How frequently should I discharge my 45Wh Li-polymer laptop battery?

**EngineerStrange** · January 19th, 2021

How frequently should I discharge my 45Wh Li-polymer laptop battery? It lasts for almost 6-8 hours on heavy use.

**TheFu** · January 19th, 2021

The answer would greatly depend on the exact laptop.

I don't ever fully discharge **any** of my Li-Ion batteries. After about 4 yrs of use, a new battery is needed almost always, usually for about $40 or less. Fretting about a $40 part isn't something I do.

Code:

$ acpi -i
Battery 0: Not charging, 98%
Battery 0: design capacity 3652 mAh, last full capacity 3273 mAh = 89%

This is a laptop from 2018, perhaps 2017? I bought it used about 3 yrs ago.

**1fallen** · January 20th, 2021

Originally Posted by TheFu

The answer would greatly depend on the exact laptop.

I don't ever fully discharge **any** of my Li-Ion batteries. After about 4 yrs of use, a new battery is needed almost always, usually for about $40 or less. Fretting about a $40 part isn't something I do.

+1
Sorry i had to give props, but this one I've run for 2 days with no charge, I'm impressed.

Code:

Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 50.3 Wh condition: 52.0/51.0 Wh (102%) volts: 17.2/15.4 
  model: LGC 5B10W13930 type: Li-poly serial: 2159 status: Unknown cycles: 6

It's charging now.

**EngineerStrange** · January 20th, 2021

Mine is Li-Polymer

**QIII** · January 20th, 2021

Was this battery included with the device from the OEM?

Have you read the OEM's user manual? That would be the best thing. Batteries and charging protocols are usually built into the machine's firmware these days, leaving users free from having to worry about such things. The batteries are often "broken in" by OEMs prior to being installed. If not, there should be some instructions in the manual.

I believe that LiPo batteries have a "low-voltage" cut off and never fully discharge anyway. There are internal controls that stop the battery from discharging further -- that is to stop them providing any current -- beyond a certain point.

**zebra2** · January 24th, 2021

I'm using lithium batteries of various descriptions working all over my property. They are electronic batteries that upon being overloaded or reach a discharge point will switch off completely. Use it up and buy a new one. That being said most of my devices wear out before the lithium battery fails. I have useless batteries and chargers all over the place.

As a side note the International Space Station is currently replacing all of it's batteries with lithium ion batteries. The lithium technology is advancing so fast that it would be unusual to replace a laptop battery with the same technology battery that was removed.