Can leaving a laptop plugged in hurt it?

buddy92 · 15-04-2012, 10:03 PM

Hey guys.

I recently purchased a $1500 gaming laptop, Mainly for iRacing.

Can leave it plugged into the charger hurt it ( battery? ) at all?

When it is plugged in and hits 100% it starts discharging even though it's plugged in, so I usually un-plug it then use it, then plug it back in again.

Can leaving it plugged in hurt it?

REDDYZ · 15-04-2012, 10:09 PM

It depends what kind of battery and charger it has. Latest batteries don't suffer from memory loss and chargers cut off power partially once battery is full. Regardless of these it does effect the battery life. I would take battery out and plug it in directly. Occasionally, hook up battery drain it full and recharge to 100%.

MNM96 · 15-04-2012, 10:10 PM

it will render the battery useless.

buddy92 · 15-04-2012, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNM96

it will render the battery useless.

Not good, but kind of what I expected.

Quote:

Originally Posted by REDDYZ

It depends what kind of battery and charger it has. Latest batteries don't suffer from memory loss and chargers cut off power partially once battery is full. Regardless of these it does effect the battery life. I would take battery out and plug it in directly. Occasionally, hook up battery drain it full and recharge to 100%.

Ok, so it's charging now, nearly at 100% then I just take it out and leave it. When I take away my laptop somewhere, just put the battery back in and run it flat?

BPXR6T · 15-04-2012, 10:21 PM

My work laptop is powered up and plugged in for 12-18hrs a day. Often 24hrs a day. No harm done. I work in a team of a dozen or so consultants and we all have various vintage laptops. Apple, HP, Dell, etc... No issues at all.

REDDYZ · 15-04-2012, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buddy92

Not good, but kind of what I expected.

Ok, so it's charging now, nearly at 100% then I just take it out and leave it. When I take away my laptop somewhere, just put the battery back in and run it flat?

The idea is to preserve battery and get most out of it. So, once in a while its a good idea to discharge it and recharge it full. You don't have to do this every time you take your laptop out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

My work laptop is powered up and plugged in for 12-18hrs a day. Often 24hrs a day. No harm done. I work in a team of a dozen or so consultants and we all have various vintage laptops. Apple, HP, Dell, etc... No issues at all.

Battery maintenance is always a debate topic. Treat batteries that way you treat your mobile battery and am sure everyone uses mobile and most are aware of battery issues. If you check the battery backup you will notice the difference. Am sure backup won't last as it normally should.

nstg8a · 15-04-2012, 10:38 PM

mines plugged in 24/7...

laptop is about 3 years old,and the battery has been a dead weight for about the last 12 months. lasts about 15 minutes on a full charge.

MWTB · 15-04-2012, 10:40 PM

My laptop is always on, literally always, and is always plugged in to the wall. My battery, according to Windows, needs replacing. I''m not sure whether that is because it is constantly plugged in or not but eh, I don't mind since its always plugged in so I don't really need the battery! But just keep in mind that it very well could be because it was constantly kept at 100% charge.

When I take it off, it might last an hour tops. Sometimes a little more.

b2tf · 15-04-2012, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nstg8a

mines plugged in 24/7...

laptop is about 3 years old,and the battery has been a dead weight for about the last 12 months. lasts about 15 minutes on a full charge.

Same here. I get maybe an hour or so out of the battery. But my laptop is also my media center for the lounge room so it's always there.

TheInterceptor · 16-04-2012, 12:56 AM

From new mine's battery had 3hrs or so of life after being unplugged...kept it plugged in 24/7 for a while now...gets about 30mins of use unplugged max, windows keeps telling me to replace my battery.

Didnt know it was from keeping it plugged in, cool!

Kieron · 16-04-2012, 01:27 AM

Laptops nowadays use Lithium Ion batteries, they don't have memories like older batteries and the old trick of flattening then full charging them periodically doesn't apply.

Also laptops will stop charging the batteries when they reach full charge, so leaving them plugged in isn't going to kill them. Actually, just did a google and found this article -
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a...ased_batteries

Personally, I leave my laptop plugged in 100% of the time unless using it while on the go of course and it's turned on about 14 hours a day and quite often 24 hours/day. It's now over 4 years old and still holds more than enough power to watch a full length movie.

sneaky · 16-04-2012, 06:00 AM

dr karl suggests letting the battery run flat once a fortnight or at least once a month.

i usually try to let mine run flat every few weeks when i think of it

**DJM83** · 16-04-2012, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nstg8a

mines plugged in 24/7...

laptop is about 3 years old,and the battery has been a dead weight for about the last 12 months. lasts about 15 minutes on a full charge.

