Bear in mind that lithium ion batteries age and will fail almost as often from age as from use - if you bought two batteries, rotate their use. If you leave one sitting on a shelf for a year, you'll see half of its useful life vanish even though you do not use it.
Store it 60-70% charged at controlled room temperature. The fridge/freezer is not a good place for lithium ion batteries.
In this webside, I found this table and some Guidelines about lithium-ion batteries:
Simple Guidelines
Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.
Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.
Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.
Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)
Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.
If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.
I've read conflicting articles concerning whether it is wise or unwise to freeze a Li-ion battery. What I've seen in this forum appears to be a consensus that refrigeration is best.
Question: Does Dell sell a cover for the battery compartment that can be attached when the battery is being stored? I'm concerned about dust in particular finding its way in there. How is this best dealt with?
Another Question: When storing the battery in the refrigerator, how do I cover it? Or should it be covered at all?
Thank you,
Greg
Message Edited by A Marked Man on 11-29-2007 06:35 PM
ejn63
9 Legend
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87.5K Posts
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October 28th, 2007 14:00
Store it 60-70% charged at controlled room temperature. The fridge/freezer is not a good place for lithium ion batteries.
whargoulas
13 Posts
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October 28th, 2007 14:00
Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.
Florida Techie
8 Posts
0
November 29th, 2007 22:00
Message Edited by A Marked Man on 11-29-2007 06:35 PM