# RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 8



## old4570 (Feb 26, 2010)

*RCR123A Self discharge test [ now 22Weeks ]*






Lets add a graph to make it easier







I did my best to make sure all the batteries came off the charger @ 4.21volts 
So after about one hour after charging these are the voltage readings ...

I will let them sit for a week and then measure voltage to see how much self discharge there is .... Looks interesting , will keep going 

KY70 is doing some interesting things with the data :twothumbs

Updated 16 August 
Some 2 weeks to go


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## LupinIII (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Hmm,

Thanks for running this test, I'll look forward to seeing the results.

This will help for my upcoming major battery purchase.


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## amigafan2003 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Are they all brand new? Used or old cells will have a higher self discharge.


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## old4570 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Used a little , maybe 5 times max ...
I run mainly 18650 now , and the only CR123A's I use are my Trustfire Red and Black cells in my A20 . 

These batteries have been shelf queens


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## amigafan2003 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Have they all been on the shelf for the same length of time? Stored at room temp? What was the charge level when in storage?


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## damn_hammer (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

really.

old4570, thanks for doing this. I look forward to the results.


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## Black Rose (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



old4570 said:


> I did my best to make sure all the batteries cam off the charger @ 4.21volts


Not that it really matters, but what charger did you use to charge them?


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## 45/70 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

old, as much as I hate to say it (you do some neat stuff :thumbsup, "shelf queens" are not really going to provide any useful information. Unless all the cells were manufactured on the same date, cycled _exactly_ the same, for the same number of cycles, and stored under the exact same conditions, your results won't mean much. If any one of the above criteria are not met, concerning Li-Ion cells, it could throw the comparative results off significantly.

Dave


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## old4570 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



45/70 said:


> old, as much as I hate to say it (you do some neat stuff :thumbsup, "shelf queens" are not really going to provide any useful information. Unless all the cells were manufactured on the same date, cycled _exactly_ the same, for the same number of cycles, and stored under the exact same conditions, your results won't mean much. If any one of the above criteria are not met, concerning Li-Ion cells, it could throw the comparative results off significantly.
> 
> Dave



All purchased within a 2 month period , all stored under the same conditions , and yes its by no means scientific .. I moved very quickly to 18650 so the CR123A's got very little use .. And the only CR123A's I would consider buying ATM are the Red and Black Trustfires . 

Anyhow , around Christmas I recharged all the RCR123A's and when measuring the voltage , well it was all over the place , some batteries did much better than others , so thats what motivated this ... 

Its just to give you all an idea ... Not by any means scientific 
So the last time they were charged was Christmas , all of them . 

It would be nice to be able to send out a few emails and get fresh cells for testing but thats just not happening ... 

Ive tried contacting some battery manufacturers , but there just not interested in powering flashlights . Laptops are just far to lucrative , or perhaps there to short sighted to see the potential in the flashlight market ? 
Anyways Im not paying $40 for a single 18650 just to be able to test it , and do a Manufacturer a favor , thats just asking to much .


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## generallobster (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

thanks for doing this test. those ultrafires look really long.


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## alfreddajero (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Hmmmm, just noticed that....cant wait for the results......i have the AW's, and the Solarforce cells so i would like to see how they compare.


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## Lighthouse one (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

I've had excellent results with the Soshine brand> One bet for them!! Probably got to run at least 2 months.


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## old4570 (Feb 28, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



Lighthouse one said:


> I've had excellent results with the Soshine brand> One bet for them!! Probably got to run at least 2 months.



Since I have little to no need for the cells , I can do it for as long as you folks want ... anyone for 6 months ?


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## alfreddajero (Feb 28, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

How about by the week bud, most of my lith cells get rotated out.


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## kramer5150 (Feb 28, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

One of the things I do with sanyo 18650 laptop pulls is charge then to ~4.17V, and just let them sit for ~4-5 weeks (thats the limit of my patience). I have a tupperware case that I store them in and I mark the start date on the top.

After that time I toss any cell that has dropped below 4.07, thats usually the bottom ~%15. Most cells are around 4.10, and the really good ones are in the 4.15 range, the top ~%15.

The top performers get marked "LSD" with a black sharpie. The medium performers get marked with "MSD". I make sure not to inter-mix them, but I usually use 1xcell 18650 lights so its a moot point. But its a great way to weed out the poorer performing cells. As long as I top off my cells every 3-4 weeks they are good to go.

