Laptop power supply?

[BMM389EC]

Not too clued up on computers so I'm looking for a bit of advice. Is there any harm in having a laptop connected permanently to the elec supply. i.e it's always connected and is left on for long periods. Will the fact that it's always running of the mains affect the battery life at all?
Thanks.

[PPRuNeUser0171]

Shouldn't be any problems.

The laptop will 'trickle-charge' the battery, Or in other words it will take a small amount of the mains power to keep the battery topped up. This will not affect the battery life much.

Most laptop batteries generally need replacing every three years or so. Check your manual for full details.

Remember that most laptops are used in offices in exactly the way you want!

Gary.

[A-V-8R]

I would recommend that if you permenantly connect a laptop to the AC mains that you remove the battery after it has been fully charged.

Even with a trickle charge it is possible to overheat a battery. Most laptop battery packs have thermal sensors in the case to control overheating, but over time I wouldn't rely on them.

I often keep my laptop connected to ac with no problems.

[spekesoftly]

I had to replace a Toshiba laptop battery after about two years.
It had been used almost entirely with the mains adaptor and battery attached. I don't know what affect this had on the battery life, but I get the impression that 2yrs is about average anyway.

[Ausatco]

The charging light on my Medion laptop goes out when the battery is fully charged, even though the power pack is plugged into the computer and switched on. I presume that means there is no trickle charge happening, and therefore no risk of overcharging, though I don't know for sure. The manual doesn't say much in that regard.

It does say that, to keep the battery conditioned, it should be run right down and then recharged. That seems to be common to most rechargeables, except lead-acid which don't like to be fully discharged and are not used in computers anyway.

Maybe you should consider the discharge-recharge cycle, or ask your service rep.

Cheers

AA