Battery F.A.Q - Laptop Batteries, Camera Batteries, Camcorder Batteries

Batteries Store >> Battery F.A.Q

Battery F.A.Q

New battery pack must be fully charged before use.
New battery pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.
Rechargeable batteries undergo self-discharging when left unused. Always store a battery pack in a fully charged staged for storage.
Fully drain and fully recharged your battery pack every few months.
Turn down the LCD brightness of your portable device.
Use built-in power management on your portable device.
Turn off LCD or other unnecessary accessories when not in used.
Set screen saver blank to 1 to 2 minutes of your notebook
Add more RAM if you have extra RAM expansion slot, it will reduce the usage of hard drive and it is power exhaustive.
Close unused software in your notebook.
Remove unused PC Cards or USB devices from your notebook.
Don't watch DVD or play graphics intensive video games.
Don't short circuit terminal or store your battery pack with metal parts.
Don't drop or mutilate the battery pack.
Don't expose to moisture or water.
It is normal to get warm when charging or normal use. If it is getting too hot, there may be a problem with the device and qualified personnel should check it.
Ink Cartridge F.A.Q. from InkjetGuide.jp

Battery Articles

Battery Related Questions

What is a battery?

Battery, can be any device that stores energy for later use. The word battery is limited to an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy into electricity, by use of a galvanic cell. A galvanic cell is a fairly simple device consisting of two electrodes (an anode and a cathode) and an electrolyte solution. Batteries consist of one or more galvanic cells.

A battery is an electrical storage device. Batteries do not make electricity, they store it. As chemicals in the battery change, electrical energy is stored or released. In rechargeable batteries, this process can be repeated many times.

What is a battery cycle?

Cycle life is measured by the amount of times a battery may be charged and discharged. Every time a battery is charged and discharged, it uses one cycle. Cycle life is very important in battery applications such as laptop batteries and emergency light batteries. A Ni-Cd battery has a cycle life of 500-1000 or more cycles.

How long does battery last?

The life span of a Notebook battery is about 1.5 to 3 years operating under normal conditions. As rechargeable battery begins to die, the user will notice a decline in the running time of the battery.

What is the difference between Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, and Li-ion?

Li-ion (Lithium Ion): This is one of the newest cell types available. It is also the lightest battery type currently available on a commercial basis and can provide more power than the other main cell types. There are no known problems of memory effect with this battery type and it is the easiest battery type to care for. The downside of this battery is that it has the highest engineering costs and therefore the price is usually considerably higher than other cell types.

Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride): This cell type is the most common cell type currently available for laptop computers, (although Li-ion is rapidly becoming the most popular) this battery type is relatively cheap to manufacture and therefore tends to be cheaper than Li-ion. This cell type is prone to 'memory effect' so it is important to take good care of your Ni-MH battery to ensure that you obtain the best runtimes.

Ni-Cd (Nickel Cadmium): This is one of the oldest cell types and is generally only found in older laptops. The main pro for this cell type is its ability to handle higher loads, and therefore is more commonly found in portable power tools or devices that need a lot of power to work efficiently. The main downside of this cell type is that it is notorious for suffering with memory effect so good care must be taken with this battery to ensure most effective use of battery.

What is "Memory Effect"?

Ni-Cd batteries, and to a lesser extent Ni-MH batteries, suffer from what's called the "memory effect". What this means is that if a battery is repeatedly only partially discharged before recharging, the battery "forgets" that it has the capacity to further discharge all the way down. To illustrate: If you, on a regular basis, fully charge your battery and then use only 50% of its capacity before the next recharge, eventually the battery will become unaware of its extra 50% capacity which has remained unused. The battery will remain functional, but only at 50% of its original capacity. The way to avoid the dreaded "memory effect" is to fully cycle (fully charge and then fully discharge) the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Batteries can be discharged by unplugging the device's AC adapter and letting the device run on the battery until it ceases to function. This will ensure your battery remains healthy.

How do I charge my batteries?

Our Ni-MH chargers are fully automatic. Plug your charger into an A/C (or D/C power source for the Powerex MH-C204F-DC) and place your batteries into the charger in matched pairs of two or four batteries to begin charging. Red lights indicate charging in progress. The lights will turn green when charging is complete and the charger will automatically switch to a trickle charge. The trickle charge will keep your batteries fully charged and ready for use. Refer to our Charger Manuals page for more detailed operating instructions for your model charger.

Battery Glossary

Battery: Two or more cells connected together.

Cell: An electrochemical system that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.

Capacity: This is amount of energy a battery cell or battery pack actually provides. The higher the capacity the longer the equipment will run on battery power. Usually measured in Amp hours (Ah) or Milliamp hours (mAh).

Battery Charge: This is the process of passing electricity into the battery pack so the pack can be used to provide power when the user is away from mains power.

Li-ion: Lithium Ion. This is one the newest battery types available. It can offer the same power as a Ni-MH battery in a smaller and lighter package. This type does not suffer from 'Memory Effect' but it is expensive to manufacture.

Ni-Cd: Nickel Cadmium. This is one of the oldest battery technologies that are still in use. Usually found only in older equipment or applications that require a high power drain. Very prone to 'Memory Effect'.

Ni-MH: Nickel Metal Hydride. This battery type has virtually replaced the Ni-Cd batteries. This type offers higher capacities, around 30% more than a Ni-Cd cell of the same physical size. This type is also reported to suffer less from 'Memory Effect'.

Battery Float Voltage: A unit for measuring electrical pressure. All batteries provide DC (Direct Current) electricity. It is important to ensure that the equipment you are powering is being provided with the correct volt or else damage may occur.