Tenergy 900mAh R123As? and Powerizer?

jsr

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I'm thinking (still on the fence) about getting some 3.0V R123A batteries. I found the Tenergy ones on BatteryJunction.com that have 900mAh capacity, the highest I've found for 3.0V R123As. I know Tenergy's fairly new and I only found positive feedback thus from searching the forums.
Anyone have any experience with Tenergy 900mAh 3.0V R123As?
Do they have a guaranteed loaded voltage (like those offered by e-lectronics.net)?

Also from searching/reading some threads, it seems the Powerizer didn't start out with a very good reputation, but it seems some of the later posts mention they've gotten better and actually live up to their capacity claims now. Any other/updated comments on Powerizer? Their primaries and NiMH are pretty well priced.

Thanks,
J.
 

greyfox

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I tried powerizer before, their batteris are totally crappy. After one charge, some chemical stuff leaks from the cells and damaged my charger. dot like it
 

changsn

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I've got to think the 900 mah claim is inflated as I don't recall seeing regular R123's with that high a capacity. Probably worth a try - keep us informed if you do. The highest capacity I've seen were some offered by Dae - 17335's 3.0v at 700 mah.
Sam
 

cy

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if 900 mah is actually correct, this will be a 50% improvement over anything I've seen.

best R123 has tested to aprox 625 mah so far...
 

jsr

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Thanks guys. Seems the Tenergy 900mAh R123s are too new. I'm still on the fence with 3.0V R123s, but if I do go with 3.0V, I might try these out. But I don't have a charger/tester so the only testing I can do is a constant-on runtime test on one of my lights and check runtime. But then, I don't have any 600-700mAh 3.0V R123s to compare against.
 

changsn

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I've had good success with the 3.0v R123's in that none of my lights have burned out and they allow me the 'guilty free lumens'. I'd love to give these guys a try, but currently have more than enough 3.0v R123's.
Sam
 

Brighteyez

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Tenergy also operates their own web store under the domain of all-battery.com. They also have a set of forums, http://forums.all-battery.com as well as online chat with a customer service rep (one that actually responds!). And for the folks in the Silicon Valley area, unlike some of the other local web merchants, these guys actually have a store front and welcome people to drop by and pick up their orders if it will save on the shipping. (Of course, the locals probably already know that $5-7 for shipping might actually be less than the cost of gas for a round trip to pick it up. :( ) Oh yeah, their shipping prices look quite reasonable as well (USPS or FedEX.)

Gonna probably head over there at lunch time.
 

jsr

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Brighteyez - if you pick up some of the Tenergy 3.0V 900mAh R123As, let me know how you like them after you've had a chance to test them out and get them thru a few charge/discharge cycles.
I've spoken to them over the phone and prompted them to add the statement on their site now that the loaded voltage should be about 3.0V (I had asked that on the phone with them). They're sticking to their 900mAh claim stating it's their 3rd generation design and apparently they use thinner separators. One strange thing is their cells are 2mm shorter than standard (32mm vs. 34mm), unless they're not accounting for the button height.
I'm also considering their primary CR123As if/when I run out of my good Sanyo and Rayovac stash now. I can get them for less than I can get Titaniums since vendors outside of CA sell the Tenergys and I won't get charged tax.
 

Brighteyez

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I went over and picked up one of the chargers with 4 batteries for $29.99, http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=521&HS=1. The charger looks exactly like the one that AW is offering at https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/103334
Same specs too, 12VDC IN 4.4VDC Out.
The batteries have the same characteristics as AW describes as well, 3.78-9 VDC open, dropping to about 3.2.

I've charged up one set, and tried one battery in a Nuwai Q-3. Didn't notice any difference in lighting intensity (so I'm guessing it's not sustaining 3.6.) Took a deep breath, checked the spare bulb compartment to make sure that there was a spare bulb, and then stuck a pair into my SL TL-2. Worked fine (whew!, no flash!), and again noticed no visual difference in brightness intensity (did I mention no flash! :) ). Insofar as differences in size, I compared the Tenergy batteries to Duracell and Streamlight CR123s and did not notice any difference in size (2mm would be visible and noticable), though it is possible that it may be a rounded off reference to the button height (about 1.5mm using a cheap office ruler to measure). The packaging is pretty much typical of Chinese products filled with misspellings and improper grammar. The front of the package indicates that batteries take 1.5-3 hours to charge (it took about 1.5 hours to charge each of the two sets of included batteries.) The back of the package however indicates that it should take 2.7 hours to charge one battery and 5.4 hours to charge two batteries (must have been text that they took from some other packaging. :) ). The whole thing comes as a clam-shell package that you can expect to find in a retail store with the charger, wall wart 12V supply, car cord, and 4 batteries.

