# What do you do with old CR123a batteries?



## mrmakochan (Mar 29, 2008)

I will only use brand new CR123 batteries in my Surefire 6P or Streamlight Scorpion. But once they've reached below 50% ~ 30% brightness I tend to swam them out for new batteries. 

So now I have a box full of 50% ~ 70% spent CR123 batteries. Its a waste to recycle them away so I've kept them.

I realized that I could start using these for my bed-side light (3W Mini Cree from DX). It works our great since I only need 5 ~ 10 lumens (And I'm too poor to afford a Novatac 120p). I use up these batteries until they are completely spent.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4240

I guess any 1 x CR123a flashlight would work. Just make sure you don't mix these batteries up with your new ones.


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## Illum (Mar 29, 2008)

2 of these [ http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/dorcy_super1w.htm ]
1 P1-CE [https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=317]
1 T1 [ http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/inova_t.htm ]


I burn out my half spent stock by taking night showers in the dark [well, not really dark dark, just off the AC grid:nana:]

its best not to drain the cells below 10% of their remaining capacity.
Since my conversion to 17670/rcr123A I've basically stopped buying cr123As altogether


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## 270winchester (Mar 29, 2008)

get an E1L, quite a bit cheaper than the Novatac at 99 dollars, less from CPF dealers. The low level should suck the cells pretty dry. it will drain the cell better than the single level P1 that will shut down due to lack of power to maintain that one level, and the multi-level P1d is not that much less than the E1L.


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## Monocrom (Mar 29, 2008)

I have enough 2xCR123 lights to outfit a small army. My Inova X5 will work with cells that won't cause my Surefire lights to light up.


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## hank (Mar 29, 2008)

Remember, keep your old (and new, for that matter) lithium batteries --- primary as well as rechargeable -- in a fireproof* box.

Ever had a battery leak, in your lifetime? They all do, eventually, you know.

This is an example of what happens when one lithium battery in a shipment ignites in a NON-fireproof box. This box was made of aluminum:

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/US/02/08/ups.plane.fire/story.ups.plane.jpg

Dec 10, 2004 ... A single non-rechargeable lithium battery on fire within a cargo shipment ... 
www.dot.gov/affairs/faa001.htm


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## ampdude (Mar 29, 2008)

hank said:


> Remember, keep your old (and new, for that matter) lithium batteries --- primary as well as rechargeable -- in a fireproof* box.
> 
> Ever had a battery leak, in your lifetime? They all do, eventually, you know.
> 
> ...



I don't keep my cell phone or laptop in a fire proof box. So I don't see the point to keeping lithium batteries in one. I figure they are not any more likely to ignite if I take care in using them.


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## Caligvla (Mar 29, 2008)

I send all my old CR123s to Al Gore, he uses junk science to turn them into "carbon offsets"


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## fxstsb (Mar 29, 2008)

Caligvla said:


> I send all my old CR123s to Al Gore, he uses junk science to turn them into "carbon offsets"


yep!


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## USM0083 (Mar 29, 2008)

mrmakochan said:


> I guess any 1 x CR123a flashlight would work. Just make sure you don't mix these batteries up with your new ones.



I mark my paired batteries and keep each pair in a separate in a small zip lock bag.


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## ampdude (Mar 29, 2008)

Forgot to mention, I throw my old CR123A's in the garbage. They are supposed to be safe (not cause any fires) when they are dead. Not that I use that many. I tend to drain them down all the way.


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## hank (Mar 29, 2008)

> I don't see the point to keeping lithium batteries in one.

Count them to estimate the total energy. Cell phone? One. Flashlight, two or three. Drawer with a handful or more of half-discharged primary cells? Lots.

One leak will ignite all of them; it's happened to others. You're careful with single batteries in chargers and with pairs of batteries in flashlights; a drawer full of partly discharged primary lithium cells warrants the same forethought.


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## Illum (Mar 29, 2008)

hence why I make sure cells are respected and no fights should break out between them. 

A happy environment is a safe environment. Any uncooperative cells are discarded regardless of their capacity or company.


I don't read to them, but boy what I do to make sure their happy will convince anyone with a psychology background to put me in an asylum. Sleeping on the floor and giving up the bed is one example


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## NA8 (Mar 29, 2008)

ampdude said:


> I don't keep my cell phone or laptop in a fire proof box. So I don't see the point to keeping lithium batteries in one. I figure they are not any more likely to ignite if I take care in using them.




