quick easy cr123 question

ateupwithgolf

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is there a rechargeable version of this battery? If so, what's the best one. I have some olight mini s I'd like some rechargeable on. Thanks.
 

Timothybil

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One has to be careful about what load you are driving. The lowest voltage rechargeable CR123 cell would be one using the LiFePO4 chemistry, with a nominal voltage of 3.2v, with a fresh off the charger voltage of 3.65v. Other LiIon rechargeable cells have a nominal voltage of 3.6v with a max voltage of 4.2v. As you can see, that is a somewhat significantly higher voltage than the standard non-rechargeable CR123 cell. Usually, with a single cell load, there is not a problem using rechargeable cells, especially LiFePO4 ones in place of a non-rechargeable CR123 cell. It is when looking to replace two or more cells that problems can occur. There is a current thread in the Incandescent Forum that discusses some of those issues.
 

jimbo231

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I've heard to stay away from any cells containing the name fire as they are more apt to cause one....(Ultrafire trustfire ect )
 

ChrisGarrett

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I've heard to stay away from any cells containing the name fire as they are more apt to cause one....(Ultrafire trustfire ect )

TrustFire cells have always been a decent cell, if you check HKJ's site and actually look at the results.

The Flame label TrustFires are the ones in the past that have performed 'well, or decently'.

The problem is that all of the other 'Fires' out there, are heavily counterfeited--UltraFire, AmericanFire and whatever else they, the Chinese, want to copy.

This is why Henrik's tests are invaluable to us 'flashlight' guys.

The ones I linked seem to test out well on his initial testing.

I'm paraphrasing here, but I once asked Henrik about long term results and his reply was that 'cells testing out well, in his initial testing, are generally 'good cells' for us.

I look at things a bit differently, as an 'end user' and I want to see 'cell life' pan out.

I bought some Kinoko 16340s after his tests and I just didn't get that much 'life' out of them and they were basically trash after 18 months, if that. They did well initially in my 2A-3A lipstick lights, but they just didn't have the stamina for me to revisit them a second time.

He has come out and said that he doesn't do long term tests, only initial tests--ah new time testing, so keep that in mind.

Cells are relatively cheap, compared to a case of micro brews, or a dinner out on the town, so I don't fret too much about it, but look at his test of the red/black TrustFire 16340s of recent weeks and decide for yourself, if they're worth the gamble for a few dollars.

I have a few in my que at FastTech, so I might go with 4-6 for not a lot of cash and see what I see.

I've moved onto 18350 based lights, but I still have a lot of my 16340 lipstick lights that I EDC and my AWs and AWTs are a couple of years old.

Chris
 

jimbo231

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TrustFire cells have always been a decent cell, if you check HKJ's site and actually look at the results.

The Flame label TrustFires are the ones in the past that have performed 'well, or decently'.

The problem is that all of the other 'Fires' out there, are heavily counterfeited--UltraFire, AmericanFire and whatever else they, the Chinese, want to copy.

This is why Henrik's tests are invaluable to us 'flashlight' guys.

The ones I linked seem to test out well on his initial testing.

I'm paraphrasing here, but I once asked Henrik about long term results and his reply was that 'cells testing out well, in his initial testing, are generally 'good cells' for us.

I look at things a bit differently, as an 'end user' and I want to see 'cell life' pan out.

I bought some Kinoko 16340s after his tests and I just didn't get that much 'life' out of them and they were basically trash after 18 months, if that. They did well initially in my 2A-3A lipstick lights, but they just didn't have the stamina for me to revisit them a second time.

He has come out and said that he doesn't do long term tests, only initial tests--ah new time testing, so keep that in mind.

Cells are relatively cheap, compared to a case of micro brews, or a dinner out on the town, so I don't fret too much about it, but look at his test of the red/black TrustFire 16340s of recent weeks and decide for yourself, if they're worth the gamble for a few dollars.

I have a few in my que at FastTech, so I might go with 4-6 for not a lot of cash and see what I see.

I've moved onto 18350 based lights, but I still have a lot of my 16340 lipstick lights that I EDC and my AWs and AWTs are a couple of years old.

Chris

Good to know.....cheers
 

ateupwithgolf

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forgive the ignorance, but a 16340 is the same as a cr123? I have one I think it's efest maybe but it says 700mah, while the cr123 says like 2200mah. So is the larger mah number better for brightness, runtime, neither? thanks.
 

HKJ

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forgive the ignorance, but a 16340 is the same as a cr123? I have one I think it's efest maybe but it says 700mah, while the cr123 says like 2200mah. So is the larger mah number better for brightness, runtime, neither? thanks.


