My first RC123A Battery - Help me out?

belomeclone · Oct 20, 2010

Okay, so I have a few odd questions. This is going in a Nitecore SR3

1. I'll probably be going with this battery, but unsure.

http://www.lighthound.com/AW-RCR123a-Protected-750-mAh-Battery_p_114.html

It says it protects against over discharge. Is that a real thing? Or by "Protecting" against it, does it just kill the battery but prevent anything bad from happening?

2. How can I tell what battery is right for me? For example, this option:

http://www.lighthound.com/AW-IMR163...LiMN-Rechargeable-Lithium-Battery_p_2626.html

3. Is there any way to tell, like time used or brightness, when it is time to charge my battery again WITHOUT using a meter? I mean, I plan on charging it on a regular basis, but should I be looking for anything in particular?

4. If it sits idle for, say a month, what kind of discharge is there?

5. I have a single AA flashlight that can take a Li-Ion, should I consider getting one that route too? Are rechargeable mostly acceptable until you have two or more in a flashlight, and then the serious problems occur?

Sorry for all the questions.

Lighthouse one · Oct 21, 2010

The AW batteries are considered the best quality ones. Protected batteries have a small circuit on the bottom of the battery that makes them slightly longer and fatter. The disadvantage is that they kick in and instantly kill the power...and it stays off until reset in the charger.
Li-ion batteries like to be topped off regularly- say monthly. They will however easily go 6 months without a top off if just idle.

Unregulated batteries usually have a bit more capacity.

IMR batteries are a different chemistry that doesn't need, or have a protection circuit. They also have a lower capacity..sometimes near 40%. They are mainly used in lights that have very powerful Led's and draw heavy current. You don't need them.

In a single cell light I would go with the unprotected cells. They are less trouble.
Just top them off and try not to run them until the light goes nearly dead.

belomeclone · Oct 25, 2010

That advice seems to run counter to everything I've learned...?

CKOD · Oct 25, 2010

belomeclone said:
That advice seems to run counter to everything I've learned...?

Which portion? It's all correct, even the portion about unprotected in single cell lights. As long as your flashlight cuts off with the cell > 2.5v under heavy load, or 2.75 or so under medium load, you shouldnt overdrain the cell. When you get into multicell packs, you can have one cell take a dive before the others and become overdischarged (or even worse, reverse charged :sick2: ) while the voltage of the others keeps it above whatever pack cutoff voltage youre looking out for, hence protected cells are desireable if youre not using a pack with its own protection circuit.

cy · Oct 25, 2010

here read this... an odie ... but goodie

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/161549

belomeclone · Oct 27, 2010

CKOD said:
Which portion? It's all correct, even the portion about unprotected in single cell lights. As long as your flashlight cuts off with the cell > 2.5v under heavy load, or 2.75 or so under medium load, you shouldnt overdrain the cell. When you get into multicell packs, you can have one cell take a dive before the others and become overdischarged (or even worse, reverse charged :sick2: ) while the voltage of the others keeps it above whatever pack cutoff voltage youre looking out for, hence protected cells are desireable if youre not using a pack with its own protection circuit.

So my flashlight itself will stop working when the voltage goes too low?

And the charger itself is where I will have to be careful about damaging it.

CKOD · Oct 27, 2010

belomeclone said:
So my flashlight itself will stop working when the voltage goes too low?

And the charger itself is where I will have to be careful about damaging it.

Depends on the flashlight... Some have converters which are meant to chew every last bit out of primary cells... not so hot for the rechargeables. Some just shut off on their own at a good voltage... some are programmed to stop at an appropriate voltage (HDS EDC comes to mind for the last category)

belomeclone · Oct 31, 2010

CKOD said:
Depends on the flashlight... Some have converters which are meant to chew every last bit out of primary cells... not so hot for the rechargeables. Some just shut off on their own at a good voltage... some are programmed to stop at an appropriate voltage (HDS EDC comes to mind for the last category)

How can I tell which one my flashlight is?

