Q&A: Is it OK use rechargeable batteries until they are almost run down?

Q&A: Is it OK use rechargeable batteries until they are almost run down? Q: My children have many small electronics that operate on rechargeable batteries (MP3 players, laptops, handheld video game consoles). They play them until right before the charge runs out. They then plug them in and keep playing. Does this negatively effect the life or operation of the battery? —Patrick Madigan, MO A: MP3 players and handheld video game consoles typically use AA or AAA batteries with nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) chemistry. Laptops use Lithium Ion (Li-ion) chemistry for their batteries. With both types, it is OK to run them until there is a little charge left then recharge them. (Also, there's little chance of overcharging them, since today's smart chargers will automatically stop when the battery is full.) Just don't let the batteries become fully discharged and then leave them like that for multiple days or longer, which can damage them. If you need to store your mobile device for a long period of time, it's best to discharge the battery about 50 percent and remove it (and keep it at room temperature), as its lifespan is extended somewhat if stored at less than full charge. The risk is that a battery's self-discharge rate (about 1 percent a day for Li-ion and 1 to 4 percent a day for NiMH) will cause it to "over-discharge" and kill the battery. Read "101 secrets from our experts" for more tips and send your own question at: ConsumerReports.org/askourexperts. —Rich Fisco, Senior Project Leader

Subscribe now! Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products.

Update your feed preferences

Click Here To Compare Product

Search Result

From the Q Blog. Thursday, June 20, 2013 . ... The award winning director stops by Studio Q to chat about his upcoming blockbuster Pacific Rim. Tuesday, June 18, 2013 .,Q abbr. 1. quarter (of a year) 2. Games queen q 1 or Q (ky ) n. pl. q's or Q's also qs or Qs 1. The 17th letter of the modern English alphabet. 2. Any of the speech ...,Q is a character in the Street Fighter series. He first appeared in Street Fighter III: 3rd...,New York police are bemused by a spate of reports of a giant flying lizard that has been spotted around the rooftops of New York, which they assume to be bogus until ...,For additional meanings of "Q", please see Q. "He's devious and amoral and unreliable and...,View the basic Q stock chart on Yahoo! Finance. Change the date range, chart type and compare Quintiles Transitional Holdings against other companies.,Q is a fictional character who appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, as well as in ...,noun, plural Q's or Qs, q's or qs. 1. the 17th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant. 2. any spoken sound represented by the letter Q or q, as in quick, acquit ...,Q Magazine the UK's biggest music magazines, music news, reviews and world exclusives with the most important bands on the planet,Q is the seventeenth letter of the ISO basic Latin alphabet. Egyptian hieroglyph wj Phoenician qoph Etruscan Q Greek Qoppa The Semitic sound value of Qôp (perhaps ...