Try reading here: http://lygte-info.dk/info/CR123A and rechargeable substitutes UK.html

2200mAh is wrong.

More mAh usual means longer runtime and has nothing to do with the brightness.
Higher brightness will consume mAh faster, i.e. a battery with higher mAh may not always give longer runtime if the light is brighter.
 

ven

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16340 (sometimes RCR123) is pretty much the size of a CR123, 16mm diameter, 34mm long. If there is a rating of over 700mah(certainly over 1000mah) then good chance not genuine. Most of mine are AWT , KeepPower and efest and still going fine.

Voltage is the difference, the CR123 is 3v, the RCR123/16340 3.7v nominal(4.2v fully charged) . Now problems start when a light that takes 2x CR123 cells=6v. The 2x RCR123 cells fully charged are 4.2v+4.2v=8.4v= potential burnt out LED or driver. So always look out for the R at the start(Rechargeable) .

Buy from a reputable source and you will be fine, try and avoid places like amazon and ebay unless you know its a trusted seller.
 

ChrisGarrett

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forgive the ignorance, but a 16340 is the same as a cr123? I have one I think it's efest maybe but it says 700mah, while the cr123 says like 2200mah. So is the larger mah number better for brightness, runtime, neither? thanks.

No, it's not.

We have three different cells that all look about the same and are all about the same size: 16mm in diameter and 34mm long. Most will have button tops.

CR123A: lithium primary, single use. ~3.25v out of the pack, 3.0v nominal. About a 1.5A continuous rating. Good quality Panasonic/Sanyo Japan/USA CR123As have either 1400mAh, or 1550mAh at a lower drain rate.

RCR123: Lithium iron phosphate--LiFePO4 (IFR). Rechargeable 3.0v/3.2v cell, which can have a protection circuit/diode installed. These come hot off the charger at about 3.60v, but are generally one-to-one swaps with CR123A primaries. Tenergy and K2 Energy, aside from the Chinese generics are probably the two to look for. 600mAh-800mAh is about the best you can hope for at lower drains.

16340: Lithium cobalt/manganese/hybrid. Rechargeable 3.6v/3.7v cells, which come hot off the charger at 4.20v. These can have PCB protection circuits added on the cobalt versions (ICR), or not, on the manganese (IMR) higher drain cells. These generally aren't a direct replacement for the CR123A primary, or even the RCR123 3.0v/3.2v cells. About 500mAh for the manganese high current and about 600mAh-750mAhfor the cobalt versions.

Chris
 

ateupwithgolf

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Try reading here: http://lygte-info.dk/info/CR123A and rechargeable substitutes UK.html

2200mAh is wrong.

More mAh usual means longer runtime and has nothing to do with the brightness.
Higher brightness will consume mAh faster, i.e. a battery with higher mAh may not always give longer runtime if the light is brighter.

It was 1600mAh. It was this one here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...MI7quCj8-32QIVgyFpCh1sjA4uEAQYAiABEgJJNvD_BwE

but it said non rechargeable on it. The other one was 700mah and was rechargeable. So I want the highest mAh rechargeable then I guess?
 

ChrisGarrett

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It is not safe to assume anything about chemistry from the name, some manufacturers do not follow that convention.

That's why I listed their respective voltages, which is really the important aspect of the trio I listed, aside from the DO NOT RECHARGE part of the equation, for the CR123As.

Chris
 

HKJ

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It was 1600mAh. It was this one here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...MI7quCj8-32QIVgyFpCh1sjA4uEAQYAiABEgJJNvD_BwE

but it said non rechargeable on it. The other one was 700mah and was rechargeable. So I want the highest mAh rechargeable then I guess?

You need to find out if the light can work with 4.2V batteries or only the lower 3.4V maximum batteries, that defines what type of rechargeable batteries you can use.
The 4.2V max (3.6V/3.7V nominal, this is the voltage marked on the battery) is the best with most capacity and they may also give higher brightness.
 

HKJ

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From a OLight manual:

1 MINI BATON or S1 MINI BATON HCRI, OLIGHT 650mAh 3.7V RCR123A battery,

They call it a RCR123A, but it is a 4.2V max. battery when they say 3.7V

You can find 16340 here (Same as RCR123): http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonSmallcomparator.php
Look at where the curve drops, there is a cell rated 2300mAh, but the curve drops at 350mA (Between 0.3 and 0.4 Ah), i.e. it is a 350mAh and not a 2300mAh.
 
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