If I apply the same techniques to charging and discharging my cell phone battery as the TCH does to the traction battery can I make my cell phone battery last (nearly) forever?
Namely run the battery between 25% and 75% charge levels?
I know the TCH is NiMh and the cell is LiIon but are there similarities in charging/discharging technique?
J

 

You get the best performance from a lithium ion battery by frequently topping it off, and never completely discharging it. I've had cell phone batteries work fine for 2+ years before I replaced the phones.

 

2+ years is nothing to write home about. I looking for something twice that. Especially when I plunk down $200+ for a decent smartphone I want it hanging around a while.

 

Whatever.

 

Just get one that actually has a user-replaceable battery.

(iPod touch owner, here, but Blackberry Curve for my phone.)

 

It's true. I've fully charged and discharged my battery (although most of the time I charge before it gets into the red) and it lasts 2 and 3/4 years. It still works but I have to charge every 2 days. I got a new battery and now I charge once a week. (all times quoted with bluetooth disabled).

So yeah.. having one that lasts 4 years is something to talk about.

 

The whole idea is not to discharge battery too much and keep it at high charge level as much as possible, which in reality means charging it every night. Doing so could probably extend it's life past 4 years. I have Sony video camera Li batteries that lasted at least 5 years but they weren't used too frequently and at some point failed to the point they won't take charge no more. I speculated that battery self discharged over period of almost one year of no usage bellow minimum voltage and now the charger won't allow it to be recharged.

 

In my original post I wanted to compare the TCH's desire to not fully charge or discharge the traction battery. So what you are saying is the same phylosophy(sp?) should not be applied to Lithium Ion batteries?

 

That is correct. Does not apply to Li-Ion batteries.

 

I'm not an expert on LiIon, but I'd venture a good guess that Toyota might match cells in the NiMH battery pack. Mismatched cells cause a lot of battery pack failures in NiMH. Builders of satellites do this too. They need their packs to last a LONG time.

But I doubt that any cell phone maker would go to that much effort for a "consumer product". It would increase costs too much.

So I believe that there is a basic "quality" issue as well as good charge management that makes Toyota's pack very reliable.