VegasF6 · Nov 2, 2010

Here is a tip from the manufacturer of your light:
Battery Replacement
When the battery is low, low brightness may occur or users may not be able to control the brightness or turn on the light. Users should turn off the light and insert a new battery. If you continually use a low-voltage battery, there may be danger of battery leakage or even explosion (with rechargeable Li-ion batteries without safety circuits).

It doesn't appear that Nitecore included a low voltage cut off circuit. I am not familiar with that light, so I could be wrong, but either way, you will notice a pretty sever dimming. Even without a protection circuit, it is just the nature of a lithium cobalt battery. It will discharge at a pretty flat voltage, then dive off quickly, dropping voltage. As voltage drops, the circuitry in the light will attempt to draw even more current to up the voltage to continue to provide the same voltage (actually current, but close enough) to the LED. It won't be able to keep up and you will notice. When you turn the light off your battery voltage will bounce back up again. If you kept turning the light on and off you would damage your battery (disposable and rechargable alike) hence why they tell you to change the battery immediately.

The problem comes in with lower powered lights. I see that nightcore has a low mode of only 5 lumens. If you were to turn the light on in low and allow it to run continously, you would be much more likely to over discharge your battery.

One other benefit of a protected cell is it may save you in case of a charging incident. Since you are already looking at ~$125 flashlight, I think you should go ahead and purchase the black AW RCR123 cell too. Is it absolutely necessary? Probably not.

Do please take some time while you are here to browse around and read some of the safety threads concerning lithium batteries. With a single cell light, and quality charger and quality cells you eliminate most dangers, but you should still be aware of them. You still need to be aware of short circuits, crushing, temperature extremes, etc. Lithium batteries contain a large amount of energy and we only want to release it in a controlled maner

belomeclone · Nov 2, 2010

VegasF6 said:
Here is a tip from the manufacturer of your light:
Battery Replacement
When the battery is low, low brightness may occur or users may not be able to control the brightness or turn on the light. Users should turn off the light and insert a new battery. If you continually use a low-voltage battery, there may be danger of battery leakage or even explosion (with rechargeable Li-ion batteries without safety circuits).

It doesn't appear that Nitecore included a low voltage cut off circuit. I am not familiar with that light, so I could be wrong, but either way, you will notice a pretty sever dimming. Even without a protection circuit, it is just the nature of a lithium cobalt battery. It will discharge at a pretty flat voltage, then dive off quickly, dropping voltage. As voltage drops, the circuitry in the light will attempt to draw even more current to up the voltage to continue to provide the same voltage (actually current, but close enough) to the LED. It won't be able to keep up and you will notice. When you turn the light off your battery voltage will bounce back up again. If you kept turning the light on and off you would damage your battery (disposable and rechargable alike) hence why they tell you to change the battery immediately.

The problem comes in with lower powered lights. I see that nightcore has a low mode of only 5 lumens. If you were to turn the light on in low and allow it to run continously, you would be much more likely to over discharge your battery.

One other benefit of a protected cell is it may save you in case of a charging incident. Since you are already looking at ~$125 flashlight, I think you should go ahead and purchase the black AW RCR123 cell too. Is it absolutely necessary? Probably not.

Do please take some time while you are here to browse around and read some of the safety threads concerning lithium batteries. With a single cell light, and quality charger and quality cells you eliminate most dangers, but you should still be aware of them. You still need to be aware of short circuits, crushing, temperature extremes, etc. Lithium batteries contain a large amount of energy and we only want to release it in a controlled maner

Yes I am a bit concerned over Li-Ion batteries, but I know I won't realize my flashlight's full potential without getting one. Plus, I like to charge the batteries!! I think I will go for the battery you suggested, as I only really need one, but now the question is what charger to get. Thank you for your help though!!

I have a strange, little AA light that could get a Li-Ion in it

My first RC123A Battery - Help me out?

belomeclone

Enlightened

Lighthouse one

Flashlight Enthusiast

belomeclone

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CKOD

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cy

Flashaholic

belomeclone

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CKOD

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belomeclone

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VegasF6

Flashlight Enthusiast

belomeclone

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