Non rechargeable 3.6V 14500 seem to be all LiThionylChloride and meant for (very) low current load.
If you want something for emergency and don't want to bother verifying/recharging/whatever your best bet imho is to go for AA flashlights and stock some primary 1.5V lithium and/or LSD Nimh.
If you have Ikea where you live they have the 2450mAh LSD AA (name : Ladda) that are known to be rebranded Eneloop Pro for less than 2€/piece here (just verified they are 7$ for 4 pieces for you)
Remember the li-ions are low capacity cells. In a long power failure you want a good box full of primary cells with more capacity.
And probably a 12V-powered charger you can run off your car battery or solar cell. HKJ has started checking solar power for chargers.
No, I mean that rechargeable li-ions are low capacity compared to lithium primary (Energizer) or alkaline cells.
Li-ion powered flashlights will be good for an hour or two after a power failure, longer at moonlight, but that’s not very long.
Then it’s time to pull out the other flashlights that use 1.5v AA or D cells.
AA Eneloops are a good thing to have (along with a charger you can run off 12v car battery or solar)
Yep. Explaining leak precautions is part of the work. As is getting the kids to bring back dead cells for the recycling bin. Fortunately the Albany CA end of our block has curbside collection for bagged-up dead batteries along with trash collection.
I have about six of those 3-volt AA-size cells from Battery Junction. I bought them at least 5 years ago and never used them. Correction: I tried one in a 1x14500 light and got, at most, a nightlight. But hang in there: A couple days ago, I ordered an EagleTac D25A (which I've already listed in my signature block), which can use anything from 0.9 volt to 4.2 volts. An Amazon reviewer reported that he had used such a cell in this light and it worked: It shined brighter than a AA and, I'm guessing, gave him decent service life. When my D25A arrives, I'll try it with a 3V cell and report back in this thread.
Sorry i might have worded it wrong ... it's more the why than the what so knowing that what he wanted doesn't seem to exist we could help trying to find something that could fit at least some of its expectations (care free ? long shelf life ? cheap ? high power density ? whatever ?)
Thanks to everyone for the replies. Maybe I wasn’t clear - I just want to know if I can buy a Non-Rechargeable Lithium 14500 (Primary) form factor (size) battery that outputs 3-3.7 (approximately) VDC. I understand I can use AA 1.5 or 1.2 VDC Batteries - I want the higher Voltage output & mah of a Lithium.
A CR123 is a primary Lithium (3VDC) battery & can be used in place of a rechargeable 16340/RCR123.
What options do I have if I want a Lithium Primary (Non Rechargeable) 14500 form factor battery?
Again thanks to everyone for their technical assistance.
I think you’ll be happier in the end if you look for the answer to the problem you want to address:
Personally, I figure the li-ion powered flashlights are going to be useful for a little while after the shaking stops (earthquake territory) but unless I have recharging set up, I’m going to fall back onto passing out lights from the cache of flashlights with LEDs that run on 2x1.5vAA cells for the following days. And probably be messing around setting up a neighborhood charging station for Eneloops during that time.
PS, besides a cache of Energizer lithium primaries and Eneloop AAs, I’ve got some NiMH C and D cells (Tenergy Centura) kept on a trickle charger. And a solar panel I have yet to hook up to run that.
And a few PR2 dropin LED bulbs to swap out the incandescent bulbs in the cheap flashlights, too.
Unless I am mistaken there is not a “NON Rechargeable” AA / 14500 sized cell that has a chemistry like the CR123A , that will give you the 3 to 3.7 volts you are asking about.
The Enigizer lithium primaries as mentioned several times in the thread , are probably going to be your best option as far as the NON rechargeable cells. They claim a 20 year shelf life also with these cells.
The Eneloop Pro are supposed to hold 85% of their charge for at least 12 months and may be the second best option for the particular lights you mentioned.
I am not sure if any of this information will help you or not but……….
The run time is good from the Eneloop pro in the SP10 A / B as I have had mine sitting here running for the last 180 minutes from a start on Turbo and left running , so the run time is good from the Eneloops. The light started at 251 lumens on a rested Eneloop pro at 1.37 Volts. From around 100 minutes the output remained virtually the same with 75 lumens at the 100 minute mark until I terminated the test with the light still making 73 lumens at 180 minutes. The cell was at 1.05 volts when I terminated the test.
Also here are the charts from my testing back when I reviewed the TK05…………
Thank you Robo819 for your very well written response. Your statement “Unless I am mistaken there is not a “NON Rechargeable” AA / 14500 sized cell that has a chemistry like the CR123A , that will give you the 3 to 3.7 volts you are asking about.” answers my question perfectly.
Your data/test results are very impressive & you are obviously an expert in understanding this new & exciting technology.
I’m not sure about chemistry, but Saft and others make non-rechargeable lithium 14500 and 14250 3.6v batteries. We used to use them in our radio telemetry dog collars They’re kind of expensive.
The Energizer Ultimate LI is supposed to run 5 to 7 times longer in cameras and such , but I have never Tested that theory.
They are really too expensive to just use all the time in like an EDC light for me , but for backup purposes and the long shelf life they have , would be well worth it to get a couple of 20 packs that would stay charged for emergency use over long periods for sure.
Glad to help when I can…… “expert” I am not………
Just another one of the many flashaholics on here that has picked up a lot of information from other forum members over time and I am still learning.