Battery Quick Tips

Battery tips apply to standard and rechargeable batteries in general. All batteries are chemical compositions that is designed to release power for the purpose of bringing life into your device or electronics. In general, besides the shape of the battery and the chemical composition, all batteries share the same type of characteristics and guidelines you should follow when working with batteries.

Using Batteries

  • Keep battery contact surfaces and battery compartment contacts clean by rubbing them with a clean pencil eraser or a rough cloth each time you replace batteries. Dirty contact points are a primary source of charging problems
  • If the battery will not be in use for a month or longer, it is recommended that it be removed from the device and stored in a cool, dry, clean place.
  • A charged battery will eventually lose its charge if unused. It may, therefore, be necessary to recharge the battery after a storage period.
  • The milliamp-hour (mAH) rating of the battery will often be higher than the one on your original battery. A higher mAH rating is indicative of a longer lasting (higher capacity) battery and will not cause any incompatibilities. A battery will, in most cases, outperform the original by 30% to 50%. o Actual battery run-time depends upon the power demands made by the equipment. In the case of notebook computers, the use of the monitor, the hard drive and other peripherals results in an additional drain upon the battery, effectively reducing the battery's run-time. The total run-time of the battery is also heavily dependent upon the design of the equipment. To ensure maximum performance of the battery, optimize your computer's power management features. Refer to your computer manual for further instructions.

Charging Batteries

  • When charging the battery for the first time your computer may indicate that charging is complete after just 10 or 15 minutes. This is a normal phenomenon with rechargeable batteries. Simply remove the battery from the computer and repeat the charging procedure.
  • Your new battery comes in a discharged condition and must be charged before use (refer to your computer manual for charging instructions). Upon initial use (or after a prolonged storage period) the battery may require three to four charge/discharge cycles before achieving maximum capacity.
  • It is important to condition (fully discharge and then fully charge) the battery every two to three weeks. Failure to do so may significantly shorten the battery's life (this does not apply to Li-Ion batteries, which do not require conditioning). To discharge, simply run your device under the battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. Then recharge the battery as instructed in your user's manual.
  • Batteries get warm during charging and use—this is normal. As a precaution, most batteries and chargers are designed to protect against overheating. For longer life, charge your battery at room temperature (68°F to 72°F)
  • Don't recharge a battery unless it is specifically marked "rechargeable." Attempting to recharge a normal battery could result in rupture or leakage. Don't use rechargeable alkaline batteries in a nickel-cadmium battery charger.

Replacing Batteries

  • Always replace all batteries at the same time.
  • Mixing old and new batteries will reduce overall performance and could cause leakage or rupture.
  • Mixing battery types (such as alkaline with zinc carbon) will reduce overall performance and could cause leakage or rupture.