Preserve Battery Life?

[d4mo]

I've looked around the net and read alot of different opinions. What is the best way to keep your phone, mp3 player or any rechargable battery at it's longeset life?

Do you recharge often? Recharge when it's low? What do you do?

 

[DivideBYZero]

I read that you should charge @20% and if storing do so @80%. Use off power as much as possible and keep the batteries cool.

 

[gorcorps]

There's all sorts of theories out there I've read, and I can't say a whole lot of them indeed work as there's too many to try them all.

I've read that if you have a habit of charging your devices when they're half full or fuller (phone users are usually the culprit) then every once in a while (every 20 charges or something) you should drain your battery nearly all the way and charge from there to reset the counter and make sure the battery as a whole is fresh and still usable.

I've read that in the case of laptops, batteries die faster because people keep them hooked up to the AC adapter and the batteries rarely get used. Every once in a while, unplug the computer and use the battery all the way down.

I always recharge my mp3 and DS when it's low unless I'll need it for a while on a trip or something away from power.

 

[deputc26]

OK, there are MANY variables that go into how long your battery lasts but nearly ALL laptop batteries are Lithium Ion with Cobalt Oxide cathodes. Here are the factors that effect their life 1. DoD, Depth of Discharge, the deeper you discharge the battery the shorter it's cycle life (cycle life is defined as being over when the battery only holds 80% of it's original capacity) discharging to ~40% is optimal. Conversely charging the discharging to ~40% is optimal. Conversely charging the battery to 100% also shortens the life, most laptop bats are actually at 90% when they show 100% and stop charging. battery to 100% also shortens the life, most laptop bats are battery to 100% also shortens the life, most laptop bats are actually at 90% when they show 100% and stop charging. 2. C rate. A 10 amp hour battery producing 10 amps is discharging at 1C. A 10 ah battery producing 20a is discharging at 2C. Anything above 1C starts to decrease the cycle life of the at 2C. Anything above 1C starts to decrease the cycle life of the battery (though not all chemistries are like this, this figure is for li-ion with cobalt oxide cathode) battery (though not all chemistries are like this, this figure is for i-ion with cobalt oxide cathode) 3. Temperature, higher temperatures increase the amount of energy available for a given charge (to a point) but decrease the cells cycle life, temps over 40deg C have an exponentially ncreasing (with T) negative affect on cycle life. Also if temps are below or near freezing you lose cycle life and the energy available per charge is decreased. THE EFFECTS OF #2 AND #3 ARE MULTIPLIED, A HIGH C RATE AT HIGH TEMP IS THE WORST 4. There are many other smaller factors specific to exact chemistries I have heard rumors that it is good to vary the chemistries I have heard rumors that it is good to vary the DoD. Simply leaving the battery in a really hot place (car in the sun) or operating a laptop with poor cooling that heats up a lot will decrease the batteries life even when it is not in use.

 

[deputc26]

Sorry above post was copied aand pasted with droid from a post I made in notebookreview.com. C&P is still a little sketchy on droid, pretty much all gadgets are now powered by li-ion cobalt cells.

 

[pm]

I agree with pretty much what everyone wrote.

Turn off features when you aren't using them - which saves power which saves draining the battery.

Try to avoid letting the battery drain to the end whenever possible, although letting it happen occassionally (once or twice a month) resets the drain meter circuitry and thus makes the battery indicator more accurate.

Keep the battery very cool at all times - this is the biggest thing you can do to improve the battery longevity.

If you are storing the battery for a period, drain it to ~50-60% full. This is the best state of charge for a lithium ion cell for long storage periods.

Don't buy a spare battery for the future and put it on the shelf - all lithium batteries oxidize and will wear out over time whether you use them or not. If you want a spare to use, that's fine, but don't buy extras.

If you buy a new battery, get one which was manufactured recently because the battery's age is important.

If you buy a spare lithium battery, or a replacement, get one from a reputable vendor. Cheaper cells often wear out much, much faster than cells from the manufacturer.

Beyond all of this, lithium polymer and ion batteries typically only last 2-4 years before their capacity is reduced to the point where they aren't useful. There's nothing practical you can really do to stop this. So you might as well just not worry much about it... aside from keeping the battery cool.

 

[Muse]

I have been into this stuff for a looooong time. I found a site last week that looks like the best source of info on rechargables:

http://www.greenbatteries.com/

 

[Muse]

Beyond all of this, lithium polymer and ion batteries typically only last 2-4 years before their capacity is reduced to the point where they aren't useful. There's nothing practical you can really do to stop this. So you might as well just not worry much about it... aside from keeping the battery cool.

I'm on the original battery with my LG VX4500 cell phone. Try to keep it cool, don't charge to the max very often, don't let it drain too far. 3.79v translates to ~40% charge, which is considered pretty optimal for longevity. I don't use it a lot.