So I just received my Rofis JR10 from the Group Buy…it is a CR123A…anyone know if it will take rechargeables?
I EDC a cr123 light and I use it all the time, short uses for finding things, and it is my bike light for daily city use. I use two Nitecore 16340's alternately, a fresh one about every two days.
It takes 16340 and 18350 rechargeables but goes direct drive losing the lower modes until the voltage drops a bit.
Great…thanks crx.
Would either of these be a good choice?
Soshine Li-ion 3.0 v
or
KD LiPo 3.0v
(funny…details on KD product page sez they are 1600 mAh, but when you look at one of the pics, it sez 500 mAh…lol)
I personally don’t use 3v rechargeable cells.
The soshine cells look ok but use diodes to reduce the voltage, something else to go wrong…
A good LiFePO4 cell may be a better choice.
Useful info from HKJ.
http://lygte-info.dk/info/CR123A%20and%20rechargeable%20substitutes%20UK.html
The problem is that they don’t always have 10 years shelf life, which numerous people found out the hard way… It may be possible to revive them, but I wouldn’t bother.
You start out with the “D” and “AA” cells you robbed from your parent’s toys, and the light is too dim, so you go out on the streets looking for a better “fix”…
Next thing you know, some guy with a Surefire is blinding you with his awesome beam, and he may even give you an “old” CR123, which still has more voltage than your wimpy AA…
Then after you sell all the family silverware to pay for your CR123 habit, you’ll find some other addict who will turn you on to “the hard stuff”, LiIon.
Well, that question can hardly been answered, now that you got rid of the only piece of evidence.
I’ve tried using primaries with my SK-98’s, they took them without any protest. Of course, that hadn’t been a scientifically conducted test; as we all know, the SK-98 suffers badly from non-existant heatsinking (that, and a goofy switch). Keeping that in mind, I’d switched the lights on only for a few seconds.
Personally, I believe you blew the driver to kingdom come.
The driver anyone gets is a lottery - so even if someone has one that works you still have the lottery of whether the batch your SK98 will work with one. Safest way to have one is to swap drivers using something spec’d and tested.
I’ve got a couple cheap lights where I’ve used a couple 3.0 primaries and the drivers survived but have been inconsistent in how they work, changing function as the voltage drops. One of them was super bright with no modes and after a quarter volt drop in each cell over a year sitting in a hot/cold car with irregular and infrequent use it now has modes but is somewhat dimmer on high than with a fresh 4.2v 18650 that I swapped in (to see if something was damaged).
Happy testing!
'3.7 volt' batteries are 4.2v when fully charged, so fully 2.4 volts higher than two disposable primary CR123As. 6 volts into a '3-4.5v' driver is almost always fine. 8.4 volts into a '3-4.5v' driver is usually an instant death.
Two non-rechargeable CR123As are also OK in direct drive into a XML/XML2. Not suggested as a long term thing, but just to show their voltage sags enough under load that they end up in the 'safe for a single 3.3v LED' range. Two 4.2v 16340s definitely will give you an instantly dead LED if you tried the same with them.
read above, mate… mine did work with two CR123A 3V primaries, but I cannot say how long the circuit is going to cope with the excess voltage. IMHO, it is not a clever idea to operate a SK98 on two primary cells anyway, let alone for the abundance of any proper heatsinking.
SK98’s are interesting zoomie hosts for modders, at best. The switch should be replaced with something beefier, and the hollow pill absolutely needs at least a slug of solid copper pressed in.
For around the house and around town I prefer 16340 sized lights because they are much smaller and lighter. On the road or for the outdoors, I will usually carry something with more common batteries like AA or at least have AA/AAA lights as backups. Or better yet, a 16340 light with an AA extender like the V11R or SRT3. I’ll bring a 4 pack of charged Eagletac 16340s with me and when those are dead, I’ll connect the AA extender and switch to Eneloops or 14500s. It’s rare even on an extended road trip that I’ll have to bust out a charger.
And another benefit is having a small stock pile of CR123A with a shelf life of 10 years. Just one more thing in my bag of tricks in case of emergency.
I found some Panasonic CR123A batteries in my drawer today. I bought them in December 2006 so that’s 8 years old now. They still show 3.05 volts. Do you think these are still good to use or will they just die as soon as I put them in something?
Earlier this year I found a box of 12 SureFire cells with a date of 03-2013, so 10 years old. 10 of the 12 still had voltages above 3.2. Two were dead. I am using them in my two single cell lights and they seem to work well. They probably have very reduced capacity.
For safety reasons, I will not use them in series in two cell lights. That could be a recipe for a pipe bomb.
CR123A batteries are 1) expensive 2) rare 3) compact 4) reliable 5) powerful. I decided to EDC a 2xCR123A flashlight. It gets occasional unplanned use. This makes the high price of CR123A of no account as I will only need a pair per year at the rate I use them. 2 CR123A are more compact than 2xAA and generally produce a higher brightness due to the increased voltage. So if I need to disorient an adversary, stop a distracted driver from hitting me, light up the woods at night, respond to an emergency incident, my well known US brand flashlight with well known US brand CR123A is always ready to go.
For everyday use, I also EDC a cheap little 1xAAA light that uses a NiMH Duraloop. I am not depending on this light to work in a blizzard while disarming a bomb. It is rechargeable so there is no cost in running it.
If I was using my primary light regularly for more than a minute a day, I would replace my 2xCR123A EDC with a 2xAA NiMH light. I would carry 2xL91 for backup, and probably carry a small 1xCR123A light as backup #2.
I agree with most of what you said. I bought a CR123A light last year just to see what they are all about. And I gotta admit, they feel good in the hand. Their shape feels a bit nicer than a single AA light. Nice and compact and lots of energy.
Anyone who has invested in CR123’s knows where to buy them so they are neither rare nor expensive. People who use them regularly can use them cost effectively.
But, with the advent of L91’s … I concur that investing in old technology is counter productive.
The kicker to me is not what I put in my car in case I have a breakdown, nor what I put in my toolbox in the garage. It is what I put in my wife’s car, or what I put in my daughters car. And in that there is little discussion. They have L91’s in 2xAA lights.
I am not invested in CR123’s so I look it as a cost/benefit analysis. I can buy L91’s at the grocery store at a slight premium over online. I can buy CR123’s at a few drug stores at almost ten dollars a piece. So, for an emergency light that should only get occasional use but rarely needs heavy use? I want something that will work after 10 yrs in the glove box and can be extended with batteries they can buy at any convenience store.
I keep a CR123 light in my glove box, along with a single eneloop AA light because I have it. I charge the eneloop twice a year. I figure I will never buy another CR123 in my life. Not because there is anything wrong with them. Just because technology has grown past them for my particular usage.