how long do you go before recharging your battery?

[tiggeerrific]

I read about 2 books on a half charged batttery.

[Dana]

I recharge my battery when it's a 1/2 to 3/4 drained...

[Betsy the Quilter]

I recharge my K1 battery either when there's about 1/4 left or when the Kindle begs to be recharged.

Betsy

[pawsplus]

I don't think one can really say, "in 2 books" b/c some books are 3X the length of others.  And some take longer to read b/c they are denser, etc.

Like Betsy, I charge when there's 1/4 left.  That's every 3-4 days for me (I read at least 2 hours a day).

[Granvillen]

I am recovering from a new knee surgery, and only occasionally use whispernet.  I read about 2-3 hrs a day and have gone 12 to 13 days without charging my K2.  I never drop below 1/2 charge.  

[Betsy the Quilter]

I recharge my K1 battery either when there's about 1/4 left or when the Kindle begs to be recharged.

Betsy

I should mention that I charge it about every couple weeks while at home using the original charger, while I'm traveling, about once a week using the travel charger.

The single biggest factor for me on how often I need to charge it is whether I have Whispernet on.  2d biggest--if I've downloaded several books so that there's a lot of indexing.

Betsy

[tiggeerrific]

thanks for the replies it seems my battery is okay for the length I am reading

[pomlover2586]

I charge my battery once a week just to be on the safe side......I hardly ever have whisper-net on, and I don't think my battery life has ever dropped below 3/4 full- but I like to have it fully charged, just in case.

[BlueEyedMum]

I never have the whispernet on (unless I bought books from Amazon) and I get about 2-3 weeks with reading everyday.

[Luvmy4brats]

Right now I'm getting about a day and a half with wireless on and 4 days with wireless off. Amazon has been troubleshooting for 2 weeks, but I'm getting a bit tired of it. I'm hoping they replace it soon because I'm pretty sure something's not right with it.

[KindleChickie]

I dock my devices every night so it gets a nightly charge.  But once every month or two I will allow the battery to drain all the way down before recharging.  It takes about 2.5 days before it will drain all the way down and then I turn it off for a couple of hours and let it rest before charging it back to full again and then turn it off and let it rest fully charged for a couple of hours. 

[Guido Henkel]

The battery on my Kindle 1 seems to get a little weak. I used to be able to read for about 2 weeks without a charge and now I'm somewhere around 8 days or so. Still, that is extremely impressive.

[andy_in_virginia]

I never have the whispernet on (unless I bought books from Amazon) and I get about 2-3 weeks with reading everyday.

I'm almost exactly the same.  The last time I charged my Kindle was when I loaded some new screensaver images a couple of weeks ago, my wireless is never on unless I'm making a purchase so a full charge is lasting me probably 4 weeks and then I'm down to about 1/2 full.

[pidgeon92]

I recharge about once a week. It seems perfectly reasonable to me, especially since I have to recharge my nook every 3-4 days.

[Hoosiermama]

I only have Whispernet turned on when downloading something. And most of the time, I do my browsing online, and send it to the K2. Then I usually just turn on Whispernet once a week or so and download everything at once.

I read at least an hour a day--usually 2-3 hours, and find that I only charge my K2 every other week or so.

[Richard in W.Orange]

I cannot remember the last time I charged mine...I should check that actually

[racheldeet]

I charge at 1/2 full or before I take it traveling anywhere, just in case.

[raven312]

I've had my Kindle since Jan. 10th, have read 13 books on it, and have now charged it twice since the original charge.

[Whidbeyislandgirl]

I use TTS alot, so only get a day or two on a charge. I listen to it maybe two hours a day, plus reading a couple of hours, even with the whispernet off, that REALLY sucks the battery down. But it's so darn handy! Love my dog walks with my kindle.....

[4Katie]

I recharge about once a week.

I like that idea. I think I'll do that, and never have to worry about the battery dying.

[Labnick]

I leave the wireless off and turn on when needed.  I usally charge about every 10 days.  However, I find if I use TTS a few times then I need to charge sooner!

[Tris]

Wow, everyone charges so much earlier than me.  Granted I have a K2i (my daily reader) and my K1.  I charge me K2i every 2 weeks (with 1/3 still left in the battery) and my K1 every 3-4 weeks, since I use it sporatically.  But when I used the K1 as my daily reader it charges it every week.

If anyone is curious, I turn on my WN for around 20 minutes or so every other day, and read about 2-3 hours everyday.

Tris

[wkerby]

I see that only KindleChickie is actually engaged in what is called battery "conditioning," discharging fully and recharging.  Most of my other rechargeable  electronic products call for this, but I have found nothing in original or second-party literature about the practice for Kindle.  I have read you can have data loss or buggy events when the battery is very low.  Anything definitive?

[blazfglori]

I usually recharge at about the half-way mark, give or take.
That's usually 2-3 days or so, as I just let my Whispernet on all the time so it can get updates of the blogs and newspapers I subscribe to as they're available.
I did just accidentally let my battery go completely dead (wasn't paying attention to battery level), and had to recharge from there and haven't had any problems with it.

