Charging questions redux

[-alan-]

Okay, first I'll admit that I'm "old school". I can't seem to break the habit of "battery memory phobia" which is a fear that unless you run your battery way down then fully charge you are running a risk of teaching your battery bad habits. As a result, I don't charge my iPad until sometime after I get the low battery warning at 20%. I've come across posts from people who charge every night ... even if they're at 80% or more. So my questions are, (1) is it okay to charge regardless of present charge or should I continue my present practice? (2) Is it harmful to overcharge? i.e., can I leave it plugged in for hours after it reaches 100%? Any other charging comments will be appreciated.

 

[DaveSt]

Lithium ion batteries have a finite lifespan that starts with the first charge whether you are using them or not. It is true that with every charge cycle you are losing a tiny fraction of the capacity of the battery, but at the same time lithium ion batteries prefer partial discharges to full discharges. In fact, storing a lithium ion battery that has a low charge can render it useless. You are only going to get 3 years or so out of the battery pack, so you might as well keep it charged.

As far as leaving the charger connected, the actual charge cycle to the battery pack is monitored. The battery gets charged at full strength until it hits a certain percentage (80% for Apple devices) and then the charge is slowly dropped for the last percentage. Once the battery is charged, you can leave the charger plugged in but it will no longer be supplying a charge current to the battery.