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| Posted: 30 May 2010 07:50 | ||
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Posts: 690 Join Date: May 2010 |
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Hi everyone,
I think something like was probably posted before, but a refresher on it came up in the 6131 Thread on WA. I was doing a little research on charging li-ion batteries, the kind in our phone. It supports that charging frequently, without going to a dead battery, is the best way to preserve your battery. Going to full discharge, although somewhat protected by the phone electronics, is not what Li-ion batteries like. Some of us have gotten into the habit of charging our phones in the morning, each day, during breakfast or whatever, so we have a full charge during the day. It takes only 2 hours max on the 6131, and most times it is only 1/2-1 hour to top it off. Most people charge at night, or worse, charge it the whole night, which is not a good idea: overcharging will kill a battery. "A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 (full) discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges." Also, the battery's lifetime decay starts the day of manufacture, so buying a 'fresh' battery, but an old one (or keeping it around as a unused spare) is not a great idea. So maybe those cheap OEM-like batteries I sometimes see, are outdated or old. Buyer beware! But one thing I didn't know, regards the battery's charge Icon on the phone. I don't know if it is true for Nokia's but apparently it gets recalibrated only with a full discharge. So the recommendation is to full discharge every 30 cycles (in our case once a month). "Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. " It doesn't mean that the battery has less charge, only that the phone's battery meter thinks so...and this may turn the phone off early. I don't know for certain. So the practice we have is a good one, but every month , let it go down to shut off. Whatever works, or at least beware this may be going on. Reference: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm Wikipedia has also some info and it agrees with what my professional battery co-workers have told me : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-ion_...n_battery_life "A unique drawback of the Li-ion battery is that its life span is dependent upon aging from time of manufacturing (shelf life) regardless of whether it was charged, and not just on the number of charge/discharge cycles. This drawback is not widely publicized" and " Unlike NiCad batteries, lithium-ion batteries should be charged early and often. However, if they are not used for a longer time, they should be brought to a charge level of around 40%. Lithium-ion batteries should never be "deep-cycled" like NiCd batteries" The exception being, the first time you get the Li-ion battery: do 3 full charge/discharges first, to maximize battery life for future partial charges. The daily morning charge is working out well for all of us. I like having a full battery during at start of the day, esp after 9/11...never know when you wish the battery was not half empty. But be careful not to overcharge, unless you know for certain that the charger has turn off protection. The Nokia 6131 manual specifically states not to leave the charger on longer than necessary. _____________________ hotels Timberwolves Tickets |
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