You can take care all you want, but that's not really the issue. 


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2295743.ece


From The Times
August 21, 2007
Japanese experts demand change to make phones and laptops safe
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent 

The fundamental technology behind the present generation of lithium-ion cells – the batteries that power nearly every laptop computer and mobile phone in the world – is inherently dangerous and must be changed to ensure safety, according to experts. 

Masataka Wakihara, of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who advises the Japanese Government on battery safety, told The Times that there must be changes to the way in which batteries are made if they are to be robust enough for everyday use. 

His warnings were supported by comments from Kuniaki Tatsumi, head of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s battery research group, who said that “companies are less cautious about designing batteries with a focus on safety”. 

At least two Japanese manufacturers are understood to be considering redesigns of their production lines as a result of Professor Wakihara’s advice, but in general companies are expected to resist calls to overhaul their factories. Although the commercial production of lithium-ion batteries began in 1992, when Sony became the first to enter the market, most battery production lines are young and have required substantial investment already, hence the difficulty in persuading their owners that a small number of battery explosions merits an expensive change. 

“Battery companies are still learning because the technology is young, but there is a fundamental flaw with the way lithium-ion batteries are currently designed and if the companies genuinely care about safety, they need to completely change their production methods. A lithium-ion battery is quite a dangerous little box of energy,” Professor Wakihara said. 

Last year Japanese companies produced around 60 per cent of the two billion lithium-ion batteries sold worldwide. Machines such as multi-function mobile phones, digital cameras and laptops equipped with processors large enough to cope with Microsoft’s new Vista program place huge demands on the batteries. According to Professor Wakihara, the risks of not adopting an alternative technology are rising constantly because of the demands that modern devices in a “mobile device culture” place on their power source. 

“Efforts have been mainly devoted to miniaturisation and boosting power output,” Professor Tatsumi said. 

The academics’ concerns emerged after a series of safety problems at the world’s three biggest battery manufacturers – Sony, Sanyo and, most recently, Matsushita (Panasonic), which has recalled 46 million mobile phone batteries made for Nokia after a handful of them burst into flames. 

While the temptation has been to blame quality control at the factories where the batteries are made, Professor Wakihara said, the focus is wrong. ..."


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## Bror Jace (Mar 29, 2008)

I take cells of all types, drain them as much as possible with various flashlights, then collect them in a large, clean peanut butter jar then drop them off at a recycling point coordinated by the New York State Office of General Services.


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## NeonLights (Mar 29, 2008)

If they are in a 2x123 cell light I usually drain them in one of my Inova X5's, if they are singles I sometimes use them in my older SF E1L or Fenix P1 or just throw them out.


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## dlrflyer (Mar 29, 2008)

Oh, this is a slam dunk! In proper CPF fashion, I will point you to a light to drain those batteries. All you need to know is Inova X5. It is THE battery vampire. I bet those batteries could run an X5 a good 3hrs. The only thing is, it would be best to keep them in pairs, unless you buy a red led X5. Every flashoholic that uses 123A primaries needs at least one X5. It is a true classic.


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## jugg2 (Mar 30, 2008)

I purposely vent them in a fire to prevent accidental venting.:devil:


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## mrmakochan (Mar 30, 2008)

What version of Inova X5? Isn't it a 2 x CR123 light?


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## Monocrom (Mar 30, 2008)

mrmakochan said:


> What version of Inova X5? Isn't it a 2 x CR123 light?


 
Yes it is.


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## ExZeRoEx (Mar 30, 2008)

How does the red X5 take only one battery, is it shorter? Or does the body have something like a dummy cell/spacer in there?


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## Bolek (Mar 30, 2008)

Is it any danger to completly discharge a primary CR123 in a SINGLE 123 light (like Fenix P2D designed to light from a voltage as low as 1.2V)?


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## roadie (Mar 30, 2008)

recently purchased a cheap cr123a 3w MXDL to "fully" uitilize any power leftover from my main light ... a D3 withP91 ...

cant complain the quality of the beam as its old batteries, and its a very cheap light ....