I like the fact that they're open to will-call (they encouraged it to save on shipping, since I was nearby) and don't run customers through hoops to inconvenience them, like some of our other local vendors, so I guess I'll be using them more often, they're friendly both over the phone (and on the web) and in person. So I'm looking at them as a resource of convenience in addition to reasonable pricing (not necessarily the cheapest.) Insofar as evading sales tax, I'm not one to do that. I live in this state, was born and raised here, I don't mind paying my fair share. I do mind when a vendor doesn't have the common courtesy to answer e-mail, and can't be bothered for a local will-call if I need something today, and rather than having the parcel shipped 45-50 miles away to Richmond CA for sorting so that it can be delivered 4-5 days later 10 miles away from where it originated. So unless Tenergy/all-battery decides to do a U-turn on their customer service practices, my one experience with them so far would put them in the above average range for a business in their category.

jsr said:
Brighteyez - if you pick up some of the Tenergy 3.0V 900mAh R123As, let me know how you like them after you've had a chance to test them out and get them thru a few charge/discharge cycles.
I've spoken to them over the phone and prompted them to add the statement on their site now that the loaded voltage should be about 3.0V (I had asked that on the phone with them). They're sticking to their 900mAh claim stating it's their 3rd generation design and apparently they use thinner separators. One strange thing is their cells are 2mm shorter than standard (32mm vs. 34mm), unless they're not accounting for the button height.
I'm also considering their primary CR123As if/when I run out of my good Sanyo and Rayovac stash now. I can get them for less than I can get Titaniums since vendors outside of CA sell the Tenergys and I won't get charged tax.
 

Brighteyez

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jsr said:
Brighteyez - if you pick up some of the Tenergy 3.0V 900mAh R123As, let me know how you like them after you've had a chance to test them out and get them thru a few charge/discharge cycles.

Update Okay, I've had a chance to run the 3V R123s through a few more paces. They'll work fine with a Luxeon light like the Q3 or one of the SL Lux 2 cell lights.

With higher draw incandescents they don't work so well and will often require multiple taps before the lamp is illuminated. For incandescents I tried the batteries in a SL TL-2, Brinkman LX, and a Dorcy Spyder. Both the Brinkman and the Dorcy required multiple taps to get the bulb lit every time. The SL TL-2 was less tempermental, but it does require multiple taps about 1/3 of the time to get the bulb going.

At this point, I would only use these batteries only with LED or Luxeon based lights. If your usage for the incandescents is non-critical (e.g. not for public safety work or other situations where your light must function with a high degree of reliability), I suppose it would be okay to use these batteries for that purpose.

I wasn't planning on running any kind of run time test, nor do I have the equipment to test the batteries accurately for capacity, so I think someone else will have to get that info for you.

jsr said:
One strange thing is their cells are 2mm shorter than standard (32mm vs. 34mm), unless they're not accounting for the button height.

Their measurements are probably off and have indeed excluded the button on the battery. I measured the Tenergy batteries with a set of calipers and compared them against the length of primary CR123s. I found the Tenergy's to measure about .15 mm (.005") longer than Duracell or Streamlight CR123s, and about .3mm (.01") longer than a Yuntong (from Arc) or a Titanium CR123. Basically an insignificant difference in overall length.
 

jsr

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Brighteyez - thanks for the review. It sounds like the performance is quite good and I'm glad to hear it works in the TL-2 (I have one also) w/o blowing the bulb.
I know who you're referring to on the local vendors. My experience with that same vendor was less than stellar and I too had to jump through hoops just to get what I paid for (seemingly I was the only one, but it seems most, if not virtually all, those satisfied and that got all their ordered and paid for products only ordered small quantities whereas mine was fairly sizable).
 

koala

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My report is based on the Powerizer AA 2300mAh so it doesn't mean all Powerizers are bad. For me, I would never touch them again. Buying these rechargeables is as harmful as buying disposables and filling up landwaste.

