Pictured above are Nick's and my toothbrushes. Mine's the one on the right, sitting in the little white charger. We have two of them, but Nick suggested that we keep just one [charger] in the bathroom and share it, so that we could use our second step-down (or maybe it's step-up) transformer for other American appliances. I had a hard time with this, because I like to have my toothbrush charging at all times when it's not in my mouth. Similarly, I am most at ease when my laptop is plugged-in, and get anxious when Nick wants to use my adapter because his computer is about to switch over to reserve battery power. I think these are two distinct personality types: fearful of scarcity vs. trusting that the plenty will be there when needed and, if I'm being honest, this comes up all the time, not just in the realm of home electronics. So what about you?Are you a leave-it-charging or a run-down-the-battery-first sort of person?
There is a difference between the laptop and the toothbrush. With the laptop, while it's plugged in, you're not just charging the battery, you're actually running the computer off of the plugged in power, so the battery isn't being drained at all. So, you're prolonging the life of the battery.
ReplyDeleteWith the toothbrush, you can never use it while it's plugged in, so it doesn't matter.
So really you should always have the laptop plugged in when you can. But I just prefer the convenience of not using a laptop with a cord, so I'm willing to sacrifice the lifespan of my battery a bit. Maybe it's because I don't like being tied down. Or maybe it's the optimism thing.
I am inclined to agree with Nick; the two are not entirely comparable. I don't always have my digital camera's lithium-ion battery in the charger when I'm not using it because it holds its charge well enough to begin with, and it charges quickly when it runs low.
ReplyDeleteMy laptop, however, is nearly always plugged in when I have it at home.
Its a question of pragmatics.
Laptop almost always plugged in, toothbrush plugged in only when it runs down. I think the tootbrush is good for 30-40 minutes on a full charge
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