Can you limit the charge to a Macbook to extend cycle count?
On a Macbook Pro that uses Magsafe power plug, you can tape and mask the middle pin out of the five pins of the charger and let the laptop just get power from AC without charging the battery. (The middle pin is the signaling pin.)
I have a late-2013 rMBP13 which is almost 4 years now with 120 cycles but in excellent condition. Still shows 6000 mAh out of the design capacity 6330 mAh according to CoconutBattery app, and I can feel it's still kicking in real world use too that the battery is still going strong. I wish I knew this trick sooner, as I only started doing this after my 2nd year with this laptop.
I'm mostly plugged in to the AC and sometimes use up maybe 40% of the battery capacity while in meetings. When possible, I try to keep it between 40%-60% levels to extend the healthy battery cycle count. According to Battery University website, they show that high voltage level and heat will quickly degrade the battery. More related to my question, for every 0.1V less charge level the cycle amount doubles. So if you normally got 1000 cycles, by lowering the max to 0.1V less you can get 2000 cycles, lowering 0.2V less you can get 4000 cycles.
So is there a way to limit the battery being charged while using the USB Type C charger that's used on modern Macbook and Macbook Pro 13/15?
Yes, I know once it reaches 100% it stops charging. That's called constant voltage. The problem is that 100% + heat is much worse than 60% + heat. Also, cycling between 40%-60% will give you much more cycles than charging from 80%-100%. Something like 4000 cycles vs 500 cycles, or something like that (number pulled off my rear). I believe Apple has done something to rate the normal usage cycles to an amazing 1000 cycles instead of the 300 or 500 industry norm. I think they limit the max voltage and sacrifice a little bit capacity, but that's fine and I think that's a good trade-off. I just wish the user had control over what voltage is considered 100%. Some Thinkpad's and Dell's have this kind of feature built in the BIOS to prolong battery life.
Now, unfamiliar territory to me, would using a normal USB charger/powerbank that has a USB Type-C plug be able to power the Macbook12 and maintain a steady battery level? Say, if I was at 60% battery level, can I use something like that so that it doesn't charge the battery and also doesn't sip the battery?
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.4)