Leave Battery Powered Devices Plugged in and Charging or Let Them Run Empty

Azrael169 on 20/04/2018 - 23:58

Google has given me mixed results so i'm crowd-sourcing in case someone here is a genius and has the answer already.

Ive got several devices that I use extremely intermittently for example my iPad and my computer gaming notebook (only use it when travelling). In-between uses is it better to leave the devices plugged in and charging in the background? Or unplug them and potentially allowing them to discharge there full charge to empty before having to recharge them prior to using next time.

I guess another extension of it would be rechargeable batteries (AA or AAA), leave them in the charger till i need them or charge them and unplug them.

Poll Options

  • 19
    Leave them plugged in
  • 15
    Unplug them
Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • airal3rt on 21/04/2018 - 00:04
    -6

    So I'm clueless as to what in f*&k's name you googled if you didn't stumble upon the realization that this answer hinges upon the kind of battery in question…

    Lithium-Ion - don't leave it plugged in 24/7, unplug once it's fully charged.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/04/2018 - 00:37

    leave plugged in.
    never let them get to under 15-20%

  • scupper on 21/04/2018 - 00:52

    Shut them down at half-charge.

  • theHMASfriendship on 21/04/2018 - 00:57
    +1

    Yes.

    • shaybisc on 21/04/2018 - 07:46
      +2

      Hmm, 50% to 70% CSIRO says. I've been working on advice from here and it says 40%

      "Lithium-ion must be stored in a charged state, ideally at 40 percent. This prevents the battery from dropping below 2.50V/cell, triggering sleep mode."

      http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batt…

      There are loads of graphs, charts etc on the site which only made my eyes glaze over.

      • retiredfeline on 21/04/2018 - 10:47

        I think the exact percentage isn't critical just in the middle and not let it drain empty or overcharge it. If there is a choice between risking it running empty or leaving it plugged in, opt for the latter as the control circuit will shut off when it's full.

      • D C on 21/04/2018 - 14:07

        50% is the charge level if you're not planning on using them for a while (months), hence 'storage charge'.

        Some batteries monitor their usage and if they haven't been used for a while discharge themselves down to 50%, putting themselves into 'storage' mode.

        The '80% charge' refers to voltage, not capacity. 'Fully charged' is 4.2v while 'flat' may be 3.2v, so an 80% charge stops when the cell voltage hits 4v. From what I've seen battery voltage drops quickly from 4.2v anyway so there's probably no great loss of capacity there. It also takes forever for batteries to reach 4.2v as the charge current drops to a very low level.

  • FoxJump on 21/04/2018 - 09:27

    Being a true oz-bargainer.
    I keep my Xiamoi vaccum cleaner stored around half charge. I charge it up a bit to 70% before use and then leave it wherever it finished.
    I also keep my phone charged between 20 and 60%
    and my laptop has 'eco mode' which keeps the battery charged at most 80%. Even though I plug my laptop in most of the time, it never charges past 80%.

  • trongy on 21/04/2018 - 09:51
    +1
    1. You don't want to let them fully discharge.
    2. They shouldn't fully discharge in under six months if they are fully powered off
    3. Leaving them plugged in all the time is not as bad as fully discharging, but still not advisable
    4. The solution is to charge them just before you travel and to set a periodic reminder in your calendar to check them

    Source: I have a 10 year old Nokia phone which I keep for emergencies. I check and charge every six months.
    I also have a notebook computer which I rarely use. I try to fire it up at least every three months, because I don't wan't to be hit with a huge amount of windows updates at an inconvenient time. It gets a charge at the same time.

  • Randxyz123 on 21/04/2018 - 12:20
    -1

    It’s fine to leave them plugged in. Any modern device won’t over charge

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