I have never done this with 16340 cells though, so I look forward to your results.

**EDIT**
IMHO you are going to need at least 6-7 cells of each brand though to come to any real conclusions, there can be a lot of variation within even one brand.


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## old4570 (Feb 28, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



kramer5150 said:


> One of the things I do with sanyo 18650 laptop pulls is charge then to ~4.17V, and just let them sit for ~4-5 weeks (thats the limit of my patience). I have a tupperware case that I store them in and I mark the start date on the top.
> 
> After that time I toss any cell that has dropped below 4.07, thats usually the bottom ~%15. Most cells are around 4.10, and the really good ones are in the 4.15 range, the top ~%15.
> 
> ...



True , to get meaningful data on any one brand you would need a large test group , 10 to 20 cells for anything really concrete on said brand ..
A 100 cells would be more like it ...
10 Brands or so , minimum 10 cells each , Time to recharge 100 cells = possibly 100 Hours or more , cost = $250+ to buy ,  

I dont see it happening anytime soon ... 

I have taken what I have at hand , and see what happens , just to get an idea of the self discharge rates on RCR123A's , since it is a question often asked ... It should by no means be a judgment on individual brands [ ? ] but rather a guide to possible self discharge rates of RCR123A's .

 If any Chinese Distributor/Reseller reads this and wants to donate a fresh test batch of RCR123A's for test and evaluation ? 

It would be good to see a comprehensive RCR123A test , with a meaningful test batch of batteries , but it would be a serious financial investment and an investment in test time .. Perhaps there is a rich CPF member with lots of time on his or her hands ...


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## old4570 (Mar 6, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

1st weeks results are in .... :green:

Bumpety !


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## alfreddajero (Mar 6, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Nice to see that some of the cells did okay for the duration......


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## old4570 (Mar 6, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



alfreddajero said:


> Nice to see that some of the cells did okay for the duration......



Yes , now to keep going and see what happens after week 2 .


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## Black Rose (Mar 6, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Interesting results after only a week.


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## old4570 (Mar 15, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

Bumpety = 2nd week


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## old4570 (Mar 20, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 3*

Well , there seems to be a trend forming : :thinking:


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## alfreddajero (Mar 20, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 3*

It seems that all the cells are doing pretty good.....especially the Solarforce and AW's. I say that because there the only brands that i have.


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## old4570 (Mar 20, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 3*



alfreddajero said:


> It seems that all the cells are doing pretty good.....especially the Solarforce and AW's. I say that because there the only brands that i have.




AW and one of the Ultrafires are neck and neck .... 
With the Grey Ultrafire and Soshine bringing in the rear ... 

Hmmm ,


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## old4570 (Mar 29, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 4*

Week 4 :thinking: Bumpedy


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## jasonck08 (Mar 30, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 4*

Good update. How long do you plan on keeping the tests going?


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## old4570 (Mar 30, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 4*

Im happy to keep going ... When folks lose interest ?


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## TooManyGizmos (Mar 30, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 4*

I think for it to be the most useful ..........

We need the self discharge data for at least 6 months .

Simulating an unused light - will it work if you need it after 6 to 8 months ?

Or did the cells self discharge beyond usable ?


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## Yavox (Mar 30, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 4*



old4570 said:


> Im happy to keep going ... When folks lose interest ?



I will be keeping my eye on this thread for at last 3 months from now


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## ky70 (Mar 31, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 4*

Nice Work!! I love having data like this. I hope you don't mind but I dropped your results in Excel and calculated percentages and rankings. I'm shocked to see one of the Ultrafire Protected (battery#5)tied for 1st with the Aw protected...and the other UF Protected is a very close 3rd and only .001% out of 1st after 4 weeks.

Edit: 12 weeks in the books and the UF protected cells are still holding their own with the AW.


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## old4570 (Apr 4, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 5*

Results posted for week 5 [ which is 6 weeks since charging ]


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## old4570 (Apr 12, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 6*

Week 6 results posted !

We have 4 stand out batteries from this lot ..
Ultrafire grey 4.18v, Ultrafire Blue protected 4.18v, AW 4.18v, and the Soshine 4.17v


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## jasonck08 (Apr 22, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 6*

I've been trying to do a similar test like this myself with various cells.