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## scottaw (Mar 30, 2008)

The Red X5 is the same length, and uses a spacer.

As far as me killing batteries, I only own 1 2 cell light anymore, everything else is single cell, so i use dead cells in my L1 or 120P, then off to the trash when they're too low to rely on.


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## yaesumofo (Mar 30, 2008)

I have a flashlight made by Milky which drains a battery completely.

All dead batteries Included worn out rechargeables NIMH Lion everything...I take them to a toxic waste collection point at the local sewage treatment plant. 
I don't know what they do with the stuff but at least it doesn't end up in the landfill.
The place I go to is in Los Angeles it is the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant

They handle old paint lead and anything which could be called hazardous. and it is free.
Yaesumofo





mrmakochan said:


> I will only use brand new CR123 batteries in my Surefire 6P or Streamlight Scorpion. But once they've reached below 50% ~ 30% brightness I tend to swam them out for new batteries.
> 
> So now I have a box full of 50% ~ 70% spent CR123 batteries. Its a waste to recycle them away so I've kept them.
> 
> ...


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## mrmakochan (Mar 30, 2008)

Nice, I surf right by there at El Porto. I didn't know that Hyperion does battery recycling. Fortunately, my company has a lot of recycling bins designated for batteries.



yaesumofo said:


> I have a flashlight made by Milky which drains a battery completely.
> 
> All dead batteries Included worn out rechargeables NIMH Lion everything...I take them to a toxic waste collection point at the local sewage treatment plant.
> I don't know what they do with the stuff but at least it doesn't end up in the landfill.
> ...


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## yaesumofo (Mar 30, 2008)

I do not know that they RECYCLE them. Their focus if hazardous materials collection. Used batteries are certainly hazardous to the environment.

All I know is that As a sound mixer we used to use 100's of 9V's as well as AA's and lithium 9V's and other batteries.
I have completly switched to rechargable technologies for use on the job. I no longer go to the treatment plant6 every month with a huge box of TOXIC WASTE.
Used batteries are terrible things.
Yaesumofo




mrmakochan said:


> Nice, I surf right by there at El Porto. I didn't know that Hyperion does battery recycling. Fortunately, my company has a lot of recycling bins designated for batteries.


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## JPasquini (Mar 30, 2008)

dlrflyer said:


> Oh, this is a slam dunk! In proper CPF fashion, I will point you to a light to drain those batteries. All you need to know is Inova X5. It is THE battery vampire. I bet those batteries could run an X5 a good 3hrs. The only thing is, it would be best to keep them in pairs, unless you buy a red led X5. Every flashoholic that uses 123A primaries needs at least one X5. It is a true classic.



+1 on the Red Inova X5... Purchased one a while back specifically for draining old CR123s. :thumbsup:


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## ValhallaPrime (Mar 30, 2008)

+1 on the inova X5 for draining.....3 hours eh? It'll go for much longer than that on batteries that my SF E2D won't light up with. It's a freakin vampire. great for night walks in the city when I just need to see the sidewalk for cracks and broken glass.


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## Lunal_Tic (Mar 30, 2008)

They go to either an Inova X5, a Tekna Splashlite LED, or Milky Candle.

-LT


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## mrmakochan (Mar 31, 2008)

Hmm...what do people use a red-LED Inova X5 for? I'm guessing for people that have to maintain night-vision.

I see that botach is clearing them out for $15. Should I pick one up?
http://www.botachtactical.com/inx5tacledfl.html


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## s4biturbo (Mar 31, 2008)

anyone here know how a glo-toob would do for draining partially depleted cr123's?

thx


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## hank (Mar 31, 2008)

Put botach in the search box. Always consider the seller as well as the price.


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## chmsam (Mar 31, 2008)

I recycle as many as I can after I use them up as much as I can, like everyone else does, or at least should be doing. This is probably a good idea as I am just as tempted to simply keep a few on hand to chuck at people who annoy me, and there are a lot more of those lately. Recycling is probably a little more socially acceptable, huh?

I have noticed that a few places who claim they recycle batteries are really pretty put off when you ask them to actually take your batteries. It's like they want to say they will be environmentally friendly, but that ain't the green in which they are really interested. Anyone else run into this? But then again, these are some of the people I'd like to bean with an old 123. Hey, I'm not that old & grumpy -- I mean, it's not like I'm not talking about SLA batteries, OK?


