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can i have the battery on while i'm plugged in?

Lithium381

Lithium381

Lifer
My girlfriend is convinced that you can't have the battery charging and use the computer at the same time, that it will damage the battery. i need backup
 
It will not damage the battery. IN fact in today's world of basically never having to shut down the computer it is silly to think that you cannot charge the battery while the system is running. Sure it would charge faster if the system was off, but so what?
 
No probs charging the battery while the laptop is on. However, I think I remember reading before that leaving the battery there for prolonged periods of time with the laptop on causes slight degradation to the battery's maximum charge due to constant heat. I'm not sure though. I myself usually don't leave the battery in after its done charging.
 
Originally posted by: Lithium381
My girlfriend is convinced that you can't have the battery charging and use the computer at the same time, that it will damage the battery. i need backup
Click to expand...
No n' yes...

No, you CAN have the battery charging while you use the computer, and...

Yes, you WILL damage your Li-Ion battery if you (in essence) leave it on charge all the time.

In time, you'll turn your 2 1/2 hour battery into a 1/2 hour battery...

Listen to PowerRanger... don't leave the battery cooking after it's done charging! 😉
 
...however...

If you leave your battery in, you essentially have a built-in UPS and you can turn on write-cache for your hard drive, thus increasing performance...

http://batteryuniversity.com/ was a good resource a couple of years back IIRC, but it mostly dealt with NiMH. AFAICT, you can recover a 'flat' NiMH battery (by draining it and charge it to the max a few times), but with LiION you have no options for reviving the battery back to its former glory. (or do you?)
 
Originally posted by: VinDSL
Originally posted by: Lithium381
My girlfriend is convinced that you can't have the battery charging and use the computer at the same time, that it will damage the battery. i need backup
Click to expand...
No n' yes...

No, you CAN have the battery charging while you use the computer, and...

Yes, you WILL damage your Li-Ion battery if you (in essence) leave it on charge all the time.

In time, you'll turn your 2 1/2 hour battery into a 1/2 hour battery...

Listen to PowerRanger... don't leave the battery cooking after it's done charging! 😉
Click to expand...

Laptops have an auto-shutoff-type feature when you leave the machine charging overnight with the machine off, right? Kinda like your cell phone?
 
Originally posted by: tdawg
Laptops have an auto-shutoff-type feature when you leave the machine charging overnight with the machine off, right? Kinda like your cell phone?
Click to expand...
Yes, in a perfect world!

Li-Ion batteries DO have "auto-shutoff-type" circuits in them - they have too - otherwise the battery would set your house on fire from overcharging them, like ppl do...

The thing is, sometimes these circuits go bad - and start your house on fire anyway. That's why you see millions of Li-Ion batteries being recalled at a time.

Add to that the fact that MANY ppl are running cheap eBay clone batteries from dubious sources with questionable protection features and NO accountability...

That's the world 'we' live in! 😀

Anyway, yes, you can use your lappy while the battery is charging, however, it is not a GOOD idea to leave it on charge all the time and/or use the lappy battery for a UPS.

Ideally, when you don't plan to use your battery for a while, you should charge it to around 40% capacity, remove it from your lappy and store it, and use the AC adapter instead. Then, when you plan to use the battery, stick it back in, charge it to 100%, and away you go...

If all you are doing is running your lappy off the AC adapter, buy a UPS, plug the AC adapter into it (so you don't lose data if you have a power surge/interruption) and store the battery away for use when you actually need it. You can only charge a Li-Ion battery so many times. Leaving them on charge all the time will kill them in a year or so!

In a perfect world... this is how it's supposed to be done!

Otherwise, just keep buying new batteries - your choice 😀
 
It is very easy to observe the charging parameters of your laptop. They are all a bit different, but my current IBM/LEnovo T60 will not charge until the battery is below 95%.

 
Originally posted by: VinDSL
If all you are doing is running your lappy off the AC adapter, buy a UPS, plug the AC
Click to expand...

...which neatly brings up the next question: Should you keep charging your UPS battery all the time, and how expensive are UPS batteries anyway?

(sorry... 😉 I've retired one UPS already after it deteriorated to only supply power for less than a minute -- these things can be expensive if you want a good 'un. I wanted one with a bit of power in it, and the stupid thing has a fan from hell built into it -- expensive little ah heck it was too)
 
Originally posted by: BikeDude
Originally posted by: VinDSL
If all you are doing is running your lappy off the AC adapter, buy a UPS, plug the AC
Click to expand...

...which neatly brings up the next question: Should you keep charging your UPS battery all the time, and how expensive are UPS batteries anyway?

(sorry... 😉 I've retired one UPS already after it deteriorated to only supply power for less than a minute -- these things can be expensive if you want a good 'un. I wanted one with a bit of power in it, and the stupid thing has a fan from hell built into it -- expensive little ah heck it was too)
Click to expand...

Fair question... glad you asked! 😀

I run an ancient Para Systems/Minuteman 300 UPS (pure sine wave output). It's an oldie but goody - 500 bones new - perfect for modern lappys!

UPSs have sealed lead-acid (SLA) batteries, which are designed to spend 99.999% of their time on a 'float charger' unlike Li-Ion batteries!

Still, these SLA batteries only last 2-3 years in my experience, despite manufacturer claims...

The trick with UPS batteries is to find a good, cheap, reliable source of replacement batteries, because you WILL be replacing them every two or three years. As a matter of fact, I just replaced my UPS batteries (again) about a week ago, so I'm good until 2009-2010.

Here's a snappy if you don't believe me...

These old batteries were bought in July, 2005. They were 'cheapies'... won't do that again!

My vendor of choice is Rage Battery - been using them for years!

Price: Two Yuasa/Enersys NP7-12 batteries (F2 terminals) $37.32 total, to the door with 15% off coupon and FS!

Order placed @ 3AM - confirmed @ 3:30AM - shipped @ 6AM - really! Rage rocks!!!

How does that compare to the price of a new lappy battery (or a new UPS for that matter)? 😉

I'd buy some new UPS batteries from Rage and save your lappy battery.

What good is a 30-minute lappy battery (or 1-minute UPS) anyway?
 
"Yes, you WILL damage your Li-Ion battery if you (in essence) leave it on charge all the time. "

That is utter bunk, and a statement that is accurate if you were talking about Nickel Metallic batteries.

There is no adverse problems in leaving you Lithium Ion battery plugged in 24/7. Lithium Ion batteries naturally degrade, even if you leave them sitting on a shelf... and by degrade I mean lose capacity, not lose charge.
 
Originally posted by: WackyDan
There is no adverse problems in leaving you Lithium Ion battery plugged in 24/7. Lithium Ion batteries naturally degrade, even if you leave them sitting on a shelf... and by degrade I mean lose capacity, not lose charge.
Click to expand...

FWIW: The articles over at http://batteryuniversity.com/ that I linked to earlier, seem to support your statement. The chargers will not charge a battery unless it drop below 95% charge (IIRC).

 
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