Opinions On Charging
To Plug, Or Not To Plug.........
Monday, October 7, 2013 by RedneckDude | Discussion: Mobile Tech
Anyone own a tablet?
I have a question.
Since most electronics today have lithium batteries, is it ok to leave a tablet plugged into the charger like you would a laptop?
Yrag once told me it was fine to leave my laptop plugged into the wall as much as I want.
I never unplug mine unless travelling.
Is the same ok for tablets?
Reply #2 Monday, October 7, 2013 1:20 AM
Reply #4 Monday, October 7, 2013 4:16 PM
I've read that keeping a laptop plugged in all the time & not letting the battery discharge at least occasionally will decrease both battery time-to-recharge and overall battery life. My daily routine for years has involved keeping the laptop plugged in all the time and that has indeed been my experience. On the rare occasion I need to run on battery a while, it fully discharges quicker & quicker over time. Eventually gets to where it will barely fully boot on battery. It would probably be smart to physically remove the battery until needed and/or designate one day a week or so to let it discharge the battery, but I've not been clever enough to incorporate either into my routine.
Also recently read that keeping the charge between ~20% & 80%, never letting get to 100%, prolongs battery life. YMMV.
Reply #5 Monday, October 7, 2013 5:06 PM
There is a limit on how many times you can charge it. Ideally you want to fully discharge the battery (let your device die or 1%) then fully charge it for maximum battery life. Also not tablet related but Apple had reports of some of their iPhones 6s fatally electrocuting people...
Reply #6 Monday, October 7, 2013 6:30 PM
Reply #7 Monday, October 7, 2013 7:30 PM
I own a car that is powered by the same cells that are likely to be in your laptop battery. Literally. The best strategy for battery longevity in these cells is to charge to 90% and never fully discharge the cells. They like being in the 20-80% range. Now, given that isn't all that possible, you are better off charging to 100 than fully discharging. My vehicle manufacturer suggests keeping it plugged in when not in use (though the car has a lot of battery management your tablet probably doesn't have that lets you set the max state of charge, when to start charging, and will not try to charge unless needed.)
Bottom line: My understanding is with lithium ion you are likely to replace/upgrade the device before charge cycles become a problem if you keep it plugged in unless "on the road."
Reply #8 Monday, October 7, 2013 7:37 PM
Quoting Daiwa, reply 4I've read that keeping a laptop plugged in all the time & not letting the battery discharge at least occasionally will decrease both battery time-to-recharge and overall battery life. This will apply to nickel-cadmium batteries, not to lithium ion.
Agreed, it's not necessary to discharge lithium ion batteries (no memory like on older types).
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-tips-for-extending-lithium-ion-battery-life/
Reply #10 Monday, October 7, 2013 8:19 PM
The batteries in my last two laptops have been lithium ion. They have demonstrated the behavior I described. The longer I go continuously on external power, the quicker the battery discharges when not on AC. As I said, YMMV.
Reply #12 Monday, October 7, 2013 8:33 PM
Yes....just saw the report....and the comment that the US alone has 100,000 car fires a year that no-one bats an eye-lid over.
ALL cars can burn...if I had a Tesla I'd just keep a pair of 'KERS gloves' that Terry is issued with each year at the GrandPrix [to prevent electrocution] ...![]()
Reply #13 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 1:42 AM
Quoting Daiwa, reply 4I've read that keeping a laptop plugged in all the time & not letting the battery discharge at least occasionally will decrease both battery time-to-recharge and overall battery life. This will apply to nickel-cadmium batteries, not to lithium ion.
Haha thanks
Reply #14 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 8:10 AM
I've had my Toshiba a year and a half now without any problems. Usually the battery lasts up to three hours and only occasionally do I let it fully discharge. When recharging it is swift, less than one hour. My experience is to let the battery discharge to one percent then to fully recharge it. I keep it plugged in when using it and rarely use the battery itself.
Reply #15 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 10:22 AM
Jim..
Don't give it a second thought. Just plug 'er in! ![]()

Reply #16 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 10:41 AM
Doc is Jim posing for these shots, if not you're getting good.
Reply #17 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 11:27 AM
Just wait 2 years and get a magnetic resonance charger. It'll be all the rage. ![]()
Reply #19 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 12:58 PM
One went toasty just last week, I think. Getting fire insurance on them is a bitch, but if you've got the coin for one, you probably don't need the insurance.
All cars can have fires as Jafo pointed out. But how many warn the driver to pull over and stop before the fire is even apparent? That Tesla that you saw burning did exactly that.
And getting insurance for them isn't hard, in fact I was surprised at how little I had to pay for it. (It was entirely consistent with the rates for any comparably priced gas or diesel engine vehicle.)
Sorry for the semi-hijack of the thread, it is why I didn't mention the car make in my initial reply
Reply #20 Tuesday, October 8, 2013 8:33 PM
So far, none of my li-ion laptops have lit up, even when dropped.
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Reply #1 Monday, October 7, 2013 1:12 AM
Same battery technology, same or similar charging cycles and voltage regulation. Even if the charger is plugged into a surge protector (and I'll bet yours isn't)
I would only worry about it being plugged in during stormy weather.