Laptop Battery Tips

When you first bring home your laptop, you may not think that taking care of the included battery is just as important as taking care of the laptop itself. Well, it is.

It is very common for new laptop owners to think that they have a faulty battery, when, in fact, the battery is just fine and only needs conditioning. So, here are some helpful laptop battery tips in order get the most out of your batteries:

1). First of all, below is a list of terms to help you better understand the laptop battery conditioning process:
Condition—The charge/discharge process. This will increase battery runtime and lifetime.
Charge—Overnight charge with AC adaptor plugged into a socket.
Discharge—Fully exhausting your battery's power.
Runtime—The period of time your battery will last.

2). It is more important than you think to take care of you new laptop battery by using a simple charging cycle (cycle = one full charge, one full discharge). A charging cycle will ensure a long lifetime from your battery, and save you some money and frustration in the process.

Before you use your laptop battery, it is highly recommended that you fully cycle and condition it. All new batteries should be fully conditioned for eight to 20 cycles. If not, you will not receive the optimum runtime from your new laptop battery. Laptop batteries typically take eight to ten charges and discharges to reach full capacity. If the batteries do not reach full capacity, expect a lower performance.

3). The LED’s and charge indicator on your laptop will not give you accurate information until the battery is fully conditioned. Follow these instructions:

If your laptop indicates that charging is complete after about 15 minutes, this is normal.
Remove the battery from your laptop and repeat the charging process.
Repeat charging procedure a minimum of eight times within the next few fays.

4). Another type of battery sold are Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) rechargeable batteries. These are typically found in camcorders, power tool, laptop computers, and mobile phones.

5). In the U.K., they are eliminating mercury from their products because of the mercury hazards. However, a small number of batteries that contain mercury are still imported from abroad. If you want to get rid of your batteries for any reason, check with the manufacturer of the laptop batteries to see if they operate a recycling or take-back plan.

Hopefully, you have found these laptop battery tips helpful. You will notice how much better your laptop batteries run after you incorporate this conditioning process.