Battery life darn short?! - Page 4

wedgemoose · #31 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knotbeerdan

I would say let it die then fully charge it. From my experience this seems to make the battery meter more accurate

All the time?? Or just in the beggining.

sp3edd0g · #32 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 02:24 PM

One time should be enough.

knotbeerdan · #33 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 02:34 PM

Yeah just once. We arent supposed supposed to have to do this with the new LI-ion or w/e we have now batteries but i have found it to still be a good idea

johncal · #34 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 05:52 PM

Running a Lithium Ion battery down hurts it plain and simple. They do NOT have memory issues and should be kept as fully charged as possible. I keep mine as fully charged as I can, I have extremely good life from mine and my batteries last a very long time.

wedgemoose · #35 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 05:54 PM

I started doing a little investigating and of course everybody says something different. but i have come to the conclusion (from reading) that they say to do a total drain and full recharge once a month. Supposedly thats only for the battery memory but they still say to do it now and then. I found a few good battery websites. and the people that said to do it once a month looked like they knew what they were talking about. But most do say that it's not bad to charge as much as possible. So i did what you guys said(day one) and now I'm letting it run down to about 40% and recherging. And i always recharge every night. if i can get away with one recharge during the day that would be good. My old battery needed 4 charges a day.

knotbeerdan · #36 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 05:59 PM

I fully charge mine about once every two days. It doesnt get used too much but its hard to guage how often it charges because i plug it into my car charger because i use it for music. Same at work when im at my desk

wedgemoose · #37 (**permalink**) 01-12-2010, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johncal

Running a Lithium Ion battery down hurts it plain and simple. They do NOT have memory issues and should be kept as fully charged as possible. I keep mine as fully charged as I can, I have extremely good life from mine and my batteries last a very long time.

I agree. But thats what I did with my original battery and once it dropped to 30% it was basically over. I'm gonna try and let it at least run down to 50% before I put on the charger(during the day). It already seems 20 times better. I could of had a junk battery from start. My main probelm is bluetooth. ALL DAY! from 8:00am to 6:00pm my headset is in my ear. Every 3 minute phone call drops the battery a few percentage points. After 15 calls the phone is basically drained. But since new battery(so far) charge it once at 1:00pm and i'm good until my bed time charging.

Revampd · #38 (**permalink**) 01-18-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johncal

Running a Lithium Ion battery down hurts it plain and simple. They do NOT have memory issues and should be kept as fully charged as possible. I keep mine as fully charged as I can, I have extremely good life from mine and my batteries last a very long time.

Think I'll jump in on this one. I've done a little research online (as many of you have) and found three items that keep popping up consistently (These three were copy/pasted from a site):

1. Lithium ion chemistry prefers partial discharge to deep discharge, so it's best to avoid taking the battery all the way down to zero. Since lithium-ion chemistry does not have a "memory", you do not harm the battery pack with a partial discharge. If the voltage of a lithium-ion cell drops below a certain level, it's ruined.

2. Lithium-ion batteries age. They only last two to three years, even if they are sitting on a shelf unused. So do not "avoid using" the battery with the thought that the battery pack will last five years. It won't. Also, if you are buying a new battery pack, you want to make sure it really is new. If it has been sitting on a shelf in the store for a year, it won't last very long. Manufacturing dates are important.
(This is one I didn't realize. It makes shopping for a new battery tricky!)

3. Avoid heat, which degrades the batteries.

I treat my battery as Joncal suggests.

Revampd · #39 (**permalink**) 01-18-2010, 02:58 PM

Now for a little story on shelf life...

I had an LG phone before my Imagio (not a smartphone) The battery life was very good when it was new but I had the phone for several years and the battery life was beginning to get pretty crappy so I bought a new one on line. The new battery wasn't any better at holding a charge than the old one and in fact, seemed at times worse. I thought the phone was at fault but I lived with it as I knew I'd be getting a new phone in the not to distant future.

I just pulled the battery out of my old LG and compared the manufacturing date to the date on the original battery (yes, I saved the old one... don't ask me why). The battery I bought on line was OLDER than the one I had originally!

You live and you learn.

cbreze · #40 (**permalink**) 01-18-2010, 03:32 PM

@revampd, Good info and I agree with your findings 100% just based on my own personal use over the years. My pattern is this: I have a charger at work,car,home office, bedside, kitchen. I'm never far from one and plug it in alot(as needed) with overnite charges at the bedside. Occasionally it drops to 10 or 20% before I plug it in. I've never had to replace a lith-ion battery yet. I charge when I feel it needs it to suit my usage needs.(thats anywhere from 10 to 90% I'll plug it in). Thanks for your posts.