[eyes on me]

Since Im going for a vacation, I wouldnt be able to bring it. I want to know if its okay to not use it for a month, will it effect the battery? Thank you

[jaimzedup]

drain the battery to 50% and detach it for storing

[Nodnarb]

The above poster is right, that's all you have to do and it will be fine.

I have a different question though, but I didn't see the need to start a new thread since it is along these lines.

I am going on vacation for about a week, and during that time I would like to leave my screen name on on AIM. Would it be alright if I plugged it in, set the preferences to never sleep but only the display to sleep? I have never left my iBook on for more then a few hours at a time, becuase everytime I am done using it I just shut the lid causing it to go to sleep. What harm could come to the iBook if it is left up and running for a week?

[Randman]

Should be fine. I'd set energy saver settings to minimum, minus the sleep factor. And make sure it's on an iCurve or somewhere to get air circulating under and around it, just to keep it cool. Also, make sure the temperature is steady in whatever room you have it in, don't let it get too hot or too cold (or vary from one extreme to the other).

[KianD]

Originally posted by jaimzedup:
drain the battery to 50% and detach it for storing

With an iBook, leave the screen open, and that'll ventilate it...

The laptop I'm using here (an x86 running BSD) has been up for a few months at this stage, including a few weeks I was out of the country over the summer.

A week open and on low low speed settings won't harm it. If its plugged into the wall all the time it won't even touch the battery.

In the case of the first poster, I've just taken my 1996 Powerbook out of the attic after two years inactivity and the battery is still working...

[iREZ]

You should send it to me and I'll use it till you get back from vacation .

[jaimzedup]

Originally posted by brandon420506:
The above poster is right, that's all you have to do and it will be fine.

I have a different question though, but I didn't see the need to start a new thread since it is along these lines.

I am going on vacation for about a week, and during that time I would like to leave my screen name on on AIM. Would it be alright if I plugged it in, set the preferences to never sleep but only the display to sleep? I have never left my iBook on for more then a few hours at a time, becuase everytime I am done using it I just shut the lid causing it to go to sleep. What harm could come to the iBook if it is left up and running for a week?

Just out of curiosity, what does it matter if you sign off AIM or not?

[irockdabari]

if you want to stay logged into AIM, have backup plans. if your power should go out, the battery will run down, and your iBook may not come back to life until power is restored. you should make sure you are automatically logged into your computer and AIM is in the startup files. Also, everyone knows that AIM kicks you off every now and then. make sure your AIM is set to automatically relog back in. iChat doesn't do that (and I'm not sure if Adium does it either).

[ChrisF]

Originally posted by jaimzedup:
drain the battery to 50% and detach it for storing

Lithium-Ion batteries are totally useless if they are allowed to completely discharge, and any rechargeable battery will self-discharge. To extend that period as long as possible, don't discharge the battery but rather be certain it's fully charged.

[tooki]

Wrong.

While it is true that LiIon batteries are quickly damaged by deep discharging, the optimal charge level for storage is 40%. Storage at 100% is not good for LiIon batteries.

The optimal way to store a LiIon laptop battery is to discharge it to 40%, shut down the computer, and then store the battery in the refrigerator (not freezer, though).


See Battery University for the full list of what to do.

tooki

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by irockdabari:
if you want to stay logged into AIM, have backup plans. if your power should go out, the battery will run down, and your iBook may not come back to life until power is restored. you should make sure you are automatically logged into your computer and AIM is in the startup files. Also, everyone knows that AIM kicks you off every now and then. make sure your AIM is set to automatically relog back in. iChat doesn't do that (and I'm not sure if Adium does it either).

adium does.

[Dr.Michael]

Originally posted by tooki:
Wrong.

...

The optimal way to store a LiIon laptop battery is to discharge it to 40%, shut down the computer, and then store the battery in the refrigerator (not freezer, though).


See Battery University for the full list of what to do.

tooki

Definitely also wrong.

50% or 40% make no difference, so there is nothing wrong with this.
But putting a battery into the fridge can cause condensation and end with a short circuit. Keep it in a cool and dry place (any drawer is ok).

Removing the battery as long as its not used is the best you can do, because heat is harmful. So your battery will have a mucht better life in the next 4 week because its outside your iBook and not as hot as it is usually.
I always removed my TiBook battery at more than 80% charge level and stored it in my desk drawer. There it discharges slowly and after a couple of months its down to 20%. After 3.5 years it still had more than 90% of its original capacity. So 50% or 70%, who cares? It doesn't have the most significant influence on lifetime. Heat has and deep discharge has.

...and man, don't make yourself crazy. Just keep cool, remove the battery and there won't be a problem even if you leave it unattended for months.

