|
Home
 Battery
Articles
Battery Care Instructions
By Bobby George
Battery Do's:
• A new battery comes in a discharged
condition and must be charged before use (refer to the devices
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.
• When charging the battery for the first time
the device may indicate that charging is complete after just 10 or
15 minutes. This is a normal phenomenon with rechargeable batteries.
Remove the battery from the device, reinsert it and repeat the
charging procedure.
• 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 the 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 the user's
manual.
• 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.
• It is normal for a battery to become warm to
the touch during charging and discharging.
• 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
Hi-Capacity™ battery will often be higher than the one on the
original battery. A higher mAH rating is indicative of a longer
lasting (higher capacity) battery and will not cause any
incompatibilities. A Hi-Capacity™ battery will, in most cases,
outperform the original by 30% to 50%.
• Actual battery run-time depends upon the
power demands made by the equipment. In the case of notebook
computers, screen brightness, the use of the CPU, 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 the computer's power management features. Refer to the
computer manual for further instructions.
Battery Don'ts:
• Do not short-circuit. A short-circuit may
cause severe damage to the battery.
• Do not drop, hit or otherwise abuse the
battery as this may result in the exposure of the cell contents,
which are corrosive.
• Do not expose the battery to moisture or
rain.
• Keep battery away from fire or other sources
of extreme heat. Do not incinerate. Exposure of battery to extreme
heat may result in an explosion.
|
