Thread: Treating a new Battery Better
View Single Post
GeneralAntilles's Avatar
GeneralAntilles is offline GeneralAntilles
2008-12-13 , 11:26
Posts: 5,478 | Thanked: 5,222 times | Joined on Jan 2006 @ St. Petersburg, FL
#2
Originally Posted by onion_cfe View Post
I want to treat this one better. Can anyone clarify these few points for me?
Probably worthwhile reading, perhaps you could add anything you think is relevant after you've learned more in this thread. https://wiki.maemo.org/Batteries

Originally Posted by onion_cfe View Post
- Consensus seems to be the lower you let these batteries get the more they'll degrade. People suggest topping up at every opportunity. Is there any down side to plugging it in whenever I can?
The charging circuitry wont let it get down low enough to damage itself, but keeping it on the charger whenever it's convenient reduces the impact on the battery. The downside is that you'll be spending more time plugging it in.

Originally Posted by onion_cfe View Post
- Is a generic car charger doing the same/as good a job as the wall charger. Does it make sense that in the past a long car charge hasn't seemed to give as long to the next charge?
No, it's not. A Nokia car charger puts out about 370mA, the wall charger puts out 890mA. Neither of them can completely power the tablet when it's under maximum load.

Originally Posted by onion_cfe View Post
Can an inferior charger degrade the battery?
Well, basically, yes, but usually that "yes" is followed shortly after by a smoking tablet. As long as the charger puts out juice at the right voltage, there's really no issue. Undervoltage isn't really an issue either, the tablet will simply refuse to charge and that'll be that ("Not charging" is the banner you'll see). Overvoltage would be the issue to watch out for, as that's what'll kill your tablet.

But more directly to your question, no, if you've got a bad charger, you'll know fairly quickly. You wont really see any slow, long-term damage.

Originally Posted by onion_cfe View Post
Is topping up with this better than letting the battery get low?
Basically, yes. It's nice to always have a full or almost-full battery anyway.
__________________
Ryan Abel