My AW RCR123's I charged up less then a week ago exactly to 4.20v, are now at 4.17v. The cell only has 2-3 cycles. A random branded blue RCR123 is down to 4.16v after about a week. I'm also testing a couple 14500's and 18650's.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but its interesting that even the same cells can behave quite differently (My AW's vs yoour AW's).

Also, I read on I think it was batteryuniversity.com that most LiCo cells will discharge 5% of there capacity within 24hrs of charging. I'll have to look back to try and find the source, but this actually surprised me. I thought they discharged like 5% max for the first month, then then about 2% every month after.


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## old4570 (Apr 23, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test / Week 6*



jasonck08 said:


> I've been trying to do a similar test like this myself with various cells.
> 
> My AW RCR123's I charged up less then a week ago exactly to 4.20v, are now at 4.17v. The cell only has 2-3 cycles. A random branded blue RCR123 is down to 4.16v after about a week. I'm also testing a couple 14500's and 18650's.
> 
> ...



Very much dependent on each individual cell , we just dont have the manufacturing capability to make things exactly the same , there will be some variation , even in the same lot . The other variable is the protection circuit , some have parasitic drain , its pot luck to some extent ..

And one of the reasons I started this test , just because you buy expensive , is not necessarily a guarantee of anything [ because of the variables ] , hopefully you minimize the risk of buying not so good . 

Still . it amazes me that the much maligned batteries are holding up as well as they are , and some of the ones with better reputations are not . 
Still , this is a very small sample lot , and not much should be read into it .

To be more scientific , each brand/type should be represented by at least 10 cells if not 100 to be representative of the quality etc . 

10x100 = 1000 cells to monitor / store / and lets not forget fully charge ....


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## old4570 (Apr 23, 2010)

Well , I skipped week 7 , so I will update every 2 weeks as things are moving somewhat slowly ...

[ Voltage wise that is ]


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## Beacon of Light (Apr 27, 2010)

Cool thread. I am going to follow this one. I hope this continues to past 6 months even. 

Might explain why out of a 4 pack of the grey protected Ultrafire 880mAh RCRs 2 didn't power up my Novatac. Then out of the 4 replacements mailed to me from Lighthound, 1 out of the 4 didn't work.


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## mdocod (Apr 28, 2010)

Awesome idea and keep it up!

Thank You!!!!


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## old4570 (May 10, 2010)

Week 10 posted ! 

Still AW and Ultrafire in the lead , followed by the grey ultrafire and soshine ..

No1 Ultrafire 1000 / AW 
No2 Ultrafire Grey
No3 Soshine


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## old4570 (May 23, 2010)

Well , were up to 3 months ...


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## kramer5150 (May 24, 2010)

What surprises me the most is that theres no correlation between LSD performance and the presence of a protection circuit. I would have thought for sure the Ultrafire #3 and 5 would self discharge faster than Ultrafire #4. Its the exact opposite however.

:thumbsup:... thanks for doing this test.


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## HKJ (May 24, 2010)

kramer5150 said:


> What surprises me the most is that theres no correlation between LSD performance and the presence of a protection circuit. I would have thought for sure the Ultrafire #3 and 5 would self discharge faster than Ultrafire #4. Its the exact opposite however.


 I did measure a few protection circuit and they used only a few uA (less than 5 uA). This current drain needs some years to drain the batteries.


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## Black Rose (May 24, 2010)

Very interesting results.


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## fishinfool (May 24, 2010)

Thanks for this old4570! :twothumbs 

It makes it easier, especially for us newbies, to choose which 16340's to purchase.


What kind of 45/70 do you have?


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## old4570 (May 24, 2010)

fishinfool said:


> Thanks for this old4570! :twothumbs
> 
> It makes it easier, especially for us newbies, to choose which 16340's to purchase.
> 
> ...



Dont have one ATM , but Im partial to the 1895 Marlin ... 
Several years ago they came out with the Cowboy 1895 with a octagon 26inch barrel , which looks very interesting , but not enough spare cash ... 

Have you ever seen the Heritage 45/70 SA - very interesting .


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## fishinfool (May 24, 2010)

old4570 said:


> Dont have one ATM , but Im partial to the 1895 Marlin ...
> Several years ago they came out with the Cowboy 1895 with a octagon 26inch barrel , which looks very interesting , but not enough spare cash ...
> 
> *Have you ever seen the Heritage 45/70 SA - very interesting.*


 
No I haven't but when I lived in Alaska I had a Thompson Center Contender (among many other guns and rifles) with a 45/70 - 16" barrel which I used mostly with 410 ga. shotgun shells on small game. 

