99% of my lights are lithium lion, but friiend has Supertac and wants rechargable, whats best?
That light is not made to use RCR123/16340 cells and he might kill the light trying to use them. There are RCR123’s rated at 3 volts, but they are one of two things. They are either LiCoO2 chemisty with a voltage drop diode or LiFePO4 chemistry. Both chemistries/batteries will output about 3.2 to 3.3 volts under load. Both require special chargers and have 400-500 mAh capacity (advertised around 650 or so) versus 1200-1600 mAh (depending on current) of a quality lithium pile CR123.
Just tell your friend to stick with lithium pile CR123’s or buy a light that is made to use lithium ion batteries. It’s not worth risking destroying a $60 flashlight to save a few bucks in batteries, especially when top quality rebranded Panasonics (Rayovac, Duracell, Energizer, Streamlight, etc) can be had for $1.10 each at Botach.
Afraid I know nothing about this light, do you know if or how it is regulated?
Depending on what voltage ranges the driver is designed to work with, you could try a 16650 li-ion:
http://intl-outdoor.com/2-pcs-sanyo-ur16650zt-2100mah-liion-battery-p-214.html
It’ll fit a 2xCR123a battery tube perfectly. The snag might be that a single li-ion is only 4.2v instead of the 6v that 2xCR123a’s, so this may affect output and/or regulation - driver dependant.
Try a 17650 or 16650. One of em should fit and it’ll definitely power it. The SuperTac is a pretty wicked thrower for its size.
Edit: as said above, output may be effected slightly depending on driver.
It should work though
If it has a diode inside, it can’t be recharged… There are (were) some CR123 primary cells that used a dropping diode, but I think that technology went by the wayside.
If there are two diodes connected in parallel with reversed polarity it can.
I thought it was hard finding good 14500's, but it's worse with this battery size.
Fwiw, my next 16340 will be from Solarstorm.
There used to be a 17350 that tested well with a member here, but I can't find it for sale anywhere.
The difficulty with finding good batteries in this size is the main reason I'm not crazy about flashlights that use them. I'll probably get one more flashlight that uses them, and that's it. And this is from a guy that doesn't have a single 18650 light.
The 16650’s I posted above seem to work fine in my experience. I have two of them and mostly use them in my XP-G R5 Klarus NT20. In terms of operation and runtime I don’t notice any real difference to most of my 18650 lights. I accept the 16650 has less capacity and on a 3A+ XM-L it might show as an issue. But it’s not with the lights I use them in.
I also have a 2xCR123a to 18650 adapter that came with my EagleTac D25LC2, the 16650’s fit the adapter perfectly, so they double up as 18650 back up batteries for my other lights.
Thanks men, I will pass along the info.