They sucks, non of them ever reach 2000mAh at discharge rate of 300mAh. Average capacity is around 1600mAh. That is average of 22 AA cells. The plastic jacket on these cells is weak and tear easily. The negative contact of the cell is also very weak. Most of the Powerizer are already dented. None of my rechargeable cells are like that.

I didn't buy the cells. I bought some chinese 8 LED flashlight and the Powerizer comes with it. I prefer to spend a little more money on premium rechargeables when it comes to reusable cells.

vince.
 

Brighteyez

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Let me repeat the caveat on using these with the TL-2 and other incandescent high intensity lights, you will most likely experience the need to use multiple taps to get the bulb illuminated. They may not deliver the higher level of current needed to initialize the Xenon based high intensity lights. As such, I've ruled them out for my use, since I do have to have the light operate reliably. I'll be using these batteries solely for Luxeon based lights (which probably means that I'll need to get more since the only Lux that I have using CR123s is a Q3 and I don't need 4 batteries for that :) ).

Right now, to power the charger I'm using the AC wall wart from a Vanson charger (because it's already on the table) instead of the supplied adapter, and the DC cord from a Costco Vector 'Banana' light for a car cord (since I was already using that for the Vanson,) so other than the initial usage I haven't really used the supplied cords.

I wasn't aware of it at the time, however it seems that I've had previous dealings with Tenergy branded products on an industrial level basis for some NiMH batteries. Nothing steller to report, just an average level battery. Can't really say that the R123s will be good performers, only that they're serving my need for the time being.

Insofar as vendors are concerned, just getting what you ordered is pretty much an expectation, not in indication of the level of service. Being responsive to inquries would add to their level of service, publically announcing that you can't be bothered to answer inquiries that don't put money in your pocket is a sure sign that you should probably expect problems, especially if something is wrong with your order or if you are shipped defective merchandise. Dealers like that need to stay on eBay rather than trying to operate as a legitimate retail vendor.

Not getting your order would be indicative of an unreliable vendor, period. To the defense of web merchants though, there are a lot of scammers who try to take advantage of them with false claims of missing items or may claim the receipt of a defective item when they have substituted the damaged item that they already own. Some vendors are more cautious than others, to the point of inconviencing the honest consumers whose orders have been incorrectly fulfilled. And it's not limited to just web sales, the Fry's stores in this area seem to be rather susceptable to products switches in returned merchandise packages, so I never buy anything from Fry's that has a broken seal on it, and if it is a package that is not seal, I will examine the package and contents fully before I even think of putting it into a shopping basket/cart.

jsr said:
Brighteyez - thanks for the review. It sounds like the performance is quite good and I'm glad to hear it works in the TL-2 (I have one also) w/o blowing the bulb.
I know who you're referring to on the local vendors. My experience with that same vendor was less than stellar and I too had to jump through hoops just to get what I paid for (seemingly I was the only one, but it seems most, if not virtually all, those satisfied and that got all their ordered and paid for products only ordered small quantities whereas mine was fairly sizable).
 
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jsr

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JimH - these are R123A Rechargable cells we're discussing. The primaries definitely have higher capacities, but thus far, the highest 3.6/3.7V and 3.0V protected R123As I've seen are 750mAh.
 

JimH

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jsr said:
JimH - these are R123A Rechargable cells we're discussing. The primaries definitely have higher capacities, but thus far, the highest 3.6/3.7V and 3.0V protected R123As I've seen are 750mAh.
oops.gif
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stupid.gif
. I just ordered some Tenergy 3v RCR123's. I've got a CBA II that I've never used. I guess it's time to set it up and see what the Tenergy batteries really have.
 

Brighteyez

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Jim,

They have will-call and you can pick it up from their office/warehouse. They're about a block down from Costco around the corner from where you had lunch on Friday.

JimH said:
I just ordered some Tenergy 3v RCR123's. I've got a CBA II that I've never used. I guess it's time to set it up and see what the Tenergy batteries really have.
 

JimH

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I placed my order with them via email with instructions to notify me when the order was ready to pick up.
 

Morelite

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The Battery Station also has a 900mAh 3.7v rechargeable "yellow label" battey.

I just got them and only have a few cycles on them. So far they have performed very well. I'm getting 65 minute runtimes in a light that normally gets 100-105 minute runtimes with primary Energizer's. BTW they are protected batts.

Link to these batteries
They are 3/4 to way down the page by the charger picture.
 
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