battery ,whats best?

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iv just got a black macbook and want to know whats the best way to 'treat' the battery ,
can you harm the battery by keeping it on charge too much , should i charge the battery fully then use it while it runs from the battery then when it get lows charge it fully again , then start the process again.
or is it alright to keep it charging whilst im using it even when its full charged?

cheers so much in advance
 
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2.4 GHz intel core 2 duo MBP, iPhone 5, iPad 3
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Leave it plugged in. Once a month you should run the battery down to where the computer shuts down. Then let it sit for 5 hours. Then plug in. That is calibrating the battery.
 
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Leave it plugged in. Once a month you should run the battery down to where the computer shuts down. Then let it sit for 5 hours. Then plug in. That is calibrating the battery.

you should NOT leave it plugged in, it is detrimental to the battery in the long term.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Standard Maintenance

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month. Need a reminder? Add an event to your desktop’s iCal.

High Charge levels will also speed up long term capacity loss.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm (probably THE best battery site i have come across so far..)

High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss. Improvements in chemistry have increased the storage performance of lithium-ion batteries.
 
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That's a **** great site right there.

I knew some of the info on there, but it would never have occurred to me to store my 2nd battery at 40% in the refrigerator. I need two batteries due to the amount of travel I do and like having 5-6 hrs of battery life during heavy usage rather than just 2.5-3 as I might have with one battery.
 
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is it alright to

is it alright to charge the macbook up properly , use it until its about 30 mins from dead then charge it up again, as this is how i use it constantly or is there something i could be doin better
 
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This is a good site to learn more than you might want to know. But it points out the differences between lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries, and describes the care and feeding of a dozen or so other types
 
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is it alright to charge the macbook up properly , use it until its about 30 mins from dead then charge it up again, as this is how i use it constantly or is there something i could be doin better

well the 30 min mark is hard to say because all that matters is the percentage...these batteries dont fare well with deep discharge cycles so from what I have read, they usually recommend it not dropping below 40% frequently.
 

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