Mines the same but lasts about 1hr on full charge. Laptop is 18mths old and has been back once to have the cooling replaced in it. Hot tip always use your laptop on a solid surface where it can cool properly mine got that hot i couldnt use the mouse pad and it burnt my legs.

sneaky · 16-04-2012, 10:15 AM

^^^ so you don't recommend having it sitting on a nice fluffy blanket on your lap

MWTB · 16-04-2012, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneaky

^^^ so you don't recommend having it sitting on a nice fluffy blanket on your lap

I run my laptop on my bed all the time and it gets extremely hot. I also clean the air filter out once a month and its always chock full of black (my sheet colour) lint

**DJM83** · 16-04-2012, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneaky

^^^ so you don't recommend having it sitting on a nice fluffy blanket on your lap

Yep but with mine its under warranty so i wasnt too bothered that said i try to use it on flat surfaces now. Ive also got windows telling me my battery is stuffed now too.

sneaky · 16-04-2012, 01:04 PM

just remembered my extended warranty, might ask for a new battery before the warranty runs out

graham_h · 16-04-2012, 02:06 PM

if its always plugged in just remove the battery all together.
For anyone saying that 24/7 plugged in with battery doesn't ruin the battery you are dead wrong

Kieron · 16-04-2012, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by graham_h

if its always plugged in just remove the battery all together.
For anyone saying that 24/7 plugged in with battery doesn't ruin the battery you are dead wrong

Why is that the case Graham?
If the laptop turns charging off to the battery when it's 100%, then it's only going to auto top it up every now and again.

Also, proof is in the pudding, mines left plugged in 24/7 and turned on during waking hours, couple of years old and still holds decent charge.

I'm in IT and have purchased 100's of laptops over the years, the vast majority of these are plugged in 24/7 and at the end of their 3 year leases, still have adequate charge. In fact we have some Dell's that must be 6 years old that still hold decent charge.

graham_h · 16-04-2012, 03:14 PM

Proof is in the pudding based on the amount we supplied through a relatively small computer store (less than 15 employees)
We used to sell over 50 dell batteries a week. Most customers said they'd just got 12 months out of them.
http://osirisdevelopment.com/BatteryBar/
I've been using Battery bar pro for some years now. It clearly shows battery wear.

A good bit of reading here > http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a..._ion_batteries

At the end of the day no one really cares, but if you do, it just makes sense to remove the battery if it's plugged into the mains

KITBAG · 16-04-2012, 03:30 PM

I have a Toshiba satellite pro 17" laptop. (2 years old)
It is plugged in to the mains for 9-10 hours every day.
When on battery power it last for 2-3 hours.

prasac · 16-04-2012, 03:38 PM

same with a couple of the guys above, i use laptop's for everything, sometimes they are on for days at a time when downloading. have seen no ill-effects, have been doing it since 2002. i change my main laptop yearly but i have some i use still on a daily basis that are 2-3 years old and they run like a dream.

i have a BenQ Joybook that is like 7+ years old i only retired it last year, it would stay on weeks at a time, still works and is on the same battery as it was bought with. had about 3.5 hours battery life new, last time i checked similar usage would only get 2.75-3 hours.

DJL351 · 16-04-2012, 04:02 PM

LOL Lets talk apples and apples here folks.

1) Anything older that 2/3 years will be using older hardware and use/drain power differently.

2) Lithium batteries are still not 'common' on base model 'new' laptops.

3) Batteries are sold in different cell sizes/configs. By rights, a standard 4cell will not last as long as a top end 9cell unit.

4) When comparing or trying to shoot down someone else - at least quote the system laptop you are using.

I can tell you that my ASUS i5 with dedicated 2GB graphics card will not last 2 hours on battery only, watching a movie on full settings. However, if I switch it down, it will crank for well over 2 hours.
I can also tell when the misses has been sitting in front of the TV with it plugged in for a while; because the next couple of times I use it the battery life is sub par.

A friend has a really top end Alienware with two SSDs in Raid, crossfired graphics, fancy led coloured keyboard. - If he gets over an hour gaming without a recharge... he jumps with joy.

Personal opinion. Like Mobiles and Tablets, doing a full cycle on the battery a couple of times a month will not 'hurt' and has seen a longer/better usable life span from my batteries/devices. (IMO)

Kieron · 16-04-2012, 06:03 PM

Sure DJT351, my laptop is a Dell XPS M1210, release early 2007. The other ones I specifically mentioned are Dell Inspiron 1150's (low end), release in 2004. Both models have Li Ion batteries.

I believe virtually all current laptops have Li Ion, batteries nowadays. My guy here who purchases equipment agreed with me, he previously worked for a large computer dealer and is a computer geek extraordinaire

Interesting that you say you sold 50 Dell batteries/week Graham. I've been a Dell customer for approx. 10 years, buying 100's of laptops, we lease them all for 3 years with 3 year warranties(this is common practice in mid to large companies) and if they are still needed and are useful (battery must be good) we purchase them.

nstg8a · 16-04-2012, 06:18 PM

mines a three year old compaq presario, povo pack and its got a li-ion battery.

Yellow_Festiva · 16-04-2012, 06:26 PM

From what I have seen,leaving the battery in will shorten its life compared to one that is used as a power source on the go.

My ASUS from 2005 has been retired 3 years ago. In that time I had only used 2 standard factory batteries, one a standard one, the other a long life one. The first year they were used on the go for most of the time, and they were charged and dis-charged on a regular basis to try and keep then in good shape. I think it worked as they still held a decent charge after 4 years.

My sister on the other hand never removed her battery, and never unplugged the charger. Her laptop battery was shagged in around 15 months. I think it's a Toshiba.

If I know a laptop will be sitting around all day every day plugged in and being used in the same style as a desktop machine I will recommend that the battery is totally removed. Charge it and use it unplugged avery few weeks to keep it conditioned. I think this will get the most out of a battery.