Battery Life

[Mano]

We have 25 acer laptops that last only 20 mins at best nowadays. We've put an order in for replacement batteries but I was wondering how other schools cope. How do you keep the batteries in top condition as they are on and off the charge most days.

The advice is too let the battery go completly flat and then recharge but thats impossible in a school environment.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Regards

Tony Mancini

[DMcCoy]

As far as I know, lithium ion batteries degrade whether or not use use them. So they will always wear out.

[Geoff]

The advice is too let the battery go completly flat and then recharge

This advice is only relevant for NiCad batteries. If you attempt to do this with a Li Ion battery you will damage it and reduce its capacity. The electronics in the laptop will usually not let you discharge it that far though.

Only problem I've had is batteries burning out on laptops that have been plugged into the mains all the time.

[Mano]

cheers for your replies everyone. Im gonna get some timer switches to only allow four or so hours to charge in a eve then switch them off.