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What Are The Different Types
of Rechargeable Battery Chemistries/Technologies? |
Batteries in portable
consumer devices (laptops and notebooks,
camcorders, cellular
phones, etc.) are principally made using either Nickel Cadmium
(NiCad), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) or Lithium Ion (Li-Ion)
technologies. Each type of rechargeable battery technology has its
own unique characteristics:
The main difference
between the two is the fact that NiMH
batteries (the newer of the
two technologies) offer higher energy densities than NiCads. In
other words, pound for pound, NiMH delivers approximately twice the
capacity of its NiCad counterpart. What this translates into is
increased run-time from the battery with no additional bulk to weigh
down your portable device. NiMH also offers another major advantage:
NiCad batteries tend to suffer from what is called the "memory
effect". NiMH
batteries are less prone to develop this dreaded
affliction and thus require less maintenance and care. NiMH
batteries are also more environmentally friendly than their NiCad
counterparts since they do not contain heavy metals (which present
serious landfill problems).
Li-Ion has quickly
become the emerging standard for portable power in consumer devices.
Li-Ion batteries produce the same energy as NiMH batteries but weigh
approximately 35% less. This is crucial in applications such as
camcorders or notebook computers where the battery makes up a
significant portion of the device's 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.
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What is the "Memory Effect"? |
NiCad batteries, and
to a lesser extent NiMH 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 insure your battery remains healthy.
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Is it Possible to Upgrade the
Device's Battery to a Newer Chemistry? |
NiCad, NiMH and Li-Ion
are all fundamentally different from one another and cannot be
substituted unless the device has been pre-configured from the
factory to accept more than one type of rechargeable battery
technology. The difference between them stems from the fact that
each type requires a different charging pattern to be properly
recharged. Therefore, the portable device's internal charger must be
properly configured to handle a given type of rechargeable battery.
Refer to the owners
manual to find out which rechargeable battery types the particular
device supports or use our QuickFind search engine to find the
device in our database. It will automatically list all of the
battery types supported by the machine.
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The New Battery Isn't
Charging. What's the Deal? |
New
batteries are
shipped in a discharged condition and must be charged before use. We
generally recommend an overnight charge (approximately twelve
hours). Refer to the user's manual for charging instructions.
Rechargeable batteries should be cycled - fully charged and then
fully discharged - two to four times initially to allow them to
reach their full capacity. (Note: it is normal for a battery to
become warm to the touch during charging and discharging).
New batteries are hard
for the device to charge; they have never been fully charged and are
therefore "unformed". Sometimes the device's charger will stop
charging a new battery before it is fully charged. If this happens,
remove the battery from the device and then reinsert it. The charge
cycle should begin again. This may happen several times during the
first battery charge. Don't worry; it's perfectly normal.
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How Can I Maximize Battery
Performance? |
There are several
steps you can take to insure that you get maximum performance from
the battery:
New
batteries come in
a discharged condition and must be fully charged before use. It is
recommended that you fully charge and discharge the new battery two
to four times to allow it to reach its maximum rated capacity.
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Prevent the Memory Effect |
Keep the battery
healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least
once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion
batteries which do not suffer from the memory effect.
It's a good idea to
clean dirty battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. This
helps maintain a good connection between the battery and the
portable device.
Do not leave the
battery dormant for long periods of time. We recommend using the
battery at least once every two to three weeks. If a battery has not
been used for a long period of time, perform the new battery break
in procedure described above.
If you don't plan on
using the battery for a month or more, we recommend storing it in a
clean, dry, cool place away from heat and metal objects. NiCad, NiMH
and Li-Ion batteries will self-discharge during storage; remember to
break them in before use. Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries must be
kept at full charge during storage. This is usually achieved by
using special trickle chargers. If you do not have a trickle
charger, do not attempt to store SLA
batteries for more than three
months.
To get maximum
performance from the battery, fully optimize the notebooks power
management features prior to use. Power management is a trade off:
better power conservation in exchange for lesser computer
performance. The power management system conserves battery power by
setting the processor to run at a slower speed, dimming the screen,
spinning down the hard drive when it's not in use and causing the
machine to go into sleep mode when inactive. The notebook users
guide will provide information relating to specific power management
features.
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How Are Batteries Rated?
(What Are Volts and Amps?) |
There are two ratings
on every battery: volts and amp-hours (Ah). The Ah rating may also
be given as milliamp-hours (mAh), which are one-thousandth of an
amp-hour (for example, a 1Ah battery is 1000mAh). Amp-hours are a
rating of the amount of energy that a battery can store. Another way
of looking at it is to say that the higher a battery's amp-hour
rating is, the longer the battery's run-time will be. Some of our
batteries will have higher amp-hour ratings than the original
battery found in your device and will not cause any
incompatibilities. However, the voltage of the new battery should
always match the voltage of your original.
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How Long Do Batteries Last
(What is the Life Span of the New
Battery)? |
The life of a
rechargeable battery operating under normal conditions is generally
between 500 to 800 charge-discharge cycles. This translates into one
and a half to three years of battery life for the average user. As
the rechargeable battery begins to die, the user will notice a
decline in the running time of the battery. When a battery that
originally operated the notebook for two hours is only supplying the
user with an hour's worth of use, it's time for a new one. |
