Does the charging method affect how good the battery charge is?

[dguy6789]

Greetings.

I can charge my phone either via a USB cable or an AC wall outlet. The AC adaptor charges the phone faster than the USB cable. My question is will either of these methods make a difference in how good of a charge the battery gets?

 

[Krynj]

No. USB will take longer, but regardless of how it's charged, once the battery reaches capacity, it reaches capacity.

 

[dguy6789]

I was wondering because there's such a thing as conditioning your battery which will make it hold a better charge(Charge it all the way up, then let it run until it is dead, then charge it all the way back up a few times. Do this the first few times rather than charging it up from a partial charge and your battery will have a better charge).

You're also supposed to charge it all the way up to 100% without turning your phone on the first time to get an optimum charge.

I was wondering if the different charging rates had any effect on this.

 

[rudeguy]

conditioning batteries is a great debate. Lion batteries are not supposed to have a memory, so no conditioning necessary. But I kill a couple batteries a year because I don't let them go all the way dead before I charge them. I charge my battery every night whether it needs it or not.

 

[pm]

Generally my recommendation would be the opposite. No conditioning, and generally avoid discharging completely if possible.

But this has less of an effect than:
a. buying batteries from a reputable supplier and making sure that they are as "fresh as possible".
b. keeping the batteries as cool as possible as much as possible.

These two are the big ones. Cheap batteries wear out quickly - the electrolyte oxidizes because the manufacturer made them in less than ideal manufacturing environtment and cheap materials which allow the electrolyte to oxidize. And batteries age from the day you get them so you want them as "fresh" as you can get them. And the biggest killer of lithium ion/polymer operating life is heat.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery.htm/printable

•They start degrading as soon as they leave the factory. They will only last two or three years from the date of manufacture whether you use them or not.
•They are extremely sensitive to high temperatures. Heat causes lithium-ion battery packs to degrade much faster than they normally would.
•Lithium ion chemistry prefers partial discharge to deep discharge, so it's best to avoid taking the battery all the way down to zero. Since lithium-ion chemistry does not have a "memory", you do not harm the battery pack with a partial discharge. If the voltage of a lithium-ion cell drops below a certain level, it's ruined.
•Lithium-ion batteries age. They only last two to three years, even if they are sitting on a shelf unused. So do not "avoid using" the battery with the thought that the battery pack will last five years. It won't. Also, if you are buying a new battery pack, you want to make sure it really is new. If it has been sitting on a shelf in the store for a year, it won't last very long. Manufacturing dates are important.
•Avoid heat, which degrades the batteries

and also:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.


Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.


Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.


Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)


Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.


If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.

I have two electric battery-powered vehicles that I built myself that both use batteries that I built myself from raw cells (lithium-ion and more recently LiFePo), and have safety/balancing systems that I designed myself, and at one point used a charging system that I designed myself. I've been flying electric R/C model airplanes and helicopters with lithium-based batteries for about a decade, and everything written above matches my personal experience.

 

[YoungGun21]

conditioning batteries is a great debate. Lion batteries are not supposed to have a memory, so no conditioning necessary. But I kill a couple batteries a year because I don't let them go all the way dead before I charge them. I charge my battery every night whether it needs it or not.

A couple batteries a year? I also charge my phone every night, yet I haven't switched batteries in the near 2 years I've had it. (Palm Centro for VZW)

 

[dguy6789]

Thanks for the very informative response. Guess charging and such doesn't matter as long as I keep it cool.

 

[pm]

That would be my best suggestion... that and to avoid cheap Ebay battery sellers unless they have a lot of really thrilled customers.

Charging has an effect:
slower charges result in longer life than fast charges.
generally avoid deep discharging, ie. going below about 30-40% of the total capacity has a bigger effect on battery life than consistently staying above that point.
... but deep discharge occassionally to reset the battery meter to the current state of the battery so it doesn't give a false reading

but the method of charging doesn't have a huge impact. There's something there... but it's not as big a deal as avoiding heat.

 

[Bateluer]

Good information in here. Can anyone shed light on why when I charge my phone using the car charger, the battery becomes extremely hot? It doesn't get hot at all when charging via USB or AC adapter.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Would I be doing damage to my laptop's battery over time by keeping it in while plugged into the AC adapter for hours on end? This is assuming I keep the unit relatively ventilated, so it won't get ridiculously hot.

I would love to simply remove the battery each time I plug it in, but it just won't be practical. I have to go from portable to longevity in the blink of an eye sometimes, and with my new Envy 15 (shipping soon) only getting 2-3 hours per charge, the problem is going to be even bigger.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Would I be doing damage to my laptop's battery over time by keeping it in while plugged into the AC adapter for hours on end? This is assuming I keep the unit relatively ventilated, so it won't get ridiculously hot.

I would love to simply remove the battery each time I plug it in, but it just won't be practical. I have to go from portable to longevity in the blink of an eye sometimes, and with my new Envy 15 (shipping soon) only getting 2-3 hours per charge, the problem is going to be even bigger.

Yea from my experience it would. Ive had two batteries die from two different laptops from doing that over the years.

 

[Chapbass]

Use iPhone Regularly

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).

Whats everyones thoughts on this? It's from apples website, which honestly I usually avoid like the plague, but one of my coworkers has done this every few weeks....thoughts?

 

[rudeguy]

A couple batteries a year? I also charge my phone every night, yet I haven't switched batteries in the near 2 years I've had it. (Palm Centro for VZW)

I charge my phone every night...but I also plug it in a couple times a during the day. The way I understand it, batteries have a set number of charges in their lives, so people like me who charge their phones multiple times a day are going to go through batteries faster.

I've had my myTouch for 8 months and its ready for a new battery. Thats about the longest a phone battery has ever lasted me.

 

[vshah]

i keep my phones and laptops plugged in whenever i can. Only one laptop battery died at the 2 year mark, others are still going (with understandably reduced capacity) on 4 or 5 years.

 

[rudeguy]

yeah...I don't get it either. I also kill an average of one router a year. Stuff just always breaks on me

 

[QueBert]

yeah...I don't get it either. I also kill an average of one router a year. Stuff just always breaks on me

That's because you like change new shit isn't built well at all. My moms fridge is 34 years old and still running strong, she's only had it repaired once. Buy a fridge today and you'd be lucky to get 1/2 that life out of it. Old shit was just built better.

 

[rudeguy]

That's because you like change new shit isn't built well at all. My moms fridge is 34 years old and still running strong, she's only had it repaired once. Buy a fridge today and you'd be lucky to get 1/2 that life out of it. Old shit was just built better.

here we go.....

but my new fridge costs $300 less to run a year. So if I have to buy a new one every 17 years, I still saved $4500

 

[hanoverphist]

conditioning batteries is a great debate. Lion batteries are not supposed to have a memory, so no conditioning necessary. But I kill a couple batteries a year because I don't let them go all the way dead before I charge them. I charge my battery every night whether it needs it or not.

i do the same, and ive had the same battery for a year. it still lasts the whole day at least, longer if im not calling a ton for work as well as playing a lot of games or listening to music. if im driving i have it hooked up so i can listen to the music, so it sits on a charger often. i do have it drain completely on occasion tho.