Rechargeable 123 Batteries? Any good?

[Genghis]

Pila and some other manufacturers make rechargeable 123 batteries. An early review said they have lower voltage and therefore in flashlights generate less light. Supposedly they put out more power now. Has anyone used these in flashlights like Surefire, Streamlight, or Digilight?

[lynn jones]

http://www.pilatorch.com/BatterySys_Batteries.htm

looks promising

lynn

p.s. you can get non-rechargeable here for .69 http://www.botachtactical.com/nabccr123.html

Edited December 5, 2007 by lynn jones

[Dave Gundry]

It looks like a standard Duracell 123A is ~1300mAh and ~3V. Those Pila 600S is 1500mAh and 3.7V. Putting two 123A's together would yield 6V & 1300mAh capacity - so it looks like those rechargeables are not the best...

Looks like there are other rechargable 123's out there that run 1300mAh and are a direct replacement size (34.5mm long).

Edited December 7, 2007 by Krautwagen

[DogmaDog]

I tried some rechargeable 123s in my M3 light (sorry, don't remember the brand) and returned them because the light wasn't as bright.

One of my co-workers got a special LED bulb for his surefire flashlight, specifically designed to run on rechargeables, and found it works great. He was a little surprised when I said the rechargeables I tried didnt' blow out the bulb on my M3, because, as the last poster said, they have a higher voltage than the Li 123s

DogmaDog

[Dave Gundry]

I tried some rechargeable 123s in my M3 light (sorry, don't remember the brand) and returned them because the light wasn't as bright.

One of my co-workers got a special LED bulb for his surefire flashlight, specifically designed to run on rechargeables, and found it works great. He was a little surprised when I said the rechargeables I tried didnt' blow out the bulb on my M3, because, as the last poster said, they have a higher voltage than the Li 123s

DogmaDog

Sorry, I should have clarified that better... The comparison is between 2 regular 123's and one of the Pila cells (that has the same length as 2 regular 123's in series).

2 Regular 123: 6V, 1300mAh

1 Rechargeable: 3.7V, 1500mAh

WARNING - DRASTIC OVER SIMPLIFICATIONS FOLLOW - PHYSICS AND ELECTRONICS DORKS SHOULD RUN!

The two major factors when comparing batteries are the voltage and the capacity of the cell. Voltage is additive when putting 2 batteries together in series (i.e. a flashlight that takes 2 123 batteries). Capacity is the amount of energy stored in the cell. For example, a 1200mAh battery will run for 1200 hours with a 1mA load on it - or 1 hour with a 1.2A load. Now to look at voltage, Power(watts) = Volts X Amps. Neglecting the discharge rates of the different cells and the internal resistance of the cells, you can see that any drop in voltage has a direct effect on the power (or brightness) of the light. If the bulb normally runs at 6V, and you run it at 3.7, then you're looking at a setup that is only 62% as bright as the same setup with standard batteries. Quick edit - increasing the runtime of the battery tends to also increase the discharge rate and decrease the internal resistance of the battery - long story short: more runtime (capacity) also leads to a brighter light.

But, LED's are different. The LED is designed to run only at a specific voltage range, and the flashlight generally has circuitry to limit too much voltage or not run when you don't supply enough. You can 'blow up' (or fry) and LED by running it with too much voltage, but most decent (expensive) lights out there tend to be fairly idiot proof in this manner.

When comparing any standard style battery (round cell) to a rechargeable of the same size, you generally lose some voltage and usually tons of runtime (mAh).

But, my knowledge is based more on alkaline vs NiMH/NiCd setups. Lithium-ion and Lithium Polymer batteries are a whole different world on the inside. It is possible to make a more powerful and longer lasting (and lighter) battery with Li-poly, but they are typically very expensive.

Hope that helps all in need.

Edited December 7, 2007 by Krautwagen

[Too_Slow]

One minor error there. If you put two batteries in series you do double the voltage but the current stays the same. If you put them in parallel you double the current but the voltage stays the same. So if the batteries are 3 volt 1300ma/h and you put them is series you get 6 volts at 1300 ma/h. I just thought that I would clear that up.

Brian

Maint. Tech at a TV Station

[Dave Gundry]

Yes, you are right, my bad...

[JTew]

Here is a link to more flashlight and battery information than most people want to know.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/index.php?

[Genghis]

Thanks, guys!

[mace85]

I have used them in the past. They weren't as bright as normal, but that is too be expected. The one problem I didn't anticipate was that they didn't fit all falshlights. One of two of my surefire flashlights had too tight a fit. I noticed that the rechargeables has a slightly larger outer diameter.

[DanM]

Here is a link to more flashlight and battery information than most people want to know.

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/index.php?

MAJOR warning to all who enter that site! It is the ubernerd kingdom of flashlights. That said, I just got a Malkoff Devices M60 Upgrade for my Surefire G2. Holy crap! It's like having a light saber

[Jim Watson]

My Tenth Anniversary IDPA Digilight came with Lithium Ion rechargeables, 3.7 volts, very bright light. But the batteries only lasted a couple of recharge cycles. Digilight replaced them, and gave me a smaller light for my troubles. Unfortunately, the replacments lasted one (1.0) charge. Digilight is now out of business. Wonder why.

I bought some Ultralast 3 volt Li-ion at the local battery specialist store. The light is not as bright - I read one estimate of 50 lumens - so I use it as a utility light, the bulb ought to last a long time on reduced voltage. I keep my Surefire for serious social purposes and that extra Digilight next to my bureau drawer special. Both on regular 123A single shot batteries

The Ultralast are as bright in the Surefire as single shots, but I do not think they have as much capacity and runtime.

Check on Candlepowerforums, you can get AW rechargeables direct from Hong Kong for less money than I paid in town.

Edited January 4, 2008 by Jim Watson

[TBF]

lynn

p.s. you can get non-rechargeable here for .69 http://www.botachtactical.com/nabccr123.html

Anybody use these batteries ? Are they equivalent to typical namebrand 123's ?

I have been using Surefire bulk packs for awhile and they seem to be just as good as Duracell or Eveready .

Travis F.

[kmitchl]

I've used them almost exclusively in my Surefire. Surefire advertises 60 minutes battery life for the model I have. These batteries seem to do at least that well. They seem to perform as well as the batteries that came with the flashlight.

One lesson I learned is when the batteries go down the xenon bulb just fails to light. It does not go dim and then quit. So if your Surefire quits check the batteries before anything else.

Keith

[splashdown]

Stay away from Battery Station 123 Lithium cells. They last about 10% as long as a Surefire battery. It seems that they even run down when not in use. I may soon try the UltraLast in the link above. Thanks.

[bladewurk]

Stay away from Battery Station 123 Lithium cells. They last about 10% as long as a Surefire battery. It seems that they even run down when not in use. I may soon try the UltraLast in the link above. Thanks.

good info here I was just looking for this.