Mac battery load cycles?

Now I have had my Mac 9 months and I have 300 battery load cycles. I was told that was really bad.

What exactly are battery load cycles?

I was also told I will need a new battery very soon. How much do they cost?

Can't remember but when it hits about 40% left while on battery I believe this counts as
a cycle when charged back up. Here is a better explanation from Apple. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1519

1 battery cycle is one full discharge followed by one full charge. All of the following scenarios are examples of a full cycle:

Start with 100% charge, run down to 0%, charge back up to 100%
Start with 50%, run down to 0%, charge to 100%, run down to 50%
Start with 100%, run down to 75%, charge to 100%, run down to 75%, charge to 100%, run down to 50%

...and so on.

I think you can get about 700 cycles out of those batteries. If I'm wrong please correct me.

For information about the MacBook Pro batteries, click here.

They will go 1000 charges before depleting before 80%.

You don't need to get a new battery after 1000 cycles either, the battery will still work. It just won't last quite as long as when you first bought it.

Since we're on the subject of batteries....

What is the general consensus on depleting the battery to zero charge each time and then charging it. Will this lengthen the battery's life?

alexsd123 said:

For information about the MacBook Pro batteries, click here.

They will go 1000 charges before depleting before 80%.

You don't need to get a new battery after 1000 cycles either, the battery will still work. It just won't last quite as long as when you first bought it.

Click to expand...

I went one link deeper and found this also. Depends on laptop model.....

Battery Lifespan
For Apple notebooks with removable batteries — such as previous generation MacBook and MacBook Pro computers — a properly maintained battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 300 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs.

The built-in battery of the MacBook Air is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 750 full charge and discharge cycles.

The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles.

If your notebook came with a built-in battery, you should have the battery replaced only by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

RadarP3C said:

Since we're on the subject of batteries....

What is the general consensus on depleting the battery to zero charge each time and then charging it. Will this lengthen the battery's life?

Click to expand...

Heres Apple's take on it.

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

Clay

clayneal said:

Heres Apple's take on it.

Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

Clay

Click to expand...

Thanks, Clay. That is the article I quoted in my above post. I guess battery technology has changed. I think the general rule of thumb used to be with rechargeable batteries was to fully discharge them before recharging to get the best life out of them.

RadarP3C said:

Thanks, Clay. That is the article I quoted in my above post. I guess battery technology has changed. I think the general rule of thumb used to be with rechargeable batteries was to fully discharge them before recharging to get the best life out of them.

Click to expand...

LOL ya looks like we hi the button at the same time.

Clay

clayneal said:

LOL ya looks like we hi the button at the same time.

Clay

Click to expand...

Great minds think a like.

CoconutBattery has my loadcycles at 197, and i only have 35% capacity left.

But i believe this is mainly due to a problem i had with my logic board, i think it screwed up my battery.

TomTomTuning said:

CoconutBattery has my loadcycles at 197, and i only have 35% capacity left.

But i believe this is mainly due to a problem i had with my logic board, i think it screwed up my battery.

Click to expand...

I'm assuming you've tried calibrating it!