Charge a battery for the first time

C

chris0147

Member
Hey guys,

I need your help, i bought a genuine battery for my laptop Toshiba Satellite A500, but it doesn't say much information on the manual so I want to know how long I need to charge up the battery for the first time?

Do I need to put the battery on my laptop and switch on the adapter to charge it up without switch the laptop on?

When I am using the laptop, do you know what is the per cent when the battery get low that I need to charge it up?

Is it ok to charge the battery when the battery goes to near 10% or more when I'm using the laptop?

And do I have to charge the battery 4 times in one day?

I need to be careful as I don't want to damage the laptop battery that wont last to a year if i am not being careful.

Thanks in advance
 
You can charge the battery while using it for the first time. Just charge it up to 100 percent and unplug it. Then when it gets down to about 10 percent charge it again.
 
As long as the laptop is plugged in whether you using it or not the battery is being charged, so you can put in the new battery, connect the power cable and start using it. You should fully charge the battery before you start using the laptop off the battery, your operating system should tell you the percentage charged, which are you using?
 
Shlouski said:
As long as the laptop is plugged in whether you using it or not the battery is being charged, so you can put in the new battery, connect the power cable and start using it. You should fully charge the battery before you start using the laptop off the battery, your operating system should tell you the percentage charged, which are you using?
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Thank you for the advice, when I google it said that i need to charge the battery up to 8 hours as charge for the first time and when it get fully charge, I need to charge another 2 hours before I can start to use it. I am not too sure if it tell me the right information?

Do you know how many hours the battery would last when I use it before recharge it?

Do I have to recharge it 4 times in one day?

Would it help to protect the short circuit that I have recharge it when my battery show as 10 to 15 per cent?

I have had two batteries that don't last up to one year as I didn't charge them up fully for the first time. I used them on my laptop everday as I let the battery goes below 10 per cent and months later on I smelt a smoke from my laptop when I'm using it. I found out that it came from a short circuit when I did not charge the battery fully for the first time before I use it and I let the battery goes below 10 per cent. Is that probably why I smelt the smoke from my laptop?

I'm using Win 7 Home Premium 64bit
 
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Most likely its because you weren't using a genuine oem replacement battery. You don't buy cheap batteries for that reason. If you use your laptop for a good portion of the day then invest in a desktop. Once a battery is chared to 100 percent, its not gonna charge anymore. At that point, unplug it and use the laptop until the battery gets below 10 percent and then charge it back up.
 
As John said, just charge it up fully, disconnect and use up the charge, and then do it again. This will make use of the entire capactiy of the battery and ensure your OS reports an accurate percentage and time left on a charge. Those readings will get more accurate the more you use the battery.
 
I'm sure John will cringe at this, but just leave it plugged in when you're using it. You'll reduce the level of charge cycles on your battery making it last longer. It's also not possible to overcharge it as the charging circuit is regulated and reverts to a trickle charge when near full capacity.

If you must use the battery, recharge whenever possible. Coming back from 50% presents less wear on the unit than coming back from 10% or similar.

The vast majority of batteries have been subjected to a full charge cycle from the factory. Li-ion do not behave the same way as the antiquated NiCd cells where this was more of a prominent issue.
 
beers said:
I'm sure John will cringe at this, but just leave it plugged in when you're using it. You'll reduce the level of charge cycles on your battery making it last longer. It's also not possible to overcharge it as the charging circuit is regulated and reverts to a trickle charge when near full capacity.

If you must use the battery, recharge whenever possible. Coming back from 50% presents less wear on the unit than coming back from 10% or similar.

The vast majority of batteries have been subjected to a full charge cycle from the factory. Li-ion do not behave the same way as the antiquated NiCd cells where this was more of a prominent issue.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest a full charge and drain a time or two so the OS gets a good time estimate. After that I'd leave it plugged in and charging whenever possible for the reasons you mentioned. I always hear conflicting reports about this, but I'm inclined to believe you. :p
 
beers said:
I'm sure John will cringe at this, but just leave it plugged in when you're using it. You'll reduce the level of charge cycles on your battery making it last longer. It's also not possible to overcharge it as the charging circuit is regulated and reverts to a trickle charge when near full capacity.

If you must use the battery, recharge whenever possible. Coming back from 50% presents less wear on the unit than coming back from 10% or similar.

The vast majority of batteries have been subjected to a full charge cycle from the factory. Li-ion do not behave the same way as the antiquated NiCd cells where this was more of a prominent issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice, do I have to charge when the battery show as 50% presents or 10%?
 
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