How is a battery cycle defined?

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Specter · #1 Post by **Specter** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 3:12 pm

Can someone enlighten me on what defines a battery cycle?

I have used one battery for several years in the complete wrong way it seems. Somewhere I read that you should excercise your battery and therefore I have always used it until there is a minimum amount of charge left before charging it to 100%. After that I again use it on battery for a full "cycle".

Now I read somewhere that you should use your battery between say 25 and 50%. I find it awkward to have to pull the charger from the outlet so often. Is there any software that will do this without having to pull the charger from the outlet? I am using a T41 and a T42.

goofyGAguy · #2 Post by **goofyGAguy** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:08 pm

Specter wrote: Is there any software that will do this without having to pull the charger from the outlet?

Go into ThinkPad Configuration and click the Power Management tab. Then click on Battery Information , then Battery Health, and finally Improve Battery Health. You will then see where to set battery start and stop charging percentages.

aaa · #3 Post by **aaa** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:26 pm

I don't think the T41 has it though, only T42.

hki · #4 Post by **hki** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:12 am

aaa wrote:I don't think the T41 has it though, only T42.

I am a T40 user. How could we achieve same result on these older machines, i.e. that the battery would be charged only when it has been depleted to a certain percentage?

hki

Specter · #5 Post by **Specter** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:36 am

I don't think the T41 has it though, only T42.

Yes this seems to be the case for me. It is there on my T42 (thanks goofyGAguy!), but I cannot find anything like it on my T41. Is there perhaps upgraded software to do this on some IBM/Lenovo site?

aaa · #6 Post by **aaa** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:00 am

No, it is a hardware thing added to the T42.

Specter · #7 Post by **Specter** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:31 am

Ok, thanks aaa. It's a pity though, since it is (or seems to be) a good thing to have that functionality.

But what about the definition of a battery cycle? When is the battery cycle count increased by one?

aaa · #8 Post by **aaa** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:00 am

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fast ... 596784_bcl

hki · #9 Post by **hki** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:10 am

I read a few threads here and there and it seems that there is no software solution to this hardware problem.

I am using an old 6cell battery whenever I am at home with ac power and may need to unplug for short amounts of time. For the times I need to use the laptop outside and power is most likely not available I have newer 9 cell battery. I guess I will have to continue this practice.

aaa · #10 Post by **aaa** » Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:02 am

For my T40 I got a cheap half-dead ultrabay battery, so now all the cycles go on this throwaway battery. Unfortunately the main battery is stuck at 100% (causing it to wear faster even though it isn't doing anything), unless I physically take it out.

Specter · #11 Post by **Specter** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:12 am

Aha that's a very good link with lots of interesting information, thanks for that aaa! It does not seem to be any difference then in charging your battery four times between 25 and 50% and charging it once from 0 to 100%. Both would mean one cycle on the battery if I understand the information correctly. This is a little strange I think, as many advice you to charge from 25 to 50% (or similar).

msidd · #12 Post by **msidd** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:48 am

Is it safe to plug into AC overnight during sleep? It should be considering the Thinkpad should stop charging at 99.9%.

aaa · #13 Post by **aaa** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:59 am

Specter wrote:Aha that's a very good link with lots of interesting information, thanks for that aaa! It does not seem to be any difference then in charging your battery four times between 25 and 50% and charging it once from 0 to 100%. Both would mean one cycle on the battery if I understand the information correctly. This is a little strange I think, as many advice you to charge from 25 to 50% (or similar).

No, cycle count is just an estimate of wear. Draining all the way is bad, and filling up all the way is bad. See here: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

#14 Post by **schen** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:53 am

aaa wrote:
Specter wrote:Aha that's a very good link with lots of interesting information, thanks for that aaa! It does not seem to be any difference then in charging your battery four times between 25 and 50% and charging it once from 0 to 100%. Both would mean one cycle on the battery if I understand the information correctly. This is a little strange I think, as many advice you to charge from 25 to 50% (or similar).
No, cycle count is just an estimate of wear. Draining all the way is bad, and filling up all the way is bad. See here: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Thanks aaa! That's one of the more useful sites that I've looked at in a long time. I've been parked here at the hospital for the last few days so have a lot of time on my hands, so have read a LOT on the computer.

Now if somebody could just come up with a little utility to revive misused/dead batteries, we'd all be grateful!

How is a battery cycle defined?

How is a battery cycle defined?

Re: How is a battery cycle defined?

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