Share the Battery-Health love/hate...

Cassady

Cassady

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Hi all,

A year in, and I'm trying to work out if I need to change my habits... Don't think I'm paying enough attention to how I use my battery, as the pic below demonstrates... :confused:

Battery Health - Stats at 9.00.32 PM.png

Any of you feel like popping up some screengrabs of where you're at in the cycles/health of your batteries?
 
Cassady

Cassady

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koffiejunkie said:
Cassady, what app are you using?
Click to expand...

Battery Health - although, CoconutBattery (as used by GreGorGy) is equally as good, apparently - can't remember why the chose the one, and not the other - might have been as simple as Battery Health being FREE! :) [Available on the MAS]
 
GreGorGy

GreGorGy

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I have no idea. Maybe the get healthier after full cycles (run to flat) than after half-cycles.

I read something about battery health a while back that suggested the occasional run flat.
 
Cassady

Cassady

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icyrus said:
5 Months, 15" Macbook Pro Retina.
Click to expand...

Yoh... I'm clearly burning through cycles way too quickly... I keep mine plugged in most of the time when in office, but there are those occasions in the evening, or in the library, when I am not necessarily near to a plug... That's clearly taking it's toll...

Still, each battery is different - but mine seems to be a bit 'soft'... Guess a couple of recalibrations won't hurt - maybe toughen it up a bit... :whistling:
 
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icyrus

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Cassady said:
Yoh... I'm clearly burning through cycles way too quickly... I keep mine plugged in most of the time when in office, but there are those occasions in the evening, or in the library, when I am not necessarily near to a plug... That's clearly taking it's toll...

Still, each battery is different - but mine seems to be a bit 'soft'... Guess a couple of recalibrations won't hurt - maybe toughen it up a bit... :whistling:
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with running the battery down, as long as you don't run it to completely flat too often.

Like I said, for the best longterm health of the battery try keep it between 40% - 70% charged. Don't constantly leave it plugged in at 100% when working on it.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries
 
Cassady

Cassady

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icyrus said:
There is nothing wrong with running the battery down, as long as you don't run it to completely flat too often.

Like I said, for the best longterm health of the battery try keep it between 40% - 70% charged. Don't constantly leave it plugged in at 100% when working on it.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries
Click to expand...

Ja - I hear you... That's what I've been trying to do... I installed Battery Health a few months in, mainly since I noticed my battery was not looking so fresh anymore - had a look through the settings tab. Since then, I've been trying, but clearly I still don't pay enough attention! :)

My understanding is that cycles click over once you've gone through 50% and need to juice it up again - if you keep it there, all fine - but it's the up and down that chings it... I am conscious of keeping the juices flowing, and whereas I don't run it down regularly, it happens about once or twice a week, which is too much I figure.

Bottom line is, batteries don't last forever, and need to be replaced. So, I really shouldn't get my knickers in a knot - but every time I see how ridiculously under-par my stats are, compared to many others - I 'forget' all about that part! :whistling:
 
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noxibox

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I'm getting 96% after 2.5 years, after using 32 cycles. Mine is kept on mains except when I have to work away from power.
 
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fxit_man

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battery.jpg
 
Cassady

Cassady

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Pfftttt..... Incredibly sad reading this, for me at least.... I've obviously been doing things wrong - or maybe I was just blessed with a lazy battery from the get-go!

Going to try a recalibrate today - as per the suggestion of Battery Health (which, incidentally has changed - no longer suggest you run it down completely, but now - get it to 5%, and then plug in again to charge all the way back to max...) Will see if anything changes...

As an aside - Noxibox - yours that's plugged in most of the time - are you happy with battery performance when you run it off the mains? Have read plenty of sites that suggest you need to get the juices running every so often, and should not leave it plugged in for prolonged periods... Your stats seems to contradict all of that?
 
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noxibox

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I think the advice not to keep a laptop plugged in comes from the days when the charger would keep charging the battery even after it was full. That ultimately damaged the battery. It is reminiscent of other outdated advice like running batteries down completely before recharging or charging a battery for at least 16 hours before using it the first time.

If I recall correctly Apple's advice was to run the battery down at regular intervals like once a month, to keep the battery in use and calibrate the meter. I've effectively been doing that by using it on battery when I need to.

Practically I seldom need it to run off the battery so its state of health shouldn't be a concern, but I do what I can to look after it for those occasions when I need it. I have a laptop so I can easily take my machine with me, not so I can run without mains power for long periods.
 
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