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## Crenshaw (Apr 2, 2008)

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/185691

just in case...

Crenshaw


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## Sparky's Magic (Apr 12, 2011)

Feed them to my Peak McKinley Ultra / Snow. which runs them way down; a real Vampire!


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## Benson (Apr 12, 2011)

I heard they can explode, so I load 'em up as 12 gauge slugs for home demolition, uh, I mean home *defense* rounds. :devil:

(Kidding, btw. I doubt they would be effective anyway, and splattering toxic battery guts all over the range isn't exactly cool.)


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## MWClint (Apr 12, 2011)

Sparky's Magic said:


> Feed them to my Peak McKinley Ultra / Snow. which runs them way down; a real Vampire!


 
Thats where mine go as well. McKinley's are great vampires, but they are getting kinda hard to find now.


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## Kestrel (Apr 12, 2011)

Definitely Crenshaw's thread he linked to above. :thumbsup:

For me, it's a SureFire L1 (Cree). Runs at full output on a CR123 that's too low to support 'max' on my SureFire T1A.


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## angelofwar (Apr 12, 2011)

Or build one of these in a 3P format.

Also the L1, as Kestrel mentioned, or the E1B.


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## mbw_151 (Apr 13, 2011)

I use partially spent cells one at a time in an X5 with a dummy, avoids an potential charge imbalance issues. Even with one cell you get a few lumens. When they are dead they go to the Haz Waste collection center along with paint, solvents fluorescent light tubes and any other nasty stuff.


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## lyklyk616 (Apr 13, 2011)

Vulgar comments removed. 
Norm


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## TyJo (Apr 13, 2011)

s4biturbo said:


> anyone here know how a glo-toob would do for draining partially depleted cr123's?
> 
> thx


 My Glo-Toob lithium white works good as a candle, its pretty bright (in a dark room). I think it can get like 24 hours on a full primary on the brightest setting, up to 40 hours on the lowest flashy setting. I don't use it much and I'm thinking about leaving it in my car, I use RCR123s in mine.


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## computernut (Apr 13, 2011)

When my CR123's are too low to power the light they are in I wrap electrical tape around the ends to avoid shorts and keep them in matched sets. I throw them in a plastic bin with a lid and if I ever have an extended power outage I probably have months of runtime out of my Inova X5 Red and X5 White.


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## Kingfisher (Apr 13, 2011)

Keeping my flats in the shed in a bag. Going to use them in flashlight photographs sometime - maybe when I get a new Surefire - I think they make good background.

Then I will recycle them - plenty of supermarkets have those battery recycle bins now - use em'!


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## Flying Turtle (Apr 14, 2011)

After I bleed them in the L1 they go in a box that I eventually drop off at Radio Shack.

Geoff


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## Mr Bigglow (Apr 14, 2011)

Having been told many many times that it's dangerous to fully discharge even matched-use lithium batteries in a different light, when they get too low in a working 2 or 3 cell light, I drain my 123s one at a time in a spare E1B, which actually works out pretty well since, being a spare, I use it for non-critical tasks like going to the bathroom at night without turning on brighter lights and potentially waking everyone in the place up- including myself. It's the semi-somulent flashlight system!


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## CKOD (Apr 14, 2011)

"Similar threads" thread rez shens! lol 

+1 to draining them one at a time, not in pairs. Even cells from the same lot by the same MFR will have different capacities. Draining a cell to nothing = no problem. Reverse charging = big problem, and one cell will be empty before the other, it gets reverse charged.


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## shao.fu.tzer (Apr 14, 2011)

+1 on the Glo-Toob... I use up my old CR123s in them... As someone had mentioned earlier, they make nice electronic candles... The red one is perfect for setting that "mood" when you're with that special someone... really though... Just don't use any of the blinky modes lest you send them into epileptic shock.


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## Lumen83 (Oct 26, 2021)

I have a 5D that I converted to LED so it will hold up better if I have to bash someone over the head with it.


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## vicv (Oct 27, 2021)

Lumen83 said:


> I have a 5D that I converted to LED so it will hold up better if I have to bash someone over the head with it.


Did you accidentally post this in the wrong thread? Lol


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