Electricty and Chargers

Chris Messineo

Chris Messineo

Veteran
A coworker told me that it is a bad idea to leave chargers (Battery, Cell Phone, etc) plugged in when they aren't charging anything. He said they still use electricity and will wear out sooner. Anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Chris
 
Hmmm... never heard that. I do know that you should wear your batteries out completely, then charge completely to get full life, and make 'em last longer.

That's probably general knowledge, though:huh:
 
Lithium Ion batteries don't have a memory like NiMH batteries do, so you don't have to worry about that.
 
They do draw some small amount of current when plugged in, probably not enough to make any difference as far as their life span.
In general, heat is what wears electronics down, so keep things (especially batteries) away from the heat sources. Do not store them in the hot car in July :-)
 
Since heat damages many electronics in the long run (especially resistors), and most chargers are at least warm when they are left on, I think it's safe to say that their lifespan is diminished to some degree.

The amount of degradation is debatable. Since some chargers are expensive and/or hard to replace, I would use caution since it most likely will pay off.
 
Depends.

The charger for my wife's HP laptop seems to turn completely off when it's done charging.

Did no real test, but it goes stone cold when it's done.

Don't know how many other chnagers behave the same way. I leave the JVC charger plugged in all the time...but that's me being too lazy to unplug it. :)
 
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