Repaste from LaptopBatteryExpress.com: http://www.laptopbatteryexpress.com/Laptop-Battery-Batteries-FAQs-s/11929.htm
How to care for your new laptop battery
ï New replacement laptop batteries from LaptopBatteryExpress.com are shipped in a discharged state and must be fully charged when you receive your new battery. Chargng your new battery overnight is sufficient to give your new battery a full charge. Li-ion batteries will wear out time, providing ever shorter battery run times. You can extend the life of your battery by providing some basic ongoing maintenance. Your new battery should be charged and discharged 3-4 times during the first month. This will properly engage the battery to hold it's maximum energy. After the first month you can maintain the battery energy capacity by discharging and recharging the battery every 3-4 weeks. Do not let the battery run down all the way as this will diminish your battery life over time.
ï A new battery may cause the battery power icon on your computer to indicate you have a low battery condition. We recommend that you let the battery charge overnight in your notebook computer. It may be necessary to remove and replace the battery and restart your computer with the battery installed in order for the computerís start up sequence to properly recognize your new battery.
ï Rechargeable batteries will self discharge when not in use over a period of time.
ï This might seem obvious but donít burn, disassemble, mutilate or short circuit batteries.
Is it normal for a battery to produce heat while it is being used and while charging?
It is normal for notebook batteries to produce heat when they are being charged and also when you are running on battery power. As energy is transfered within your battery cells, heat is a natural byproduct.
Why does my laptop battery lose power over time?
Over time, laptop batteries lose their ability to hold a charge. This is a normal occurrence and is common to all rechargeable laptop batteries. Most notebook batteries today are made with advanced materials that hold their charge much longer than earlier technologies used just a few years ago. Even so, the life of a laptop battery today will be approximately 500 recharges. For most users, 2- 3 years is a typical life expectancy of a laptop battery.
How can I minimize the power my laptop uses?
Your laptop battery life depends on the power capacity of your laptop battery and the amount of energy your computer draws. You can maximize your laptop battery life by changing the amount of power your computer draws while in battery mode. If you are a Windows user, within your Control Panel section you will find ìPower Optionsî. In this section you can change power use and ìlow powerî alerts. Windows Vista users will be able to lower the brightness of the LCD panel and extend the battery life considerably. You can also extend your battery life between charges by minimizing the use of your CD and DVD drive operation.
How to check laptop battery life
You can check your computerís remaining battery life by clicking your battery icon or accessing the ìPower Optionsî section within your computerís control panel. Your laptop battery life depends on the power capacity of your laptop battery and the amount of energy your computer draws.
How long will my laptop battery run?
Average run time is 1 1/2 hours to 3 1/2 hours depending on what applications you are running. Functions that require more power will deplete your laptop battery faster. Viewing a DVD or using your CD player to play and record music are power intensive functions and will consume power at a faster rate. Also different notebooks use more power than others. Most laptops have a power management control panel where power use can be reduced while on battery power, such as reducing the brightness of your LCD screen. External batteries can also be purchased to provided extended power.
What is the difference between NiCad, NiMH and Lithium-ion laptop batteries?
Batteries in laptops, camcorder and cell phones are typically made using one of three battery chemistries: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) or Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery cell chemistry.
NiCad and NiMH:
NiCad (nickel Cadmium) batteries are best known as the battery type that has the ìmemory effectî. In order for these batteries to work efficiently, the battery must be completely discharged before recharging. If you recharge these batteries while there is still power stored in the cells, your battery will ìresetî itself so that it now only holds the amount of power stored from the last recharge. Many electric tooth brushes, power tools and other consumer items still utilize NiCad battery chemistry. If you have devices with NiCad batteries, you will save yourself some aggravation and money by having a fully charged spare battery to insert while you recharge your depleted battery. NiCad batteries are the least expensive to produce, but because of the ìmemory effectî problem, these type of batteries are slowly being phased out with other improved battery materials.
NiMH batteries are less prone to develop this problem and thus require less maintenance and conditioning. In addition, NiMH batteries can store about twice as much energy as NiCad batteries without adding any additional weight. NiMH batteries are also environmentally friendlier than NiCad batteries since they do not contain heavy metals (which present serious landfill problems). Note: Not all devices can accept both NiCad and NiMH batteries.
Lithium Ion:
Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) has become the new standard for portable power in consumer devices and laptop batteries. Li-Ion batteries produce the same energy as NiMH battery but weigh approximately 20%-35% less. This can make a noticeable difference in devices such as cellular phones, camcorders or notebook computers where the battery makes up a significant portion of the total weight. Another reason Li-Ion batteries have become so popular is that they do not suffer from the "memory effect" at all. They are also environmentally friendly because they don't contain toxic materials such as Cadmium or Mercury.
What do the power ratings mean - mAh, Volts, and Watts?
MAh (Milliamperes) represents the amount of stored energy in your battery. 1000 Milliamperes = 1 Ampere. The more mAh capacity - the longer your battery will last. Several batteries from LaptopBatteryExpress.com have higher mAh ratings than your original battery brand. This does not mean that the battery is not the correct replacement, but rather it is a longer lasting battery. Voltage in a battery refers to the ìvolumeî of electricity that is delivered to your computer. The amount of energy that comes from your wall outlet is far in excess of what you need to operate the tiny circuits of a computer. Hence your power adapter contains a ìbrickî or bar like box that decreases the energy to a much lower voltage rating. Each computer manufacturer designs their computers for the appropriate voltage requirement. Your battery pack will then be engineered to match the voltage of the power AC adapter. Laptop battery packs are composed of several battery cells that are wired together in series. By combining the cells in this fashion, higher ìvolumesî of energy can be delivered to your laptop computer. For laptop computers, each battery cell has a voltage rating of 3.6 ñ 3.7 volts. (3.6V & 3.7V are used interchangeably and refer to the same amount of voltage.)
Cells Voltage/Cell Formula Nominal Voltage
1 cell 3.6V or 3.7V 1 cell x 3.6 or 3.7V 3.6V or 3.7V
2 cells 3.6V or 3.7V 2 cells x 3.6V or 3.7V 7.2V or 7.4V
3 cells 3.6V or 3.7V 3 cells x 3.6V or 3.7V 10.8V or 11.1V
4 cells 3.6V or 3.7V 4 cells x 3.6V or 3.7V 14.4V or 14.8V
Watts measure the amount of energy a device uses. This is a rating that will be found on your monitor and laptop PC, - not your battery.
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