General Forum

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Jandyt — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:02:59 GMT

JC:

You have another 6 to play with now Andy!! I missed it by no more than 10 seconds, well done
Jonnie

All's fair in love and war (and eBay)

Andy T.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Craig — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:35:49 GMT

Our Beocom 4 is always left on it's base. Never had any problems in the 18 Months we have had it.

Craig

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

JC — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 08:05:34 GMT

You have another 6 to play with now Andy!! I missed it by no more than 10 seconds, well done

Jonnie

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Jandyt — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:35:53 GMT

With Beocom 6000 and Beocom2, Bang and Olufsen recommend leaving it on the charger at all times. The on-board computer will decide as and when to charge. I have always done this and never had to replace a battery on my own 6000s.
I presume this will also go for Beocom 4.

Andy T.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Beo — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 05:44:12 GMT

thanks all of you.

I would like to add some points I know. For lithium batteries, they have no memory effect. That means you can recharge it at anytime convenient to you. Some professions even do not suggest you to completely drain the battery each time. What you need is a complete recharge cycle for a month's period. Also, lithium battery is not required to overcharge it before the first usage as some older Ni-based batteries.

But I am not sure about Ni-based batteries used in indoor phones. I think there is 2 options, one is full recharge each time, one is recharge it immediately after using it. And even more important is whether it is good to keep it at full charge state for long period of time?

also, what we are discussing is how to get the best possible battery life. Of course, for convenience, always placing on the stand would not cause big problem.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Alex — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 05:29:56 GMT

Peter:
From experience I agree with shadow. The chargers on B&O products are designed to allow the product to sit on them all the time. I have some pretty old Beocom 6000s and an original early Beolink 7000 all with original batteries and all with good stand by time off the charger. I have never 'conditioned' my battery as I have never had the need.

No I agree, B&O are fantastic at managing a batteries and charging them. However what I was saying, is that batteries should be charged from 0% charge, rather than say draining them down to 60% and THEN charging them. This preseves the battery better in the long run. Leaving them on charge is technically fine because it stops charging the battery when it's at 100%, and it's also more convenient.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Peter — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 04:16:07 GMT

From experience I agree with shadow. The chargers on B&O products are designed to allow the product to sit on them all the time. I have some pretty old Beocom 6000s and an original early Beolink 7000 all with original batteries and all with good stand by time off the charger. I have never 'conditioned' my battery as I have never had the need.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Dave — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 03:23:32 GMT

Guess what? I've tested the behaviour of our Beocom 4, with a power meter connected and it charges the battery until it is full then it stops (as stated in the brochure). However it will begin to charge again if the battery is (for instance) at 90%.

Leave it off the charger, yes b&o is very good and you are buying good products, but it doesn't mean that every single design they produce is flawless.

This phone has small flaws and this is of course one of them. Do what Alex said, because he is dead right if you want to preserve the battery life of your Beocom 4.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Alex — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 03:02:01 GMT

meandmyshadow:
Alex:
To increase the lifetime of the battery, run it down to as close as you can to 0%, and then charge it all the way back up in the charger. Try to avoid charging it at 50% or 70%. Running it all the way down, and then charging it all the way back up is much healthier for the battery, as with most devices such as iPods, Laptops and camera batteries.
This is absolutely NOT TRUE, all the B&O phones are designed to sit on the charger, regardless of use, for as long as you want without any effect on battery life.
In B&O phones the handset monitors the battery capacity and charges accordingly, in the case of a BeoCom 4 it explained on page 5.
Running your battery down to 0% and recharging will do nothing for you battery life in your BeoCom 4, as for the other devices that Alex mentions, I have no experience with iPods but in the instructions for my Mac powerbook it suggested an intitial run down to zero then a full charge ONCE, after that I can plug & unplug the mains as required.

No that's conditioning the battery, not normal charging, and that involves leaving it with no charge for 24 hours as well.

Admittedly it doesn't affect batteries as much as it used to, and was mainly in Lithium-Ion batteries, and affects Nickel-Cadium batteries to a much lesser degree. The affect is still there, and there is no way of getting around it. It's just part of the nature of the way batteries work. I'm not entirely sure of the chemistry behind it, but I'm sure one of our chemists could explain it (possibly Chris?). There is a scientific explanation for it though, I remember being told, but I can't remember what I was told! It's an effect B&O can have very little control over though other than managing the battery well (which they do), but it will never completely go away.

The best way to get around it I'm told by a physics technician (in our physics department) is to always charge batteries all the way down and then all the way back up again. Works for him, he still gets 5 hours of charge out of a 4 year old Acer laptop battery!

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

meandmyshadow — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:36:06 GMT

Alex:
To increase the lifetime of the battery, run it down to as close as you can to 0%, and then charge it all the way back up in the charger. Try to avoid charging it at 50% or 70%. Running it all the way down, and then charging it all the way back up is much healthier for the battery, as with most devices such as iPods, Laptops and camera batteries.

This is absolutely NOT TRUE, all the B&O phones are designed to sit on the charger, regardless of use, for as long as you want without any effect on battery life.

In B&O phones the handset monitors the battery capacity and charges accordingly, in the case of a BeoCom 4 it explained on page 5.

Running your battery down to 0% and recharging will do nothing for you battery life in your BeoCom 4, as for the other devices that Alex mentions, I have no experience with iPods but in the instructions for my Mac powerbook it suggested an intitial run down to zero then a full charge ONCE, after that I can plug & unplug the mains as required.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

ruudvdklauw — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:13:57 GMT

I see that Alex has the same meaning.

But can we expect from B&O that they have made the phone in such a qualitative way that it doesn't make a difference when the phone will be charged.

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

ruudvdklauw — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:06:24 GMT

Hi Beo,

We have a beocom 4 too. We don´t call very much and have put the phone almost every time back on the stand. We have the idea that the battery capacity has therefore failed a little bit. So I think that it is better to leave the phone of the stand untill it shows on the display that it must be charged. But maybe I am wrong.

Greetings,

Ruud

Re: Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Alex — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:56:06 GMT

To increase the lifetime of the battery, run it down to as close as you can to 0%, and then charge it all the way back up in the charger. Try to avoid charging it at 50% or 70%. Running it all the way down, and then charging it all the way back up is much healthier for the battery, as with most devices such as iPods, Laptops and camera batteries.

Is it unhealthy to beocom 4 ???

Beo — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:24:49 GMT

well, i seldom have phone call actually. So Sometimes i do not use my beocom 4 for 48 hours continuously. Should I put it back to the stand? or should I leave my out of the stand?

I wonder which method is the best for the Ni-Cd battery inside and the charging circuit?