How do I baby my Z61m battery ?

[nhawlman]

Somewhere I read that these batteries have a memory,
and to keep them charged fully,
or discharge them fully before charging
...or something.

Then I read something about rejuvenating them.

Should I take it to bed with me,
or keep it on ice?

How long should it last?
Is it covered by ThinkPad Warranty?

Many thanks,

Nevin

[jdhurst]

It is a Lithium Ion battery and doesn't have much a memory (if any). Those batteries with memories are long-gone NiMH cells.

Now, batteries are a piece of chemistry. They start dying the instant you install the battery and stuff it in the computer. Most LiON batteries last about 3 years with no babying whatsoever. Getting more than 3 years is pure luck.

Use your battery as you need to and forget about it. ... JDH

[Stan]

If you use your battery infrequently then charge it to 40- 50% and take it out of the machine and store in a cool place (the bottom of the fridge will do). Make sure it’s protected against moisture and check its charge level every three months. Don’t let it fall to less than 20% charge in storage.

You could store it in the laptop and set the battery manager to start to charge at 35% and cut off at 50%, this will help extend its life but the higher temperature will degrade it sooner than the bottom of the fridge will. Battery’s get quite warm in laptops even when not being charged.

If you use your battery all the time then try not to discharge it bellow 25% charge as deeper discharges cause more harm than good.

At the end of the day a battery is a “consumable” and will need to be replaced.

Lithium-Ion batteries have a shelf life of three years or less in normal service, that’s a fact of life. But, proper storage for less often used batteries can extend this by a wide margin.