Rechargable 123's
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mdocod
Flashaholic
Hello,
not really...
Incandescent lithium powered "6V" flashlights don't have any direct replacement to match the voltage requirements of the bulb, which are actually about 4.8V, since the regular CR123s sag under a load and the bulb has been designed to take this into consideration. There are currently at least 4 different types of rechargeable "123" size cells on the market. Some are labeled "3.7V" and some are labeled "3.0V" but none of them accurately replicate the behavior of a CR123 lithium primary cell.
I'm not very familiar with that browning light.... some of these tactical style lights may have other bulb options available out there on the market that could be used. The standard practice is to take a pair of 3.7V RCR123s and use them to drive a "9V" tactical bulb. This usually works pretty well.
Eric
not really...
Incandescent lithium powered "6V" flashlights don't have any direct replacement to match the voltage requirements of the bulb, which are actually about 4.8V, since the regular CR123s sag under a load and the bulb has been designed to take this into consideration. There are currently at least 4 different types of rechargeable "123" size cells on the market. Some are labeled "3.7V" and some are labeled "3.0V" but none of them accurately replicate the behavior of a CR123 lithium primary cell.
I'm not very familiar with that browning light.... some of these tactical style lights may have other bulb options available out there on the market that could be used. The standard practice is to take a pair of 3.7V RCR123s and use them to drive a "9V" tactical bulb. This usually works pretty well.
Eric
FLT MEDIC
Newly Enlightened
Yes, you can use 3.0v rechargeable CR123s for your 6v Xenon and 6v Xenon-6LED bulb flashlight.
In case the bulbs in your flashlights are rated at 4.8v, the bulb will run brighter but have a shorter lifespan. I have converted many spot flashlights which come with 4.8v 0.75A bulbs (and has a spare 4.8v 0.75A bulb) powered by four D cells to use 6v 4Ah sealed lead acid batteries so it works. If you want longer bulb life and lesser brightness, replace the stock with 6v 1.0A bulbs.
A fully charged 3.0v rechargeable CR123 will be around 3.2v but when it's under load like when a bulb is switched on, it will go down to 3.0v.
A fully charged 3.7v rechargeable CR123 on the other hand will be 3.9v but under load it will maintain 3.7v so it will burn out even 6v bulbs that's why you have to make sure you use 3.0v and not 3.7v rechargeable CR123s. Good luck!
In case the bulbs in your flashlights are rated at 4.8v, the bulb will run brighter but have a shorter lifespan. I have converted many spot flashlights which come with 4.8v 0.75A bulbs (and has a spare 4.8v 0.75A bulb) powered by four D cells to use 6v 4Ah sealed lead acid batteries so it works. If you want longer bulb life and lesser brightness, replace the stock with 6v 1.0A bulbs.
A fully charged 3.0v rechargeable CR123 will be around 3.2v but when it's under load like when a bulb is switched on, it will go down to 3.0v.
A fully charged 3.7v rechargeable CR123 on the other hand will be 3.9v but under load it will maintain 3.7v so it will burn out even 6v bulbs that's why you have to make sure you use 3.0v and not 3.7v rechargeable CR123s. Good luck!
mdocod
Flashaholic
Hi FLT MEDIC,
Many 4.8V "0.75A" flashlight bulbs have a lot of room for overdrive, and this has been demonstrated by numerous tests done by CPF members. Many bulbs that come in tactical flashlights do not often have much room for overdrive. Using the comparison of the lead-acid vs alkaline configuration does not confirm that a "3.0V" rechargeable lithium is going to be compatible with a CR123 powered incandescent flashlight.
A few things to consider:
The Difference between a typical "3.0V" rechargeable cell, and a "3.0V" CR123 is not just a few tenths of a volt. The rechargeable cell will operate in the ~3.4V diminishing to ~2.5V range through a discharge, the primary cell will immediately sag to 3.0V or less, and be operating at around 2.5V or within moments of activating the flashlight. Some people have reported success and others have reported failure using them... The difference in initial voltage can be quite substantial.
There are 2 different types of "3.0V" rechargeable li-ion cell on the market. One is a 3.7V LiCo cell that has a diode installed to cause a ~0.7V drop on the output. The other is a LiFePO4 chemistry cell. Both options have some major drawbacks in this size class. The manufactures maximum recommended discharge rate for most of these cells is 0.5A. On the voltage regulated cell it's fairly important not to venture too far beyond these manufacture recommendations, and most "tactical" bulbs are going to draw around 1.2A. LiFePO4 is also often sold with a manufactures maximum suggest discharge rate of around 0.5A, but technically speaking they can handle more than that without any major safety issues.. But runtime would be remarkably short, (maybe 15 minutes in the browning, if it doesn't insta-flash the bulb)...
Many 4.8V "0.75A" flashlight bulbs have a lot of room for overdrive, and this has been demonstrated by numerous tests done by CPF members. Many bulbs that come in tactical flashlights do not often have much room for overdrive. Using the comparison of the lead-acid vs alkaline configuration does not confirm that a "3.0V" rechargeable lithium is going to be compatible with a CR123 powered incandescent flashlight.
A few things to consider:
The Difference between a typical "3.0V" rechargeable cell, and a "3.0V" CR123 is not just a few tenths of a volt. The rechargeable cell will operate in the ~3.4V diminishing to ~2.5V range through a discharge, the primary cell will immediately sag to 3.0V or less, and be operating at around 2.5V or within moments of activating the flashlight. Some people have reported success and others have reported failure using them... The difference in initial voltage can be quite substantial.
There are 2 different types of "3.0V" rechargeable li-ion cell on the market. One is a 3.7V LiCo cell that has a diode installed to cause a ~0.7V drop on the output. The other is a LiFePO4 chemistry cell. Both options have some major drawbacks in this size class. The manufactures maximum recommended discharge rate for most of these cells is 0.5A. On the voltage regulated cell it's fairly important not to venture too far beyond these manufacture recommendations, and most "tactical" bulbs are going to draw around 1.2A. LiFePO4 is also often sold with a manufactures maximum suggest discharge rate of around 0.5A, but technically speaking they can handle more than that without any major safety issues.. But runtime would be remarkably short, (maybe 15 minutes in the browning, if it doesn't insta-flash the bulb)...
mdocod
Flashaholic
17670s would under-drive the bulb and it would not be very bright... I highly suggest you read the link in the upper left hand part of my signature to get familiar with the popular li-ion configurations and methodology for conversion. As I had said before, I'm not 100% familiar with that flashlight...
I did a quick search, and still can't figure out if the flashlight uses a D26 style bulb or something proprietary. Looking at the body design I am tempted to say they are probably made by Nuwai and probably have propriatary lamp assemblies..
If they sell a 9V version of the flashlight, and both the 6V and 9V versions share the same bulb style (as far as mounting configuration is concerned) then your best bet is going to be to take a pair of 3.7V RCR123s, either protected LiCo or IMR16340s from AW, and use them to drive the 9V bulb in your 6V body style. This will result in ~30 minutes runtime (give or take), but will be brighter than stock and rechargeable.
I did a quick search, and still can't figure out if the flashlight uses a D26 style bulb or something proprietary. Looking at the body design I am tempted to say they are probably made by Nuwai and probably have propriatary lamp assemblies..
If they sell a 9V version of the flashlight, and both the 6V and 9V versions share the same bulb style (as far as mounting configuration is concerned) then your best bet is going to be to take a pair of 3.7V RCR123s, either protected LiCo or IMR16340s from AW, and use them to drive the 9V bulb in your 6V body style. This will result in ~30 minutes runtime (give or take), but will be brighter than stock and rechargeable.
