[kman42]

I just bought a new 12" PB and I'm curious about proper battery care. I previously had an iBook and the battery died just over a year after I bought it. I know that isn't totally unusual, but I would like to do whatever possible to extend the length of my new PB's battery.

The battery was almost charged when I fired up my new PB and I plugged it in and charged it completely. I then ran the battery down until it told me I was on reserve power and then charged it all the way up again. I'm now on battery power. I heard it was a good idea to run down the battery the first time for maximal battery health.

I generally kept my iBook plugged in all day at work and only unplugged it some nights when I was at home and the battery rarely ran down all the way. I heard that it's a good idea to run down the battery frequently. Can anyone comment on this?

kman

[phantomo]

Before Tooki busting you, here it is:
http://www.info.apple.com/usen/powerbook/

[KidKit]

its actually a bad idea to run down your li-ion battery regularly. see www.batteryunversity.com for detailed info on the topic

[kman42]

Originally posted by KidKit:
its actually a bad idea to run down your li-ion battery regularly. see www.batteryunversity.com for detailed info on the topic

That's a cool site. Here's their basic suggestions for a Li-ion battery.

Simple Guidelines


Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.)
Short battery life in a laptop is mainly caused by heat rather than charge/discharge patterns.
Although memory-free, apply a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges to calibrate batteries with fuel gauge. Running down the battery in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. The battery life will not be affected.

Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)

Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing date. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

[Podolsky]

Great information here, thank you. This represents the best thing about these boards.