how low do you go?

[Penforhire]

Lithium ion batteries last longest when they are topped off frequently and not allowed to discharge as deeply. So I plug mine in every few days.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Lithium ion batteries last longest when they are topped off frequently and not allowed to discharge as deeply. So I plug mine in every few days.

Are you female? Looks like the guys here are pretty much proud about being "old school" and don't mind to f**k their readers up and the woman are doing it by the book.

[Brian M]

Near as I can tell, Li-Ion batteries do NOT last longest when topped up frequently. They will last 300~500 complete charge cycles. While it's claimed that they don't have a memory, there's zero harm in running the battery low. If you trust the claims (my experience is in IT and mechanics, not batteries/chemical engineering), then topping up frequently also presents zero harm.

You can harm the batteries most by not allowing them to charge and discharge (leave the reader tethered all the time), by allowing them to deep discharge (go Completely dead, not just "shutdown" dead, but days of attempted use past that), and by using them in Extremely hot and cold environments.

Regardless, not one single post in this thread speaks of Anything that would... let me quote Poppaea here:

...f**k their readers...

Not sure how using a Consumable item would equate to that in any case. Do we all hurt our cars/motorcycles/scooters/trains/airplanes/buses/etc... when they need their batteries replaced? It would be safe to say that no matter how an individual chooses to use their device, they Should all last the same number of complete charge cycles based on the information that's available to the average consumer.

[MaxLV]

Originally Posted by Brian M

I'm of the old-school battery maintenance creed. Back in the day, if you recharged a battery that was NOT fully discharged, it made that same battery capable of less. They developed a "memory", and the batteries were then only capable of that limited use after a few cycles. So I do my best to make that memory as big as possible, which means allowing a battery to completely discharge.

I know the current generation of batteries aren't supposed to do this, but old habits die hard.

The Li-Ion batteries in the Sony Readers dont have the memory effect that NiMH batteries 'suffer from.'

Current 'thinking' advises recharging Li-Ion batteries well before they have fully discharged, as it can prolong the battery life and keep it at near new capacity through most of its lifetime.

IME of using Li-Ion batterries for various electronic 'toys' I have recharging them when at 25 - 50% capacity has made them last years.

I have 3 batteries for my Sony Digital Camera that were bought in 2003, and they still chrge to near new capacity. (I get the same number of shots per charge for each battery after 8 years as I did when the batteries were new)

My iPod 5th gen Still gives me the same 'play time' between charges that it did when new (in 2006)

I (try to) recharge the Li-Ion batteries in all my 'toys' when the battery is between 25 - 50% of capacity.

It's not just to make the battery last longer, it also means it performs best when it's 'looked after.' You get no surprises of finding a dead battery when you want to use the "E-Reader, Camera, iPod, Phone, etc."

Some reading on care and maintenance of Li-Ion batteries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hel...-batteries/124

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a...ased_batteries

[tvuongpham]

Personally I use the thing til it can't move through anymore pages!!! then fill 'er up.

But If I know I am going out and about.. I like to charge it overnight and have it full.

I hardly feel the need to charge it if it is above 1/2

Easily go for a week or sometimes two before I fish out the usb charger..

To be frank.. the lifetime for me and these batteries is shorted by the release of a newer faster shiny model! ;^P