Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

What is proper way to store battery?

Performance, hardware, software, general buying and gaming discussion..
Post Reply
Message
Author
robert213
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 479
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 11:17 am
Location: IN: Indianapolis

What is proper way to store battery?

#1 Post by robert213 » Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:05 am

I recently purchased two batteries (one brand-new) for my T30.

I charged one up to 2% (and left the other at 0%) and placed in my kitchen refridgerator.

Should I store them fully charged?
Should I store them fully discharged?
TuuS-built T61: T8100 2.1 GHz, SXGA+, NVS140M, Patriot 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800, Samsung 840 Pro; Thinkpad T30: P4M 1.8 GHz, HYNIX 512 MB PC2700S DDR, Hitachi Travelstar 7K100; SilverStone Raven RVS01; 97 Volvo 850-R, 85 Mitsubishi Starion-ES, Keilwerth SX-90R, Ensoniq TS-12, Kawai EP-608

sarbin
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1146
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 11:56 pm
Location: Central VA

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#2 Post by sarbin » Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:35 am

most places i've read suggest 40% charge for long-term storage.
Current: X1CT-G3 / Helix-G1 / X220 / T61p / T60p / X301 / X200T / Yoga 3 Pro
Support: T520 / T510 / T420 / T400 / R400 / T61 / Yoga 2 Pro / Yoga 13
Hall of Fame: A31p --- Retired: T43 / T30 / T22 / 600X / 380XD

Majestic
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:00 pm
Location: N.E. Wisconsin, USA

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#3 Post by Majestic » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:11 pm

sarbin wrote:most places i've read suggest 40% charge for long-term storage.
Ditto, I've read the same. Apparently Lith-Ion batteries will chemically degrade if they are stored for an extended period of time at a 100% charge. I usually parked mine with a 40 to 50% charge on them.
My Laptop Collection:
IdeaPad Z570, 8gb RAM & Win 7 Home Premium / Win 8.1 Pro
Toshiba A75-S206, 1.5gb RAM & Windows 7 Home Premium
ThinkPad T-22 (Formerly a T-20), 512mb RAM & Win XP Pro

pianowizard
Senior ThinkPadder
Senior ThinkPadder
Posts: 8545
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 5:07 am
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Contact:

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#4 Post by pianowizard » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:15 pm

Majestic wrote:Apparently Lith-Ion batteries will chemically degrade if they are stored for an extended period of time at a 100% charge.
But after being removed from the laptop, the battery won't remain at 100% for a long time anyway.
Dell Latitude 7370 (QHD+, 2.84lb); HP Pavilion x2 12-b096ms (1920x1280, 3.14lb); Microsoft Surface 3 (1920x1280, 2.00lb);
Dell OptiPlex 5040 SFF (Core i5-6600); Acer ET322QK, T272HUL; Crossover 404K; QNIX QHD2410R; Seiki Pro SM40UNP

robert213
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 479
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 11:17 am
Location: IN: Indianapolis

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#5 Post by robert213 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:07 pm

sarbin wrote:most places i've read suggest 40% charge for long-term storage.
Majestic wrote: Ditto, I've read the same. Apparently Lith-Ion batteries will chemically degrade if they are stored for an extended period of time at a 100% charge. I usually parked mine with a 40 to 50% charge on them.
Thanks for everyone's replies. I will give them a charge up to 40-50% and hide them in my refridgerator.
TuuS-built T61: T8100 2.1 GHz, SXGA+, NVS140M, Patriot 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800, Samsung 840 Pro; Thinkpad T30: P4M 1.8 GHz, HYNIX 512 MB PC2700S DDR, Hitachi Travelstar 7K100; SilverStone Raven RVS01; 97 Volvo 850-R, 85 Mitsubishi Starion-ES, Keilwerth SX-90R, Ensoniq TS-12, Kawai EP-608

sarbin
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1146
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 11:56 pm
Location: Central VA

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#6 Post by sarbin » Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:40 pm

you're welcome.
i'd also suggest bagging them in a zip-lock for storage and when ready to use, let them come fully to room temp before unbagging so no condensation forms in/on them.
Current: X1CT-G3 / Helix-G1 / X220 / T61p / T60p / X301 / X200T / Yoga 3 Pro
Support: T520 / T510 / T420 / T400 / R400 / T61 / Yoga 2 Pro / Yoga 13
Hall of Fame: A31p --- Retired: T43 / T30 / T22 / 600X / 380XD

bill bolton
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 3848
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:09 am
Location: Sydney, Australia - Best Address on Earth!

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#7 Post by bill bolton » Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:43 pm

Majestic wrote:Apparently Lith-Ion batteries will chemically degrade if they are stored for an extended period of time at a 100% charge.
The correct statement is Lith-Ion batteries will chemically degrade if they are stored for an extended period of time :!:

The level of charge doesn't make that much difference in practice as far as I've ever been able to tell, but some sources indicate that ~40% is probably the best practice charge level for storage.

Cheers,

Bill B.

Unknown_K
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 511
Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:37 pm
Location: Youngstown, OH

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#8 Post by Unknown_K » Sat Mar 26, 2011 2:31 pm

I got in some new sealed A30 batteries (one is charging now) and there was this note in the box:

"Attention

The Li-Ion battery should be recharged at least one time a year to prevent prolonged exposure to zero charge which may cause a memory or no charge condition. It is recommended to charge battery at least 80% of full charge when planning to store battery for extended time."

A few months back I purchased some new old stock Thinkpad 600 series batteries (in the box) and one charged up just fine while the other seems completely dead. So maybe a few too many years of 0 charge is not a good thing? PS is there a utility for 600 series thinkpads that shows battery information like the newer T20 and above machines?

The A30 batteries are Sanyo 2002 manufacture with 0 cycles.
Collection: 310ED, 350C, 360C, 365C, 365XD, 380D, 380XD, 380Z, 390E, 390X, 560X, 600, 600E, 701C, 750CS, 755C, 755CD, 760C, 760CD, 760ED, 760EL, 760XD, 760XL, 765L, 765D, 770, 770E, 770Z, T21, T22, T23, T30, A20P, A21P, A22M, A30, A31, A31P, T40, T42, T43P, T60, T61, R32, R40, R52, T400, T500, W510

Brian10161
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 314
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:53 pm
Location: Canada

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#9 Post by Brian10161 » Sat Mar 26, 2011 6:12 pm

With the 600 series, are they lithium ion or nickel metal hydride? If nickel hydride, I find they tend to die over time faster than LiIon. Could explain why one seems dead.
Thinkpad E14 : R7-5700U : 16GB : 1tb

Unknown_K
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 511
Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:37 pm
Location: Youngstown, OH

Re: What is proper way to store battery?

#10 Post by Unknown_K » Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:11 am

They are Litium, the last time I seen one that wasn't lithium was in a Thinkpad 750 series.
Collection: 310ED, 350C, 360C, 365C, 365XD, 380D, 380XD, 380Z, 390E, 390X, 560X, 600, 600E, 701C, 750CS, 755C, 755CD, 760C, 760CD, 760ED, 760EL, 760XD, 760XL, 765L, 765D, 770, 770E, 770Z, T21, T22, T23, T30, A20P, A21P, A22M, A30, A31, A31P, T40, T42, T43P, T60, T61, R32, R40, R52, T400, T500, W510

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Thinkpad - General HARDWARE/SOFTWARE questions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 55 guests