If you can run 16340 li-ions in your CR123A lights and you don’t need an hour’s runtime on turbo, then just go that route. 20 minutes on high is more than enough for my needs and the smaller lipstick form-factor is perfect for me.
A quality CR123A made in the Panasonic USA factory, or the Panasonic Japanese facility, or even the Sanyo offerings are good up to 1.5A and have between 1400mAh-1500mAh.
Unless you’re getting them for free, friends don’t let friends use primaries.
Chris
CR123As are great for moderate power lights that get stashed/not accessed very often.
Rechargeable Lithium-ion cells aren’t supposed to be stored long term at full charge, and they loose charge faster than primaries over time. so they’re not ideal candidates for long term standby use.
For those of us in the north, the fact that primaries still work fairly well at –20°F/-29°C can also be a blessing.
Keeping rechargeables topped up when you can’t remember where you stashed all the backup lights can be problematic. I recently found a McLux in the crack under a sofa cushion that had been there since at least 2005. It had a Surefire CR123A in it that had a 2011 expiration date. I’ve been using it a little bit each day for just about a month, and it’s finally starting to dim (battery now showing 3.071 Volts no load, but <20% on a ZTS load tester).
Thanks for input guys. I want to own at least 1 type of battery configuration for different flashlights. But seeing run times very short for CR123A and difficulty to locate changed my mind.
I did not know how difficult CR123As to use and made mistake buying Bushnell Pro 650 lumen light.
On related note, finding CR123A are hard at retail and quite expensive. So I might just ditch all CR123A type of flashlights all together.
Battery Junction is having a wicked sale on CR123A’s. You can get them for less than a buck a piece. I have quite a few of 123 lights. I use 16340’s in all of them but I don’t expect long runtimes from them so they aren’t depended on for daily carry or walks in the dark. I use them as a back up that fits in my pocket.
Thanks Todd for info. I know they have a lot of stuff on sale right now. I do not want to get crazy and buy up everything.
The CR123A is issue for me because I run lights normal use. Sometimes bursts. I noticed drops of CR123A very easy. Considering I modded the Defiant 1000/1200 3 C cell to accept CR123A, 18650, 26650, AA.
On related note, I am eye balling all flashlights. Solarforce, Fenix, Klarus, Powertac, Olight, Nitecore, Monter Flashlight, Maglite, Sunnyman, Sofirn, etc….
So I have to be careful with my funds. I will going BROKER than now.
Unknown RCR123A 3.0V 500mAh (Blue) @ lygte-info.dk
Great LiFePO4 cell, does up to 5A and 3A fairly well.
Available at FastTech, SKU1134102.
I understand. I think most of my 123 lights are about 500 lumens or so. They work great in the lower and mid modes but are only really good for maybe 20 to 30 minutes on max. I like them because they are small and fit just about anywhere but I know their limitations and don’t expect them to perform like a 18650 light or something. If you can find a smoking deal on some 16340’s and the light supports those slightly higher voltage levels you could carry a few extra cells with you.
Yeah Todd, I agree. I only own 1 CR123A light so I might not even keep it. Only reason is it looks cool with aggressive knurling, fins, etc…… is why I bought it.
Where I live, CR123A are in the “battery section” of every Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot, as well as some other stores. They still aren’t “cheap”, but IIRC, the Energizer brand are/were the lowest price, last I looked. You could buy some really cheap ones of questionable quality from eBay though. I did that once, at a price of $10US for 10 no-name Chinese CR123A cells, and actually got decent cells out of it. YMMV, of course.
Lotta cop-shops rely on primaries like ’123s.
I was burning off (okay, poor choice of words…) a pair of ’123s in an MH20, only forgot to TCLO it. Must’ve turned on in my bag, got hot enough to melt/split the wraps on both of ’em, almost causing it to go China Syndrome in the ’20 in my bag. Ouch. Wondered when I stashed a lit curling-iron in my bag, y’know?
Amazingly, (after they cooled) they still had enough oomf to light up a Jet-II, albeit not full brightness.
Nitecore says flat out to not expect turbo levels when feeding your lights ’123s, even though they do work fine. Especially as they burn down and internal resistance goes higher, expect more sag, less current, less brightness.
On Amazon, anyway, you can buy a hunnert-box of ’123s. Never quite understood why anyone would want That Many primaries when you could just use Li or LFP 16340s instead.
CR123A have higher capacity and lower voltage (better for LED) than 16340 Li-Ion cells.
the OP has a light he bought at Walmart
it requires 2x CR123
the combined voltage is higher than 1x 18650…
I think we are leading the OP down a dangerous path if we tell him to put 2x 16340 into his Walmart light
CAUTION 1.
Do not buy lights that use more than 1 battery
CAUTION 2.
Do not put 2x 16340 into a light designed for 2x CR123
Jon, you are right. I bought Bushnell 650 lumen pro light when still available at retail.
BTW, can you explain both cautions please? I thought you can stack CR123A on top of each other. And is it not that 16340 is about same size as voltage as CR123As?
Please advise. Thanks.
Once in a while the Panasonic branded CR123’s go on sale for .99 cents each on Amazon. They have insanely good shelf life (10+ yrs), and are great for emergencies when the power is out and your rechargeables are dead.
Nice rob, You must have at least 40 –50 them in those cases. A lot of dealers had sales going on for these. I did not pick up because I might ditch the light. As cool as it looks.
Yes you can stack CR123A, that makes them twice as expensive
two cr123 make 6 volts nominal, two 16340 make 7.2v nominal
stacking LiIon is dangerous
you have a light designed to increase the sales of CR123 Batteries
dont use high mode so much, or buy more batteries
unless you find something in the instructions that specifically says you can use LiIon in your light, do NOT use LiIon in your light. Especially NOT stacked.
Thanks Jon for clarifying. I really do like the looks of Bushnell 650 pro light though. Performance decent given limited run times of CR123As. I might have to keep it as shelf queen unless I buy a lot of CR123As.
Here is my source for the information I am sharing with you, so you can explore the subject in more detail, and not just based on my personal opinion
Information about LiIon Safety
Enjoy your lights!
and
Merry HolyDays
Cool. Thanks. Will check it out for sure.
Update: I sold off Bushnell 650 lumen 2 CR123A flashlight. So I do not own any CR123A lights. Now I am going to sell off my brand new extra CR123A spare batteries.