[binky]

k9reeder is spot on. The ALP specs state a Lithium-Ion Polymer battery. These guys have no 'memory' so they love to be charged. Their major enemies are heat, deep discharges, and over-voltage or charging (most modern chargers cut off the circuit so this doesn't happen). I get about 14-18 hours of from a full charge when I do a full discharge.

I'm no expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt and I guarantee nothing. Here goes, from all the 'experts' here are the tips to keeping your ALP batteries happy.

FIRST USE
Most device batteries come discharged or partially discharged for ideal storage and have never been 'formed', i.e. charged fully.

1. Charge the battery for at least 12 hours straight, if the battery stops charging before then, unplug then charger and re-plug it start the charger back up again

2. Do a full discharge at least once (some say up to 3-4 times but I think that's excessive) then recharge it for 12 hours.


CARE & MAINTENANCE
1. Charge often, these batteries have no memory and love being charged, partial charging greatly extends the number of cycles the battery will last opposed to full discharge before recharging (I keep my charger at work and plug it in when I come into the office in the morning, 1-2 hours at most and it's full again)

2. Use chargers within manufacturer's specs to charge your battery, using the incorrect (especially higher than spec) voltage may damage the battery and reduce its life

3. Do not Deep Discharge the battery, this is when power is so low the device power shuts off and it powers on then shuts off quickly or cannot be powered on

4. This is more for laptop batteries, but calibrate your battery occasionally by doing a Full Discharge (where the low battery warning comes on) then recharging it fully. This helps the charge tracking 'recalibrate' to give you accurate gauges on battery life. Personally I do this maybe once every 3-7 months. Note do not Deep Discharge the battery.


STORAGE
1. These batteries hate the heat, always store your battery in a cool place; heat is a great way to kill a battery's life quickly. Now don't go sticking your libre in a freezer...use common sense.

2. These batteries like being used. If you are not going to use a battery for a long period of time then discharge it to 40% charge before storing it in a cool location. A battery at 40% charge (recommended by manufacturers) in long term storage will suffer significantly less life capacity loss than a battery at 100% charge during long term inactivity.