I love this thread of yours and will follow it until you get tired of doing the test. :thanks:


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## richardcpf (May 24, 2010)

Just got myself 6 soshine 123s to replace my old KD cells. Glad to know they are good.


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## old4570 (May 25, 2010)

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/EveryGun/GunMfgDetail.aspx?id=223
Heritage I 45-70 Darn hard to find any info on it .


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## shark_za (May 25, 2010)

I have relegated my Solarforce 16340's to home use after reading this and measuring myself at home. 
They take a massive drop in the first week or so, my Cytac ones dont.
Bah ! 


Off topic, I have an 1895G guide gun, its sweet :thumbsup:


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## fishinfool (May 25, 2010)

old4570 said:


> http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/EveryGun/GunMfgDetail.aspx?id=223
> Heritage I 45-70 Darn hard to find any info on it .


 
I can't even imagine shooting a 45/70 revolver. It must have one hell of a kick.


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## kramer5150 (May 25, 2010)

Curious...
Does voltage drop percentage over time directly translate to percent storage drop?

:thinking:


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## 45/70 (May 25, 2010)

old4570 said:


> Have you ever seen the Heritage 45/70 SA - very interesting .



OT, but did somebody mention 45/70? 

I handled a Heritage back in the late 80's. Those things are monsters! I mean "Big"! Unfortunately I've never had the honor to actually shoot one.

Interestingly enough, the 45/70 cartridge in a handgun length barrel falls short of something like a 454 Casull. There just isn't enough time for all the powder to burn, basically. The 454 benefits from having a higher maximum pressure, 57,000 CIP (piezo) vs. 32,000 for the 45/70, as well. Still, I'm sure one would get quite a "bang" out of shooting a 45/70 revolver. 

All in all, longer cartridges work best in rifles and shorter cartridges work best in handguns. fishinfool's Contender would do pretty well though, but Contenders are more of a specialty item.


Here's a couple of my "5 shooters".











Top: Model 1895 Marlin circa 1980. 23.5" barrel w/4 shot 2/3's magazine (4+1), straight butt stock w/crescent butt plate.

Bottom: Freedom Arms 454 Casull "Field Grade" 7 1/2" barrel, circa 1998.


Sorry for going OT, old, but I'm hoping you're sympathetic.  And hey, there are some RCR123's in the pic! OK, OK, they're actually 17340 LiFePO4 cells, as are the 18650's, but at least I tried to stay on topic, sorta! 

Dave


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## fishinfool (May 25, 2010)

WOW! That's a beautiful and BIG 454 Casull Dave!  How's it kick? 

One of my favorite handguns was my .44 magnum Desert Eagle. It was fun to shoot....very powerful but also very heavy to carry around. My big game hunting rifle was a Winchester model 70 .375 H&H Magnum which I used for moose, brown and black bear. Of course ammo for them cost more also so I didn't shoot them as much as I wanted too.

I did have the most fun shooting my Ruger 10/22's and my .22 pistols mainly because, back then, a brick was about 8-9 bucks. Cheap ammo was always the most fun to shoot.  Plus grouse, ptarmigan and rabbit are everywhere in Alaska.

It broke my heart to sell all my guns, rifles, fishing gear, basically everything before moving to Hawaii.


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## Chauncey Gardner (May 25, 2010)

Thanks for continuing to keep it up Old 4570.

You have a few of the same 16340's I do. 
There is a dramatic difference in length between some of the 'fire & AW's!.
Some are unuseable in the twisties.

Surprised at how well some of them are holding up.

How many months are you going to continue?


Just looking at the Marlin makes my shoulder ache .


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## old4570 (May 26, 2010)

Chauncey Gardner said:


> Thanks for continuing to keep it up Old 4570.
> 
> You have a few of the same 16340's I do.
> There is a dramatic difference in length between some of the 'fire & AW's!.
> ...



Since I have no real need of the CR123A's [ And I have enough to spare ] ill keep going for another 3 months ...

Nice hardware Dave ..... :wave:


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## 45/70 (May 26, 2010)

fishinfool said:


> WOW! That's a beautiful and BIG 454 Casull Dave!  How's it kick?



