T43 with A/C adaptor...

[qazwsxbots]

When using the a/c adaptor...is it wise to remove the battery?

[Greg Gebhardt]

When using the a/c adaptor...is it wise to remove the battery?

Don't think so. That battery operates as a UPS and kinda stabilizes the power. It will not hurt to leave your battery in while using AC. It will not overcharge.

Why would you want to remove your battery?

[anthony]

When using the a/c adaptor...is it wise to remove the battery?

What my esteemed colleague says is absolutely correct. But there is another consideration. Although it only maters when the battery is not fully charged.

When you attach the AC, you also begin to charge the battery. I have been told that Li-ion batteries can only take so many charges before their capacity begins to degrade rapidly. That's why no matter how long a warranty you buy for your notebook, batteries are only warranteed for one year. As a battery saving strategy, I prefer not to recharge until I'm down to 10% or so.

At home, I will sometimes tether my notebook to the AC power because I know I may be using it for a few hours and don't want to use up my battery. So if I'm using my notebook as a desktop for a protracted time, I remove the battery, but only to prevent it from recharging.

My understanding of all this is admittedly limited. So if any of the experts can shed a different light, I would appreciate it.

[wwarlock]

Anthony

You are right in what you said about the battery recharging. however you can not run the power through your battery to run the think pad when you plug it into the wall it disables the battery compleatley. except to charge or course. with the older nicad batteries yes they did function as a ups but li ion can not be chared and discharged at the same time. ie can not run as a ups. If you want more info let me know.

William

[ibm_phil]

Under the IBM Power Manager, Battery Infomation Tab, Battery Maintenence, there is the option for Setting the charge thresholds. By default it will be 96% and stop at 100%. So if your battery is below 96% charged and you plug in AC it will fully charge to 100% then stop, then only run off AC. If your battery is between 96% and 100% it will not charge, just run off the AC. You can use the custom option to change the threshold limits. By using thses options, it means your battery will only recharge a limited amount of times. So if your running on AC, and the power goes off but you only use small battery %, it will not keep recharging, hence saving the battery life. Also there is a option for Optimise battery lifespan, this will just make it recharge less times, but if you lose power it might not have charged enough, and you may only have a low % left.

Hope this helps. so you shouldnt need to remove your battery ever. i wouldnt suggest this cos if your power fails, unless you have a UPS, you will lose all work.

Phil.

[nrj45]

completely right ibm_phil. to spare my battery i set the power manager to charge the battery only when it's under 5%. So it allows you to use your battery as an UPS (to keep the expression). And you can work on a/c without the battery beeing charged. When you know you will have to work a lot on batteries, just modify the option to allow the battery charging.

For this point, i'm proud of ibm/lenovo. That is a fun option. I use my t43p every day 8h (average) for almost 2 months and my battery has only 11 cycles.

Summary : if you are good with playing with this option, your battery life will be extended a lot. Try just avoiding "little charges" (they are considered as 1 cycle).

Answer to a question i asked to myself : is the power manager only working under windows ?
Answer : no, it seems that the power manager is only an interface driving some bios settings because when i'm under linux, the battery charging trigger (that i set under windows) is also active.

[ibm_phil]

i have mine set on charge under 80%, stop at 100%. i find this makes good use of my battery, as for the short times i use whilst travelling, it wont charge again and again, but if need be, i will always have a full battery once it is a bit low. has done 12 cycles since new, nearly 2 months now.

Phil.

[ibm_phil]

whilst on the topic of battery life... little bit un related to the original T43 without AC but...

All battery manufacturers suggest it is best to do a complete charge and discharge on first use of battery, IBM websites state this and manuals. They also suggest to do this regulary so that it will reset the life of battery gauge, as if it is only charging the top 10% all the time it is harder for the battery to estimate actual time remaining. I have read from numerous sources that if you plan to use your laptop whilst travelling for a whole day, it is best the day before to fully discharge the battery (unlpug power and use as normal until the 3% warning pops up) then fully charge it. It will give the best battery life possible. i have tried this and noticed the estimated time does increase. Never let your battery go to 0% and cause your computer to turn off.

The same applies for all batteries, ie cameras, video cameras, Ipods etc.

Phil.

[nrj45]

it's nearly what i do but as i'm working at many places, the t43p is often plugged - unplugged. If i use your settings, if my battery is at 75%, it will charge until e.g 85%. I also like to see my battery quite charged. I set 5% because if i'm by a client and have already used the t43p on battery, i don't want my battery to be partially charged because i plugged my t43p by the client...

[Doltan]

I set mine to start charging at 70%, and up to 90%, thinking that keeping it at 90% will stress the battery less, since I mostly use the adapter.

If I need to use the battery for extended period of time, then I will set it to charge to 100% the night before.

[bvaughn]

Under the IBM Power Manager, Battery Infomation Tab, Battery Maintenence, there is the option for Setting the charge thresholds.

So . . . where's the IBM Power Manager? I've poked around with Windows Explorer but can't find it.
There is clearly some difference of opinion expressed in this thread about how to optimize battery life. It's all mysterious to me; I don't know anything about batteries (except that they're expensive and don't last nearly long enough, in any circumstances). I keep my TP plugged in all the time. Am I slowly choking the battery?

[GomJabbar]

Go to Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Battery Maximizer Wizard. When you go through the wizard, check the box to put the icon on the task tray. If you already have an icon with a picture of a battery with a percentage number inside, then you can skip the above step.

Next click on the battery icon in the task tray, and choose the option: Improve Battery Health. The settings you are looking for can be changed there.

[koolcaz]

All battery manufacturers suggest it is best to do a complete charge and discharge on first use of battery, IBM websites state this and manuals. They also suggest to do this regulary so that it will reset the life of battery gauge

Never let your battery go to 0% and cause your computer to turn off.

How do you do a complete discharge? What happens if you let it go to 0% and turn off?

I usually don't try to charge it until it reaches under 10%, but I didn't realise you could change the level when the computer charges. This'll come in handy. The only thing that worries me (leaving the charging till it is very low) is if I can't find a power point and I'm down to under 10%.[/quote]