Battery Wear

[callmebeibei]

while you get a brand new battery, you need to discharge and recharge three times, each time, you must sure your battery is full charged, and the discharge untill it reports 3%-5%, remember 3 times.

[Sovereign]

I can say this program helped me get a new battery from Dell. While I did purchase a "refurbished" system and thus had an expectation that not everything would be "brand new," the battery I received initially degraded 34.5% by BatteryBar's estimates over the only two on-battery usages I put the system through. This was all in one week, mind. This wasn't just an aberration on BatteryBar's part--while the first off-wall use got me through class with power to spare, the second use saw the computer hibernate as the professor was wrapping up.

I know batteries degrade over time but losing that much capacity from two uses was ridiculous. Dell sent me a new battery.

[Chris]

(07-16-2010 04:34 AM)Sovereign Wrote:  I know batteries degrade over time but losing that much capacity from two uses was ridiculous. Dell sent me a new battery.

That's very cool! So, did you tell Dell about the Battery Wear values as part of your argument?

[Sovereign]

(07-16-2010 04:56 AM)Chris Wrote:  That's very cool! So, did you tell Dell about the Battery Wear values as part of your argument?

Yes. I mentioned "battery wear" to the representative and said I had a program that measured it. However, I believe Dell may have changed its policy relating to battery replacement. Four years ago, I had to escalate two levels up to get a battery replaced since the behavior was "normal" (discharging to 45% then immediately dropping to 5% resulting in a shutoff is not normal!) but this time they didn't really ask too many questions.

That may be XPS Premium Support though (when I had my previous battery issue I had an Inspiron)...

[Guest]

I'm also having something that seems like a "problem". I purchased a brand new netbook with a 6 cell battery, i installed this program and checked what it said about battery life and it says that it has 13.5% battery wear! I fully discharged and charged the battery but nothing changed in the reading. Should i try to get the battery replaced or is it an error??? I looked at the back of the battery and the designed capacity is reported right so thats not the issue, i also tried using a different program and it gave the same result. Please Help!!~

[Chris]

Sometimes the smart chip in the battery isn't programmed with the right information. Before you jump to conclusions, compare the rating on the battery's label against the "Capacity" and "Battery Wear" lines. The value in the Battery Wear line (the mWh value) is the battery's reported "Designed Capacity", or the capacity that the battery was built to hold.

The "Capacity" line shows the current vs. maximum capacity. The battery wear % is the difference between the maximum capacity and the designed capacity.

If your battery label shows a value that's the same as the Designed Capacity, but you're seeing 15%+ wear on a brand new battery, I would probably mention it to the manufacturer. If, however, the Designed Capacity is higher than is what it reported on the battery label (it's known to happen), then compare it against the maximum capacity. If those are close, then it's just a matter of your battery reporting incorrect information to the OS.

The other thing you want to look at is how fast the battery wear changes.

[Guest]

Thanks for the help i took a look and it all seems correct, the designed capacity reported to the os is the same as the one on the label of the battery so that isn't the issue, today i tried draining the battery again and this time it seems like its has sorted itself out it shows 0.0% wear which i guess is what would be expected of a new battery. I guess that i didn't recalibrate itself correctly the first couple times i fully drained it. Hopefully the battery will last a long time and not wear itself out. The way i use it (run most of the time on ac and every once in a while disconnect it to move it somewhere else temporarily at least once a day) shouldn't be too hard on the battery. Once again thank you.

[Chris]

FYI, for the best battery health, it's best to leave the battery at around 40-50% power rather than leaving it at 100% for long periods of time. When it's fully charged the chemical reaction continues at full strength and damages the cells. Obviously it's not easy to plan for when you need it charged and not, but if you know you'll be using A/C for a while, it's best to discharge to about 50%, connect the A/C and remove the battery. That is if you want the maximum possible life from the battery. Frequent discharges below 30% can also cause the battery wear to increase faster.

[Guest]

So, are you suggesting that if you use your laptop as a desktop replacement - ie primarily hooked up to land power - that you should run your battery to say, 50%, and remove it until you hit the road and need battery power?....

[Chris]

(08-27-2010 03:14 AM)Guest Wrote:  So, are you suggesting that if you use your laptop as a desktop replacement - ie primarily hooked up to land power - that you should run your battery to say, 50%, and remove it until you hit the road and need battery power?....

Exactly. Charge it up before a trip. Even better, keep the battery in the fridge or freezer until you need it. The lower temperature slows the chemical reaction.

Of course these tips are if you REALLY want to maximize the longevity of your battery. I, personally, find it fairly inconvenient so I don't make the effort to do it, though I do make an effort to pull out my secondary battery before it reaches 30%.