Heartily. No matter how you hold it, the barrel jumps up and ends up pointing somewhere behind you in the sky, with the near 2000ft-lb loads.



Chauncey Gardner said:


> Just looking at the Marlin makes my shoulder ache .



It's similar to a 30-'06, but has more of a "thump". It's hard to describe, different, but about the same overall.



old4570 said:


> Nice hardware Dave ..... :wave:



Thanks, old. This *was* a temporary hijack, but hey, you started it. 

We will now return to old's regular programming. 

Dave


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## stangster (May 27, 2010)

Subscribed! Thanks for da testing!


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## ky70 (May 27, 2010)

This is really great stuff. After 12 weeks, the 2 UF protetcted batteries, the AW, and Soshine continue to separate from the pack (rankings of Old4570s results are *here*). Thanks for keeping this going Old4570!!


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## kramer5150 (May 27, 2010)

FWIW... I have several Ultrafire #5 cells ( the unprotected version however), and they hold out several weeks (at least) between charges. I only charge them to ~4.15V and they usually drop by .02V during that time. I use them in my SF-A2 incan.

What are the odds that the #5 Ultrafire and AW-black use the same identical raw cell (manufacturer/supplier) from China?


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## old4570 (May 27, 2010)

kramer5150 said:


> FWIW... I have several Ultrafire #5 cells ( the unprotected version however), and they hold out several weeks (at least) between charges. I only charge them to ~4.15V and they usually drop by .02V during that time. I use them in my SF-A2 incan.
> 
> What are the odds that the #5 Ultrafire and AW-black use the same identical raw cell (manufacturer/supplier) from China?



No 5 is physically longer than the AW , so I would guess long odds .. No 4 comes close .. in fact no4 - spider fire - solarforce - soshine - and AW are the same length or there abouts .. 

But a reminder that this is too small a sample lot , to draw to many conclusions from .. The only conclusion I would draw is , a good cell can be very good , and the not so good cells , well there not so good . 

Still very interesting to see that some cells can hold a charge for so long . Spiderfire is the first to hit 4v , at the beginning I would have thought it may have done better  , but there you go . I would guess the results are panning out differently to what many of us would have thought .


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## old4570 (Jun 6, 2010)

Week 14 ... :thinking:

:thumbsup:


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## [email protected] (Jun 6, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



old4570 said:


> the only CR123A's I use are my Trustfire Red and Black cells in my A20.





old4570 said:


> the only CR123A's I would consider buying ATM are the Red and Black Trustfires.




That being the case... why have you omitted the red/black Trustfires from this little experiment of yours? :thinking:

FWIW I've got the red/black Trustfires RCR123's too 



*Ultrafires & AW's out in front!*


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## old4570 (Jun 7, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



[email protected] said:


> That being the case... why have you omitted the red/black Trustfires from this little experiment of yours? :thinking:
> 
> FWIW I've got the red/black Trustfires RCR123's too
> 
> ...



There excluded , simply because I use them ..
To be without them for 6 months , was simply unthinkable .
I only have 2 ATM , and I use both , they are my hardest working CR123A's .
And I want to see how they stand up to a lot of use .. The batteries in this little test are un-needed ones , and all are about the same vintage , and had the same [ minimal ] use .


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## old4570 (Jun 20, 2010)

16 Weeks [ results posted ] ... :candle:


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## Black Rose (Jun 20, 2010)

I know I've probably said this before, but very interesting results.

2 cheapies and the defacto CPF standard still holding strong.


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## fishinfool (Jun 21, 2010)

Another week already? How time flies....... 

Here's to you and all your hard work. Thanks old4570. :buddies:


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## old4570 (Jul 2, 2010)

18 Weeks .... So about 8 weeks to go for 6 months .


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## pae77 (Jul 18, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



old4570 said:


> There excluded , simply because I use them ..
> To be without them for 6 months , was simply unthinkable .
> I only have 2 ATM , and I use both , they are my hardest working CR123A's .
> And I want to see how they stand up to a lot of use .. The batteries in this little test are un-needed ones , and all are about the same vintage , and had the same [ minimal ] use .


Does anyone know whether a pair of those red and black protected Trustfire 16340's fit in a Solarforce L2p OK, or are they too long?


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## old4570 (Jul 18, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



pae77 said:


> Does anyone know whether a pair of those red and black protected Trustfire 16340's fit in a Solarforce L2p OK, or are they too long?



