Running on AC-power

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tossen · #1 Post by **tossen** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 8:33 am

This regards all thinkpads.

Will running on AC-power when the battery is fully charged reduce the batterylife?

On cellphones you're not supposed to "overcharge" the battery when it reaches 100%. Does this also count for laptops?

What about when the thinkpad is turned off and not able to manage the power?

Leon · #2 Post by **Leon** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 11:06 am

leave it plugged in... the circuitry is ALWAYS able to manage the charging

#3 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:22 pm

I leave my laptop plugged in except when I need the battery. Works OK. I have a Motorola cell phone that I run 24x7 on battery, except every 2nd or 3rd day, I turn it off, and charge it overnight. There seems to be no ill effects for leaving on the charger well past the complete point. The original battery lasted 18 months before only lasting a day or so between charges and I replaced it. There doesn't seem to be any really good battery technology on the horizon, but the current Li-Ion technology is pretty good. ... JDHurst

hairy · #4 Post by **hairy** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 6:14 pm

Dosent the AC power bypass the battery anyway?
I say this because i have set my thinkpad to only charge when the battery is discharged a certain amount.
At the moment my battery meter is reading 67%, but it isnt charging as my threshold is set to 30%.

kjarrett · #5 Post by **kjarrett** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 6:30 pm

IBM's default battery management has to be the finest in the industry.

No need to change any settings whatsoever. Leave them all at factory defaults.

Even on AC power, it is normal for the battery the battery to lose its charge ... slowly.

When it gets to 95% (factory setting), the battery will charge.

I have never had any problems with battery life.

Bottom line, leave everything as is, and use the batteries and AC power as you wish!

-kj-

dmcgibbo · #6 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 9:18 pm

they say to take the battery off your laptop b/c if you leave it plugged in and 'charging' it will kill the battery. then again, unplugging ur computer and losing power b/c you forgot to put the battery in also damages your pc so basically i just wouldn't worry about it or right before the year battery warranty ends make sure it is still a fit battery.

Elhabash · #7 Post by **Elhabash** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:14 pm

You can't overload a Li-Ion battery with the correct charger. They all have sensors and circuitry inside, which normally communicate with the charger. Ever wondered why they do not only have two contacts as "normal" batteries do?

NiCd Batteries were different, but they have their uses on other places than laptops nowadays.

dmcgibbo · #8 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:19 pm

Elhabash wrote:You can't overload a Li-Ion battery with the correct charger. They all have sensors and circuitry inside, which normally communicate with the charger. Ever wondered why they do not only have two contacts as "normal" batteries do?

NiCd Batteries were different, but they have their uses on other places than laptops nowadays.

the ibm licensed support center at my school has a sheet out that explains that leaving the li-ion batteries in all the time on AC power makes them lose their 'fitness' and may harm the battery and suggests that you remove the battery while plugged into AC power and do full charge and discharge cycles every once in awhile to maintain the fitness of the battery - take it as you will but they were referring to Li-ion. I just leave mine in though b/c I figure it's more harmful to have a sudden loss of power and I use my laptop more as a movable desktop computer, not a commuting laptop (it goes from home to office, etc.) and is usually plugged in anyway...

lvlolvlo · #9 Post by **lvlolvlo** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 2:17 am

um...going to my post awhile back doing a complete drain would reduce the batt capacity, I actually ran the test. if you search back to a few of my first posts then you'll see my test results and thorough explanations.

Elhabash · #10 Post by **Elhabash** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 8:32 am

The wear on the battery when plugged is not due to overloading.
I won't risk running it only on AC, since my power plug on the tp is a little loose...

Leon · #11 Post by **Leon** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 10:02 am

your school is wrong..... if the TP is plugged in, and the battery does not need a charge, the battery is bypassed by the AC.....taking off the battery at that time offers no advantage.....

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