Thinkpads Forum

If I have my ThinkPad on the mains for awhile to charge the battery... and when it is fully charged I only unplug the power cord form my computer and leave the charger in the mains. Is there any possibility that anything goes wrong woth the charger? Or do I always have to unplug it both ways?

Well-made chargers should be fine, but if after an hour of being plugged in and not charging anything, it's warm, I'd unplug it. It might be using a little juice to convert the AC to DC internally, but then the DC isn't going anywhere, so any current draw would be neglible.

I'm speaking in theory, without any insight into IBM power brick design or function.

I have two chargers almost permanently plugged in to various strategic locations throughout the house, i.e. next to easy chair and one by the nightstand, I leave them plugged in so all I have to do is reach down plug in, kick back. In electronic terms if there is no load on the other end of the charger there is no current draw, no heat, the work begins when it is plugged in. This is not to say that a lightning strike (which is prevalent in NC, my part of the country) won't take out the charger even if it is not plugged in. But normal household AC and being plugged in to a surge may prevent the spike and surges from damaging the brick.

So there is very small possibility that something (electrical surge or lightning) would harm the charger if left in the mains. I thought so myself but was very sceptical due to every manual of electronic devices which says not to leave the charger in the mains.

Thanks for replies.