periods of time, you might want to just take out the battery.Overcharging + heat destroys a battery pretty fast so only plug it in when you need to use it.I have a spoilt battery that lasts around 20 minutes which I just leave in my computer to deal with power fluctuations and I have a good battery that I leave out of the computer unless I want to travel with it.

[iGuest 3]

how do I know if my laptop (li-on) battery is completely dead?Laptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

My gateway mt3707 will when turned on will show and indicator (blue light) then the hard drive light (red) will blink four times then the laptop turns off. Is this an indication that my battery is completely dead?

-question by David

[iGuest 3]

Acer laptop rejects battery changeLaptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

Hi, all.So my Acer Extensa 5220 battery started to die.From about 2 hrs battery life, it slowly came down to about 10 mins. So I replaced it, ensuring that it was with exactly the same spec. Unit and compatible with the make, model & serial no.On start up a warning told me that there was no battery fitted.Power meter tells me no battery present.Thinking that I had a duff battery, I returned it to the manufacturer, and they replaced it. Same result. The machine cannot recognise that there is a battery.Replace with old battery - everything fine, except battery life.Acer Extensa 5220 model 101G08Mi, battery Li-ion 11.1V, 4400mAh, model 5320.Any ideas?

-question by RogerC

 

[iGuest 3]

battery and AC at the same time?Laptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

hello, I have a toshiba l300D 242, its pretty new and want to keep it good as long as poss.

I use it mainly at home linked to my tv and run it off AC most of the time with the battery still in. Is this damaging to the battery? I still use it unplugged every so often. 

Thanks.

-reply by Anon

[iGuest 3]

The Battery indicator is flickeringLaptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

Hi, although my battery icon is showing that it is full and can run for an hour or so but the indicator light is flickering green and orange continuously.Can anybody suggest what the problem might be and how it can sorted out. Otherwise my battery is working perfectly fine and I also keep discharging and charging it regularly. Thanks

-reply by Vandy

 

[iGuest 3]

Blinking while charging my acer aspire one notebookLaptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

 I did not charge my laptop for almost a month. So when our vacation started, I decided to charge it. Then when I plugged the charger and the other to my laptop, it wasn't working. It doesn't stop blinking and I was charging it for 3 days now but still, the lights are still orange. Please.Somebody tell me what to do...

 

[iGuest 3]

Responding to your questions as best I canLaptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

David,

Your battery could be bad, but to check this, I recommend disconnecting the battery and trying to start the computer up. If it starts up, it either means that your power supply is having problems, or that your battery is indeed bad.

P.S. Your laptop is Gateway, right? NEVER GET GATEWAY! Gateways are only sold so that the Geek Squad can have an excuse for being in town. /txtmngr/images/smileys/smiley13.Gif

RogerC,

 Sounds like your motherboard is having major problems, and I would contact Acer to see if they can help.

Anon,

This power scheme is wonderful if you are discharging the battery to roughly anywhere around 3-5% every week or two.

 Vandy,

Your problem sounds like you have a problem with a connection in the circuitry either in the battery, or the charging circuit. To get this fixed, you would have to get another battery and test it to see if it has the same problem. If the problem persists with another battery, it is part of your motherboard, and you should probably get it repaired or replaced by a local computer repair person (do it with someone who is not working with a large company, it is usually faster and less work to get the info that you want /txtmngr/images/smileys/smiley2.Gif ).

 

P.S. From personal experience I speak: I recommend that you do not try to do the repairs yourself, but if you do, DON'T tell someone that professes in that area, they get upset. I have tried my own repairs (and succeeded) and got a thrashing when I told the pro's.

Hope it helps someone out there!

 

-reply by Komputer professor

 

[iGuest 3]

My laptop battery is stuck on 58% (charging) but does not provide power to the laptop.Laptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

I bought a laptop battery 3 days ago for my HP Pavilion n5310.  This is the third one.  I have a bad habit of leaving my batteries in the laptop and not using the laptop for a year at a time.  So, with this new one I was determined to follow the instructions and take care of it. The instructions say, "the battery should be fully cycled (fully charged and then fully discharged 2 to 6 times initally to allow it to reach its full capacity.  Now this morning the battery is stuck on 58% (charging).  When I unplug the laptop turns off as if no power.  Everything I have tried and the battery still says 58%. Everything was fine until this morning. 

-reply by Ronald

 

[iGuest 3]

My laptop battery is stuck on 58% (charging) but does not provide power to the laptop.Laptop Battery Question (Li-Ion)

I purchased a battery for my HP Pavilion n5310 laptop. Attempting to follow the instructions which stated: "The battery should be cycled (fully charged and then fully discharged 2 to 6 time initally to allow it to reach its full cpacity)", now this morning the power meter tells me that the battery is 58% (charging). It has been that when restart, remove the battery, unplug, plug in and nothing changes. When I unplug the machine the laptop turns off because there is no battery power. Everything was fine until this morning.

-question by ronald