Unprotected R123s - **NOT** RECOMMENDED

[KevinL]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

For the rest of our readers.. standard disclaimer: neither KevinL nor CPF nor its members will be responsible should anything bad happen to you..

(we will of course take credit for the good stuff /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

OK. The charger has wall power coming in all the way to the plastic housing, so disconnect everything first. I'm not sure whether the capacitors hold a charge, but I took care not to touch anything - I don't want to find out.

You're going to have to break a warranty seal, but then again, small peas to us. Unscrew, pop it open. Gently lift the PCB out of the housing, if it seems to catch, turn it over and look at the other side, the battery contacts may be caught in the plastic. Push them and free them, the PCB should pop open. You should then see the guts.

You will have to adjust a potentiometer, as shown. Turn it CLOCKWISE (at least on my unit it's clockwise) gently. Don't turn too much.

s2k has advised that you re-assemble the charger, put the plastic casing on and screw everything back together before you power it up. This is a Very Good Idea and I highly recommend you take the extra trouble to do it especially if you are not comfortable working with high voltages.

Plug the unit in to power it up, then take a DMM reading from the two battery charger terminals. This will be the open circuit voltage. I find that an open circuit voltage of 4.27V gives me approx. 4.03V-4.07V cell voltage. I could probably tweak it again but I think it's far enough so I'm all right with that.

Remember to unplug it before you start adjusting the pot again!

Once you're happy, close it up and be done with it.

 

[acusifu]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Are the r123's safe in longbows with a nexgen converter(Mccapsule) ? How about a SBP ?
I ordered a charger and a couple of batteries. But I don't have a clue if I can even use them.

 

[Jefff]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

how about compatible with a Q-III light single r123? .. Hey kevin top notch Post .. !

 

[LitFuse]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Would anyone care to venture a guess as to why the manufacturer would set the chargers to deliver a less than full charge? I mean it's just a knob to twist, why would they ship them out that way, longer cycle life? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

Peter

 

[LitFuse]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

I just tried one of these cells in my E1e/KL4 combo...WOW! Just as bright as the full sized L4. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I guess I already knew it would be, since I pretty much use Li-ions in my L4s, but I guess it still caught me by suprise because of the small size/output ratio.

I'm just trying to run down a couple cells to test the charger mod.

Peter

 

[gregw]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Thanks for the instructions! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[Kevin Tan]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Yes, they can be used in the Q3 and KL1 and KL4 and Longbows. BUT use a DMM and check the amp reading on the lights. All these lights are mass produced and are not tweaked, their performance and components tolerences varies all over the chart. Got a Q3 running 680ma on 123 and 880ma on R123, but also got 1 running 140ma on 123 and 1.2a on R123 - which will kill the LS very quickly and shorten the runtime of the R123. So go forth and test the amps b4 using!!!

 

[vacuum3d]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

KevinL,
Thanks for the instructions. Batteries on the modded charger now.

ernest

 

[Halibut]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

[ QUOTE ]
LitFuse said:
Would anyone care to venture a guess as to why the manufacturer would set the chargers to deliver a less than full charge? I mean it's just a knob to twist, why would they ship them out that way, longer cycle life? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

Peter

[/ QUOTE ]

Inquiring minds want to know. It seems silly that the manufacturer would ship a product that can't be used to its full potential--there must be a good reason for the 3.8V cutoff, right? Anyone? Darrell?

-Dan

 

[gregw]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

[ QUOTE ]
Halibut said:
[ QUOTE ]
LitFuse said:
Would anyone care to venture a guess as to why the manufacturer would set the chargers to deliver a less than full charge? I mean it's just a knob to twist, why would they ship them out that way, longer cycle life? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

Peter

[/ QUOTE ]

Inquiring minds want to know. It seems silly that the manufacturer would ship a product that can't be used to its full potential--there must be a good reason for the 3.8V cutoff, right? Anyone? Darrell?

-Dan

[/ QUOTE ]

My guess would be, to make the R123 cells more compatible with devices that use the standard CR123 cells. Brand new lithium CR123 cells measure around 3.25v, so, an R123 recharged to 3.8v should be much more compatible and would probably function in whatever device without damage, than when it has been charged to 4.2v...

 

[s2k]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

here is some addtional information for how to adjust the voltage. do it carefully!

so remember UN-PLUG the power before you adjust the voltage!

it's recommended that you use a DMM to measure by youself while adjusting the voltage.

it's strongly suggested to close the charger before measure the voltage, as shown in last pic.

do this at your own risk, CPF and me won't be responsible for any results by doing this.

 

[TheSteve]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

post no longer needed as s2k edited his post...

 

[KevinL]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Thanks for the positive feedback /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
s2k said:

it's strongly suggested to close the charger before measure the voltage, as shown in last pic.


[/ QUOTE ]

Can I say <font color="red">THAT IS A GOOD IDEA!!! </font> Close the charger before powering up - it's troublesome but it may just save you!

(why didn't I think of it?)

 

[gregw]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Did it! Easy 2 minute job.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[ronson5]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

my batteries come out fully charged at 4.23v. it this ok, or should i dial down the setting? i get 15minutes on a p91 after which it rapidly dims.

 

[vcal]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

(I have read)-it's a trade-off......
Charge to 4.2V-get full battery capacity/runtime.

Charge to 4.1 V-get 20% (est.) less battery capacity/runtime, but-25% more charge cycles (est) in total life of the cell. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
Hobson's choice? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

p.s.-also heard that the inner electrode design type dictates whether the cell would be fully charged at 4.1V or 4.2V.

Personally, I've gotten good consistent performance just charging to 4.1V and letting it go at that. YMMV

 

[gregw]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

I think 4.23v for a Li-ion is too high.. I have mine set to finish off at around 4.08/4.09 (no load setting at 4.31v). I also don't think that the difference in capacity between 4.1v and 4.2v is 20%. It's probably only 5% or so...

 

[ronson5]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

thanks, i'll dial it down to 4.20v or less. i want the max v that the battery can handle without damaging the battery's ability to retain its charge. 10-20% reduction of battery life is acceptable for the extra volts.

 

[KevinL]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

Great to see that you guys made it with no problems. I'm dialing my charger up a little to 4.31V (open circuit) so that it will top off the cells just a little bit more to a full 4.1V instead of 4.05 right now.

I had one cell crash out last night at 1.9V, while the other was still at 3.4V. No wonder the P91 didn't dim until it was too late for one cell. It still works and it has recovered but I have no idea how well it holds a charge now.

Guess in short order I will be buying replacements from s2k... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif (I kinda planned for this though)

 

[TheSteve]

Re: High-cap unprotected R123s - first impressions

4.10 to 4.12 volts full charged is the ideal place to be.