Thinkpad battery cycles and drain

[zobomoho]

Hey guys. I made a thread about this earlier, but after 40 battery cycles, my x200 9 cell battery has fallen from 84Whr to 78Whr, which is a huge drop for me for only 4 months of usage.

I'm wondering how to slow this down. I usually use the battery until there is only 5% left, at which point it goes into hibernation. I wonder if that is causing the drain. Would you guys recommend that I charge it when it goes down to, say, 10% or 20%, and only charge it to 95%?

I'm just so frustrated that a new computer's battery is draining this fast. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[perplex]

Yes, that's the reason for this. I think the optimum level of charge to recharge at is around 50%. The worst thing you can do to one of these types of batteries is fully discharge and charge repeatedly, which is pretty much what you are doing at 5%.

I have a similar problem unintentionally though. I have a secondary battery in the optical bay slot of my X300 and when I'm away from AC this battery discharges first then the main battery. So the cycle count on this secondary battery is multiple times more than the main battery and it's below 50% of it's original rated capacity . Might just buy and replace it. Good job I'm almost always plugged into AC these days.

[yak]

Yes, charging thresholds like 20%/80% are a good idea. It's a pity this feature isn't there anymore in T410...

Anyway, I also suggest you try to recalibrate the battery. That may give you some of that charge back.