Keep laptop plugged in all the time for charging?

[katzdvd]

Is it a good or bad idea keep a laptop plugged in all the time for charging the battery? The charger turns off after the battery is up to full capacity, correct?

[blutach]

I do, but somehow, I think it's a good idea once or twice a month to let the cells fully discharge.

Regards

[katzdvd]

I do, but somehow, I think it's a good idea once or twice a month to let the cells fully discharge.

Yeah, I know the whole thing about battery "memory", so I guess it would make sence to discharge it once in awhile.

[ed klein]

You can not overcharge any unit. The current will stop flowing when the unit is completely charged. Just be sure you apply the rated voltage to the unit while it is charging, so yes leave it pluged in at all times when not in the mobil position.

And yes what Blu has said it true, you need to do deep charge recycle on the unit approximately once a month, which means discharge the unit using it until it is completely discharged and then recharge it back to fully charged.

This will extend the life of the battery.

[katzdvd]

I notice that the charger is quite warm all the time, even when the batt. shows a full charge & the pc has not been used for some time. I am wondering if it will prematurely fail?

[Chewy]

I notice that the charger is quite warm all the time, even when the batt. shows a full charge & the pc has not been used for some time. I am wondering if it will prematurely fail?

That's what I always fear, I have ruined some batteries that way

those automatic circuits don't always work like they should, when the charger and the battery are both getting hot after a full charge is reached and there's no current drain then it's obvious something isn't working right

[toomanycats]

I would never leave a Laptop plugged in all the time. When the battery is full unplug it. You going to inadvertently overcharge it because to check the charge state the charger has to see how much current the battery is drawing so it has to apply some to check it, that is why the charger is warm. There could be a inductive and or capacitance reaction which again involves the battery working with the charger, otherwise there would be no warmth. Blu is right, you really should discharge it to the point that is necessary and then recharge it, though this is not too much of a problem with lithium batteries. Overcharging kills a lot of batteries, and I have never trusted chargers as I believe Chewy is correct when he says they don't always do what they are supposed to do, or as advertised. RFBurns is the one who really knows about this kind of stuff.

[katzdvd]

those automatic circuits don't always work like they should, when the charger and the battery are both getting hot after a full charge is reached and there's no current drain then it's obvious something isn't working right

Agreed; I know from my r/c car/plane/boat days, we used to use "peak" detection chargers that were supposed to sense the batt. condition by resistance, i.e. resistance goes way up when things get hot, that is how they figured the packs were fully charged. But those were for racing batt. pack, which were short lived anyway. One season was about all you could expect out of a racing pack, if you were lucky...

[ed klein]

If your charger is hot or the battery is hot to touch, then your charger unit has applied to much voltage to the battery, past the normal rated voltage of your battery, your charger is defective and should be replaced.

Current draw is determined by how much discharge is on the battery, and the current max rating on the charging unit.

Again, you CAN NOT overcharge any unit if the charger is working properly as long as the correct voltage is applied to the battery. Current flow will stop when the battery is fully charged.

Leaving a properly working battery charger pluged into you computer all the time will help keep the battery fully charged.