They will fit just fine .


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## old4570 (Jul 18, 2010)

20 weeks posted . :tired:


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## pae77 (Jul 18, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



old4570 said:


> They will fit just fine .


Great, thanks. lovecpf


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## mdocod (Jul 18, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*

I have an observation to make: If someone has made this observation already, then I apologize I haven't ready every post in this thread thoroughly...

The cells that are doing poorly in the test and are down around 4.06V give or take, all took a large plunge early on in the test. Like literally in the first week. After which point they are settling at a pace that seems roughly similar to what one might expect from natural self discharge combined with some minor drain from the protection, etc etc.

This is very telling: Dropping from 4.20 down to around 4.10V in the first week of resting is a tell tale sign of either a cell that is not in ideal "new" condition, or a cell that is not built to modern LiCo standards (perhaps it should only be charged to 4.10V). 

I've suspected for years that many of these cheap cells have probably sat in warehouses for years, having been built in bulk at various intervals and now they are being shipped about, sold and resold in bulk and new labels and PCBs attached and then sold on DX and other sites as "new" stuff...

I've made the argument in other threads before that one never knows what you're going to get on any given purchase of an X-Fire cell. Seems that the actual cell under the label can change at any time. Your self-discharge chart shows a bunch of cells labeled "ultra-fire" and it's obvious that there are different cells under those wrappers. Some seem to perform great and others are real duds. 

The spiderfire that is dropping rapidly may have something wrong with it, I think that the spiderfire results probably would need another cell or 2 tested to determine if this is an irregularity. I suspect that this data may not be entirely relevant other than to say that you have a spiderfire with a (possibly) malfunctioning pcb that is draining the cell rapidly.. If the same behavior held true in a couple more spiderfire cells then I think we could safely say to avoid those! maybe someone else who owns some of them could take a couple-few week test just to see if they trend the same. 

Eric


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## old4570 (Jul 18, 2010)

*Re: RCR123A Self discharge test*



mdocod said:


> I have an observation to make: If someone has made this observation already, then I apologize I haven't ready every post in this thread thoroughly...
> 
> The cells that are doing poorly in the test and are down around 4.06V give or take, all took a large plunge early on in the test. Like literally in the first week. After which point they are settling at a pace that seems roughly similar to what one might expect from natural self discharge combined with some minor drain from the protection, etc etc.
> 
> ...



Yes I agree ... 

Spiderfires , I have 3 x 18650 , and the 18650 are nothing flash at all , I would rate the Spiderfires with the Ultrafire BRC3000 .. [ Nuf Said ] 

I dont think much of spiderfire batteries , 16340 or 18650 . 
As for X-fire cells , some are good , some are not , and some are counterfeit , so it becomes very much buyer beware . You can put all Cells in one basket that are made in china and call them rubbish , but AW's are made in china , so we know the chinese can make good cells , its just a matter of sorting them out . 

This little test is by no means the end all be all to anything . 
But I was hopping it might inspire others , as more information = more knowledge . This was more about the general self discharge capability of 16340 Li-ion batteries . Ive said it before , to be meaningful , a larger sample would be needed , at the very least , 10 cells of each . 
That = $$ , and time . 

If a pair of 16340 cost $5 10 would = $50 x 10 different types = $500 at least , in batteries alone ...
To be scientific increase that 10 fold and your looking at 5G to do a really meaningful self discharge test that would have some scientific value . 
+ all the chargers needed to charge up the batteries , more $$ 
And it would become almost a full time job to do it ...

We have 6 more weeks to go for 6 Months .. and then everyone can draw there own conclusions , and if anything , this little test has given me a little more insight into batteries . And Im not really ready to call any battery good or bad on this test alone , but its good general information on battery behavior .


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## old4570 (Aug 1, 2010)

Ok - 4 weeks to go , this is the home stretch now for 6 months .


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## mdocod (Aug 1, 2010)

It's impossible to type "approaching victory theme music" so I guess yall will just have to use your imagination.

-Eric


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## old4570 (Aug 16, 2010)

2 Weeks to go for the last bit of data input .... :sick2:


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## old4570 (Aug 29, 2010)

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/289584

Completed ....


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## Gunny (Oct 22, 2010)

wow! I just found this site, and alot of good info here so far! I am amazed! Good work.


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