Selfbuilt's CR123A Battery Comparison 2013

[RI Chevy]

This thread is for CR123A Lithium primary cells, or at least it started out that way. To avoid confusion, you may want to start a new thread for your questions relating to different battery chemistry.

 

[ro63rto]

Shame lithiums can't be shipped abroad.
Battery junction have the Titaniums at 98c each but won't send to UK [emoji20]
I've settled on 7dayshop's own brand.
4 for £2.59
We'll see how long they last in my Solarforce Skyline I.

 

[recDNA]

Sc32w draws 2 - 2.5 amps from Surefire CR123A in H1 mode. Is it safe?

 

[peabody]

Got a Solarforce L2P and running a LEDengin 365 UV P-60 drop-in that is rated 4.2v-8.4volts max. What can I expect the runtimes to be using any of these CR123a batteries listed?

 

[McCoy]

I know this thread originated in 2013, has battery technology accelerated past the information posted in this thread or is this still valid information?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello McCoy,

Welcome to CPF.

The information is still valid.

Tom

 

[rotncore]

Links to the charts on SB's page and here seem to be broken...did they get archived somewhere I hope?

 

[selfbuilt]

Links to the charts on SB's page and here seem to be broken...did they get archived somewhere I hope?

Photobucket was doing "maintenance" yesterday - so all my figures and charts were down for most of the day, it seems. Looks everything is back up fine today.

 

[Screwball69N]

[h=1]Has any on tried or tested the Sanyo 18650 4000mAh or the 4500MaH please let me know if they live up to there specs

4000mAh Sanyo HR4/3AU NiMH Flat Top Cell[/h]

 

[kj2]

There are no 4000+ mah 18650s, yet.

 

[LED Monkey]

Looks like the Titanium 123's did quite well, and for the price it seems quite good too. After seeing this review I figured it was time to get some for my brandy spankin new Elzetta Bravo B333 (AVS/cren bez/HiLo tail) . Ordered from Battery Junction I got 125 cells of the Titaniums after using a coupon it came out to exactly $0.80 cents per cell shipped to my door. That seems pretty cheap. I guess I'll see how well they perform.
And btw I just joined up here! Pretty cool forum:wave:.

 

[RI Chevy]

Welcome to the Forum! :welcome:

 

[LED Monkey]

If anyone has any input about the Titanium 123's that are part of SB shootout please say how you like them, good or bad. In fact if there are any longer usage reports on any of these cr123's I would appreciate it. Any leaking/dead new cells/etc...

 

[RI Chevy]

I have only used battery station and Surefire cells. Never used Titanium 123's.

 

[LED Monkey]

I've heard mostly good things about those U.S. made 123's . I do have a little concern about the Titaniums however and it's pretty much just about it's country of origin PRC, and the fact that I'm using them in a 2x series light which brings in one more factor as far as safety is concerned.
They did however seem to do quite well in Selfbuilt's shootout and I was able to get them at a low price (0.80cents) delivered.

 

[RI Chevy]

True. But the test was done 3 years ago. Keep us informed as to the performance of those cells.

 

[KeepingItLight]

According the specifications posted at Battery Junction, the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery has a maximum continuous discharge current of 1.5 amps. This is the same limit that CR123A batteries made by other manufacturers have. The same spec at Battery Junction says that 3.0 amps is the maximum pulse discharge current for the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery.

Now, I do not have any details about how the pulse discharge current is determined for the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery. I do, however, have a spec sheet for the Sanyo CR123A battery. It defines maximum pulse discharge current to be that current that causes battery voltage to sag to 1.0 volts in only 15 seconds!

Here is the quote:

Current value for obtaining 1.0V cell voltage when pulse is applied for 15 seconds at 50% discharge depth at 23 degrees C.

Obviously a "useful" pulse will usually be significantly shorter than 15 seconds.

So why does the spec at Battery Junction say that the PTC High Current Discharge Protection on the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery is set to 5 amps? That is much higher the PTC used by CR123A batteries that are made in the U.S.A. Frankly, it is higher that what I choose to use myself. Having the PTC set to 5 amps allows many flashlights to pull too much current from CR123A batteries.

In the last decade, high-output LED flashlights have surpassed the current that CR123A batteries can safely supply. All the CR123A batteries that I have checked are rated for a 1.5-amp maximum continuous draw. In a 2xCR123A series configuration, that means a top output of around 600-700 lumens.

CR123A still has an important place in the flashlight world. Its small size, long storage life, and good operating characteristics at temperature extremes (both hot and cold) mean that it will continue to be used for the foreseeable future.

Just don't try to pull too many amps.

 

[LED Monkey]

According the specifications posted at Battery Junction, the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery has a maximum continuous discharge current of 1.5 amps. This is the same limit that CR123A batteries made by other manufacturers have. The same spec at Battery Junction says that 3.0 amps is the maximum pulse discharge current for the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery.

Now, I do not have any details about how the pulse discharge current is determined for the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery. I do, however, have a spec sheet for the Sanyo CR123A battery. It defines maximum pulse discharge current to be that current that causes battery voltage to sag to 1.0 volts in only 15 seconds!

Here is the quote:



Obviously a "useful" pulse will usually be significantly shorter than 15 seconds.

So why does the spec at Battery Junction say that the PTC High Current Discharge Protection on the Titanium Innovations CR123A battery is set to 5 amps? That is much higher the PTC used by CR123A batteries that are made in the U.S.A. Frankly, it is higher that what I choose to use myself. Having the PTC set to 5 amps allows many flashlights to pull too much current from CR123A batteries.

In the last decade, high-output LED flashlights have surpassed the current that CR123A batteries can safely supply. All the CR123A batteries that I have checked are rated for a 1.5-amp maximum continuous draw. In a 2xCR123A series configuration, that means a top output of around 600-700 lumens.

CR123A still has an important place in the flashlight world. Its small size, long storage life, and good operating characteristics at temperature extremes (both hot and cold) mean that it will continue to be used for the foreseeable future.

Just don't try to pull too many amps.

Woops, Didn't mean to copy the whole post.
But in the Elzetta Bravo it is supposed to be under 1.5A I believe.
But in My 1x123 Olight S10 it seems like too much for the cell in turbo/Hi at least the the RCR16340 cell. Maybe you have some knowledge on some of the very small 1x123 lights.

 

[KeepingItLight]

Kudos to Elzetta! It keeps current draws within specifications.

I do not know about the Olight S10.

I have read reports, however, that the Olight S1 draws over 2 amps in turbo mode. One CPF member measured 2.2 amps. I am using the protected, button-top Olight RCR123A rechargeable Li-ion battery in mine.

The current limitations I described above apply to non-rechargeable CR123A batteries. I do not know the limitations of the rechargeable Olight battery I am using. Please, let me know if you have a datasheet of some kind.

 

[LED Monkey]

I don't have a datasheet. I did see a YOUTUBE review of the Olight S1 "Review the light" I think he goes by Bigmac or something like that here CPF, and the S1 would shut off in the outdoor beam shots because it was drawing too many amps on Hi/turbo with a protected RCR123. He said it should be able to run on high with an unprotected IMR RCR123.