[Eeyore]

I see that only KindleChickie is actually engaged in what is called battery "conditioning," discharging fully and recharging.  Most of my other rechargeable  electronic products call for this, but I have found nothing in original or second-party literature about the practice for Kindle.  I have read you can have data loss or buggy events when the battery is very low.  Anything definitive?

Kindles use a lithium ion battery so there are no memory effects like the old cadmium batteries had. See the info here on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

Best Wishes!

[wkerby]

Quite right.  No conditioning.  My razor and tooth brush are different.  However, my two laptops have lithium-ion batteries and advise conditioning, in contrast to the conventional notions out there.  I'm happy with how things are going with my Kindle in all areas.

[Moosh]

Mine only needs to be charged every 2-3 weeks. I loooove the battery life. I only ever turn WN on to buy a book and then immediately turn it off.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I see that only KindleChickie is actually engaged in what is called battery "conditioning," discharging fully and recharging. 

Does it count if I don't do it intentionally?  Sometimes Eleanor the Kindle runs down completely.

I recharge my K1 battery either when there's about 1/4 left or when the Kindle begs to be recharged.

But as Eeyore said, the Kindle battery is not supposed to need conditioning. 

I know some people with original batteries have had to replace them by now.  I don't know if it's a factor of I'm just not using mine as much as other people or what, but my battery is still behaving pretty much as it was when I first bought it.

Betsy

[KindleChickie]

Because I dock mine nightly...
 

Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate.

http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

[Luvmy4brats]

Amazon is sending me a new Kindle. They agreed that something is not right with my battery life. I should have it tomorrow. I was a bit frustrated that it took them more than two weeks and four phone calls to get a replacement, but I am happy it's finally resolved.

[TechBotBoy]

I dock my devices every night so it gets a nightly charge.  But once every month or two I will allow the battery to drain all the way down before recharging.  It takes about 2.5 days before it will drain all the way down and then I turn it off for a couple of hours and let it rest before charging it back to full again and then turn it off and let it rest fully charged for a couple of hours. 

I know this "deep discharge" is good for some types of batteries, but not all - can I ask where you learned of this trick?  And do you know what sort of batteries are in the Kindle?  I think NiCad (Nickle-Cadnium?) is one sort, and NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) might be another, but I don't know if either is designed for deep discharge or not.

Thanks
                     - Tbb

[Ann in Arlington]

The Kindle is Lithium polymer, which is akin to Lithium Ion and doesn't NEED the deep discharge as it doesn't loose it's notion of "full".  But it's still not a bad idea to do it now and then, so that the gauge that tells you how full it is can get re-calibrated. . . . . . .

[KindleChickie]

I know this "deep discharge" is good for some types of batteries, but not all - can I ask where you learned of this trick?  And do you know what sort of batteries are in the Kindle?  I think NiCad (Nickle-Cadnium?) is one sort, and NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) might be another, but I don't know if either is designed for deep discharge or not.

Thanks
                     - Tbb

It is not the deep discharge, but rather the resetting of the full and low "meter" of the battery.  If you are never going to full discharge, then it will not know where the full discharge level is.

I work in a technical field and do a lot of reading.

[wkerby]

Now I know a lot more than I used to.  Thanks.

[Neekeebee]

Interesting thread.  I just replaced my K1 battery and continue to charge my Kindle at least every other day (usually 4-5 hours of reading).  I just don't like to see the battery as less than full.  Maybe I should re-think this....  And maybe my old battery isn't as bad as I thought it was.  (Good thing I stuck it back in the 'fridge!)

N

[ZsuZsu]

With WN off and 2-3 hours of reading (in spurts- so in and out of sleep mode a number of times) per day, I easily get 10+ days on my k2i before my battery gets down to about 25% and then I recharge.  I have gone as long as 2 full weeks without charging, but I generally charge it overnight once it looks like it is at about 25%...

[Betsy the Quilter]

Good to know, now I won't feel so guilty about letting Eleanor the Kindle run down completely now and then.    I'm just resetting the gauge, not forgetting to charge her.  Yeah, that's what I'm doing.

Betsy

[dhajra]

I usually read about two hours per day, often more on weekends. 

I have a K1, which I almost never let drop below the 3/4 charged point.  Makes me nervous when it starts to drop!  So I probably charge it about twice per week.  I never leave Whispernet on unless I'm ordering a book or waiting overnight for one that I've pre-ordered.

I'm assuming when people say they are getting 8-10 days out of a charge, they are letting the battery drop way below where I do.  Is that correct for some of you who only re-charge every 10 days or so?

[The Hooded Claw]

I generally leave my K2 plugged in all the time I'm not actually reading on it.  I've been doing this for awhile trying to get it to update wirelessly, so keeping it plugged in was necessary to avoid running down the battery in a couple of days.  Now I've manually updated my K2, so I am more able to leave the wireless off and not necessarily plug the K in, but I haven't changed my ways yet.