Inspiron 8600 - Using without battery in place

Question

I purchased an Inspiron 8600 back in January 2004 to use mainly as a desktop replacement. I leave the computer turned on 24/7 connected to it's docking station which is plugged into the wall outlet using the A/C current. Someone told me that by leaving it plugged in constantly, I will eventually damage the battery because it is being charged constantly.

So....I removed the battery, and re-docked it, and it runs fine. My question now is,

Is it OK to run the computer without the battery in place?

Thank you in advance.

godim · Answer

No problem,

the only dissadvantage is that you will not be protected gainst power interuptions in the electricity network .

In my old inspiron 8100 I never removed the batteries. I also work mainly on AC power but 3 time a week I used it in the train to university. Batteries are now 3 years old and still working perfectly. Their total operation time went from 6 to 3 hours, but this is still very good for batteries this old and used .

mattcowger · Answer

It will run fine, with the caveats the above poster stated. However, whoever told you the batteries would be damanged is just plain wrong. This was the case back in the day of NiCd and NiMH batteries, but is no longer true of Lithium Ion batteries.

Leaving them in will have no effect on their life.

viper11885 · Answer

The only issue that I have with removing the battery is that the laptop sits on a flat surface in an unstable manner since there is one rubber tab on the battery for the bottom right side. I think this is a really bad design, it should have been placed directly on the base of the laptop.

So if you are typing, the right side might feel a bit unstable becauset here is nothing under there to support the right side. To get around this, I used a small rubber washer to place under the right side so it works out really well.

albaris · Answer

To all who responded,

Thanks for your input. Your knowledge is appreciated.

Viper....I am hooked to a docking station, and along with that I use a regular keyboard, mouse and monitor. The Inspiron sits completely closed on a shelf on my desk.So the issue of the rubber feet and the instability does not come into play, however I agree with you that it was a design flaw.

godim · Answer

It's not a design flaw. It is simply that the main battery does not have to be removed for any reason except for replacing it.

LEaving it in while on AC does not shorten its life, on the contrary, leaving the battery totaly unused outside the laptop for a while may be very devastating to its performance. In the laptop the battery gets a small charge at regular intervolts to keep it fully charged and in good condition.

This is why dell placed a rubber feet on it as it is never to be removed anyhow. I personnaly do not recommend removing the battery, my batterys have all lasted over 3 years and they have always been inside the laptop, even when months on AC

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Inspiron 8600 - Using without battery in place

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