Hello all. I just got my Clip+ yesterday. I used it today for an hour and wonder when it is best to recharge. Do we top it off, or wait 'til it is down X%? Of course, when we add songs it starts charging anyway.
You should have done an initial charge before using the player. Whether you use the USB port or a wall adaptor (what I use) is up to you. Charge for at least a few hours to begin with. Today batteries should not be allowed to drain completely before rechaging (mainly Lithium ones). Do a test run to see how long your player lasts before the charge indicator is near the empty mark-then you will know.
Message Edited by jc836 on 03-19-2010 07:25 PM
@jc836 wrote:
You should have done an initial charge before using the player. Whether you use the USB port or a wall adaptor (what I use) is up to you. Charge for at least a few hours to begin with. Today batteries should not be allowed to drain completely before rechaging (mainly Lithium ones). Do a test run to see how long your player lasts before the charge indicator is near the empty mark-then you will know.
Message Edited by jc836 on 03-19-2010 07:25 PM
Thank you. Yes, I did do a full charge before I used it the first time and it was at 100%. I only used it an hour, so was asking if I should “top it off” or wait 'til it is down…say 50%.
Lithium-ion (or Lithium-polymer) batteries such as used in the Clip+ should be charged every time time you use the device. Li-Ion/Li-Po will not be harmed by such frequent top-off charge cycles, and in fact, these batteries last longer when the charge is kept above about 70%. (On the other hand, they are harmed by deep-cycling)
The typical 300-500 charge cycles figure assumes full discharge / full charge; a full discharge/charge cycle is equivalent to multiple partial discharge/charge cycles. So you don’t have to worry about using up your 300 cycles too quickly by frequent top-off charging (partial charging).
You might try
At the Battery University site they mention that if a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery is to be left unused for a long period of time, it should be kept at a 50% charge level and not a full charge, to minimize the permanent decay of the battery. This is especially important at high temperatures. At least once a month the battery should be brought down to a low level, to keep the battery indicator properly calibrated. I do wonder though about the effect of partially charging the battery, when some charge is added, but the battery isn’t brought to full. Everyone talks about going from a 50% or 70 or 80% charge to full, but how about lets say going from a 30% to a 60% or 70% charge, or going from a 50% to an 80% charge? Often people might not have enough time to charge the battery until it is full.
Thank you all. At least I do not have to worry too much about it. As I said I only used about an hour of the full charge, so may leave it alone. I only have 1 folder on it now of music, so it will charrge when I add more music anyway.
High temperatures are bad all around for Li-Po batteries, especially during charging but also in general. Anything above 95F/35C, but especially above about 120F/50C where things get really ugly. (Try to not leave it in a hot car all day in summer.)
If you store a Li-Po battery at standard room temperature or about 25C/77C, and it is self-discharging at about 5% per month, then after a few months the charge level declines plus the moderate temperature is easier on it anyway. Once again, no need to be too concerned about it in that case - you don’t have to go to the trouble of trying to store it at 50% charge or etc.
If you are storing/using it at elevated temperatures, various degradations occur that will shorten its life in various ways.