And remember: Its an iBook not a tamagochi

[irockdabari]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
adium does.

domo arigatou MrForgetable

[tooki]

Originally posted by Dr.Michael:
Definitely also wrong.

50% or 40% make no difference, so there is nothing wrong with this.
But putting a battery into the fridge can cause condensation and end with a short circuit. Keep it in a cool and dry place (any drawer is ok).

How about you do like me and back up your claims with facts?

Condensation does not just "happen" in a fridge: condensation would happen when the battery is removed from the cold fridge into a warm, humid environment. One could easily completely eliminate even the possibility of condensation just by putting the battery in a ziploc bag before putting it in the fridge. (Note that in refrigerators, things don't tend to get moist if left unwrapped, they dry out. The condensation that forms inside food wrappings is the moisture that was in the food, which is not applicable to a battery.)

As for 40 vs 50%... is it gonna be a big difference? No. I was responding to the person who said to FULLY CHARGE the battery when I said that that is not the best way to store the battery. The difference between 40 and 100% is very substantial. Nonetheless, 40% is the manufacturers' recommended charge level for storage.

Also, if you look at the page I linked to, 0ºC (freezing) is a good storage temperature, substantially improving the battery's life compared to room-temperature storage. Since most refrigerators aren't set to freezing, but rather just over freezing in the fridge compartment, and well below freezing in the freezer compartment, the fridge compartment is the ideal storage location.

So sorry, nothing I said was remotely wrong, much less "definitely" wrong.

tooki

[ChrisF]

Originally posted by tooki:
Wrong.

While it is true that LiIon batteries are quickly damaged by deep discharging, the optimal charge level for storage is 40%. Storage at 100% is not good for LiIon batteries.

Well I was going by what Apple says here.
The relevant paragraph says:

For example, schools that may not use their iBook or PowerBook computers during the summer should fully charge the batteries, remove them from the computers, and store them in a cool location for the duration of the summer.

In any case, for a month, as long as the computer is shut down, there won't be any noticeable deterioration of battery capacity regardless of how the battery is stored.

[tooki]

Yes, fully charge because over the course of a whole summer (what is that, 10 weeks? 12?), a 40% charge would self-drain to nothing, which is bad.

For extended storage at 40%, you would need to occasionally check the charge and charge it a little if necessary. That's what I do with my spare PB battery.

tooki

[sine -''-..-]

Originally posted by brandon420506:
Would it be alright if I plugged it in, set the preferences to never sleep but only the display to sleep? I have never left my iBook on for more then a few hours at a time, becuase everytime I am done using it I just shut the lid causing it to go to sleep. What harm could come to the iBook if it is left up and running for a week?

On another note, make sure when you leave your machine running, that the screen itself is off and not just the backlight. From what I understand an LCD can "burn in" to some degree when left with the same image for long periods of time. Also the backlight will "burn out" if left on for long periods of time.

[tooki]

But LCD "burn in" is not permanent, as it is with CRTs.

tooki

[erniesthings]

I have my ibook g4 set to turn the monitor off after 5 mins. I have it set so bittorrent can be running all the time. It's almost always plugged in. Am I slowly killing my ibook?

[KianD]

Originally posted by erniesthings:
I have my ibook g4 set to turn the monitor off after 5 mins. I have it set so bittorrent can be running all the time. It's almost always plugged in. Am I slowly killing my ibook?

No. Unless iBooks are weak hardware wise, that is

I'm typing this on a HP laptop thats been plugged in and turned on for nearly a year now, running Linux. And its monitor stays on or on screensaver all the time.

[erniesthings]

Originally posted by KianD:
No. Unless iBooks are weak hardware wise, that is

I'm typing this on a HP laptop thats been plugged in and turned on for nearly a year now, running Linux. And its monitor stays on or on screensaver all the time.

Thanks.

I was starting to freak out a little after reading this thread. I got the ibook a little over a year ago and I've been running it like this since I got it. Only rebooting or shutting down/sleeping if need.

[macaddict0001]

The greater temperatures will wear the battery down faster, the opposite of putting it in the fridge.

[Mojo]

Condensation occurs when you move something from a very cold environment to a warm one. So anything making such a transition should be kept in a relatively air-tight container until it has warmed up to the ambient temperature.

When my new iBook arrived a few days ago it was very cold from sitting in unheated UPS facilities and trucks. It stayed in the box overnight before I opened it up.

The same goes for film kept in the freezer and camera gear coming inside from a cold day making photos; the camera gear goes into a camping ice chest before I bring it inside.

[sine -''-..-]

Originally posted by erniesthings:
Thanks.

I was starting to freak out a little after reading this thread. I got the ibook a little over a year ago and I've been running it like this since I got it. Only rebooting or shutting down/sleeping if need.

yea sorry didnt mean to scare you, but i remember reading about lcd burn in... but as tooki said its not perminant.