Best bang for buck AAA Lithium primaries?

I'm going to be getting an Olight i3 which can take lithiums without a problem. I'm not into charging lithiums currently. At batteryjunction I see Energizers for 3.95 + shipping for 2 batteries only. Is there a cheaper place to score AAA lithiums?

Are there any really good budget lithium AAA's like the Titanium 123A's?

In the US, for 1.5V Lithium primaries, energizer holds the patent for the chemestry in use, so unless they license the use of it, they will the the sole manufacturer until the patent expires. Overseas your results could differ.

I havent seen any 3V lithium AAA primaries, but I cant say Ive looked.

I was literally goin to post this same thing. I just bought aaa lithium energizer batteries from battery junction for that price and I looked all over the net for a place to buy them in bulk for cheaper.

Anyone know of a place or sponsor on here that sells those in bulk????

I just wanted to add that you should avoid the temptation to purchase Chinese made 1.5 V lithium AA and AAA cells, which are available online at relatively low cost if you look for them. While I have not tested them all, the ones I have tested do not meet UN or UL safety tests. They seem to get around the Energizer patents by using unsafe electrolyte compositions and poor vent designs. They are indeed very unsafe and should be avoided.

The only 1.5 V lithium AA and AAA cells that you should consider are Energizer, Duracell and Philips. The latter two are available in the EU, but in North America.

Cheers,
BG

What about Powerizer Lithium Primary AA/AAA's? Are they an example of what you're describing? I don't see vent holes.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/prliba1pcaaa.html

EDIT: Seems like it...price isn't much cheaper than Energizer Ultimate Lithium either. Don't know why Battery Junction is selling them...probably not a good idea.

Robin24k

I think you answered your own question.

Cheers
BG

Battery Station used to sell Lithium AAs branded under their name.

Interesting ancient discussion

ebay for AA/AAA lithium primary batteries in quantity @ about 1/3 of retail.

but buy only from U.S. sellers

CKOD said:

In the US, for 1.5V Lithium primaries, energizer holds the patent for the chemestry in use, so unless they license the use of it, they will the the sole manufacturer until the patent expires. Overseas your results could differ.

I havent seen any 3V lithium AAA primaries, but I cant say Ive looked.

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I've looked and have never seen a 3v lithium AAA primary battery (10440 size). The only reason we have AA 3v primaries is they are a component in a lithium primary camera battery once popular. Energizer and some companies would use 2x1.5v lithium primaries while other battery makers would use 2x3v (in paralllel) primary batteries so as to not have to buy them from or pay patent fees to energizer.

I have wondered at the quality of the chinese ebay energizer lithium primaries if they truly are of the same quality and consistency of north america sold energizer L92s etc. Last I looked you could get deals about ~$1 per battery from china for them in large enough quantity vs close to $2.50 for them at the stores in the US.

ncbill said:

ebay for AA/AAA lithium primary batteries in quantity @ about 1/3 of retail.

but buy only from U.S. sellers

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I recently bought a pack of 20 or 24 AAA Energizers from on eBay for about $0.80 each, shipped. They arrived from China about 3 weeks after I placed my order. 4 of them had broken loose from their pack, and of those four, two or three tested at only 1/4 to 3/4 capacity. But the remaining 20 cells test at full capacity.

Why buy only from U.S. sellers, when you can pick up real Energizers at 2/3 off?

Paul_in_Maryland said:

But the remaining 20 cells test at full capacity.

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So now you don't have any more left? If you just checked voltage, keep in mind that open circuit voltage can't be used to determine capacity or % remaining.

BTW, a 20% defect rate should be unacceptable...makes you wonder about the batteries. Are they fake, refurbished, etc.? Furthermore, buying Energizer lithium batteries from Asia shouldn't make economic sense. Why? They are manufacturerd in the US, shipped to Asia, shipped back, and then end up costing less?

Lithium batteries and low-cost should never go together. Short of buying explosives, cheap cells will really give you the best bang for your buck.

Paul_in_Maryland said:

I recently bought a pack of 20 or 24 AAA Energizers from on eBay for about $0.80 each, shipped. They arrived from China about 3 weeks after I placed my order. 4 of them had broken loose from their pack, and of those four, two or three tested at only 1/4 to 3/4 capacity. But the remaining 20 cells test at full capacity.

Why buy only from U.S. sellers, when you can pick up real Energizers at 2/3 off?

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If the "full" ones truly test out equal to the ones made/sold in the US I agree.

I think he's just like me and wants to buy the best for the best cost he can. So far i found www.batteryjunction.com to be the cheapest for AAA but i can't seem to find them for sale in bulk like like they do for 123's like on www.LightJunction.com

Paul_in_Maryland said:

I recently bought a pack of 20 or 24 AAA Energizers from on eBay for about $0.80 each, shipped. They arrived from China about 3 weeks after I placed my order. 4 of them had broken loose from their pack, and of those four, two or three tested at only 1/4 to 3/4 capacity. But the remaining 20 cells test at full capacity.

Why buy only from U.S. sellers, when you can pick up real Energizers at 2/3 off?

Click to expand...

How do you know they are real Energizer? Energizer does not manufacture those batteries in China, so you are saying you got the real deal after it traveled over the ocean... twice. Also, see comments above about true capacity.

rushnrockt said:

How do you know they are real Energizer? Energizer does not manufacture those batteries in China, so you are saying you got the real deal after it traveled over the ocean... twice. Also, see comments above about true capacity.

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It is not uncommon for chinese branded merchandise to be sold at cut rate prices even if made in the states for consumption there as they don't expect the same profit margin. In bulk shipping costs are not excessive for small items. I can get a stereo earphone cable shipped here for 99 cents total cost.. which includes shipping.

You're saying "Energizers" from China are likely not grey market, but counterfeit? I confess, that didn't occur to me. I haven't checked their capacity in a formal way.

rushnrockt said:

How do you know they are real Energizer? Energizer does not manufacture those batteries in China, so you are saying you got the real deal after it traveled over the ocean... twice. Also, see comments above about true capacity.

Click to expand...

Lynx_Arc said:

It is not uncommon for chinese branded merchandise to be sold at cut rate prices even if made in the states for consumption there as they don't expect the same profit margin. In bulk shipping costs are not excessive for small items. I can get a stereo earphone cable shipped here for 99 cents total cost.. which includes shipping.

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This is definitely not one of those products. The batteries are pretty expensive to make, there is no good reason to try to sell them at cut rate prices in China and $0.80 is simply not realistic for the genuine article.

rushnrockt said:

This is definitely not one of those products. The batteries are pretty expensive to make, there is no good reason to try to sell them at cut rate prices in China and $0.80 is simply not realistic for the genuine article.

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I wouldn't know how much they truly cost to make but if you compare generic alkaline battery prices in bulk sometimes made by the same factory as name brand cells you can get an idea of markup on them. If you compare a 4 pack of energizer AAAs at about $4 with a brick of generic AAAs costing in the neighborhood of 30 cents each then take $2.50 each (4/$10 for lithium AAAs) and multiply by 30% you get close to that 80 cents.

Thread from the dead. Im converting over to AAA's Lithiums from CR123's.

SO many benefits yeah? I've had a bunk Duraloop charger ( good 2400 batteries ) overcharge them by 12 hours or so, they all read defective now. Eneloops seem to out gas quite often as I mentioned in a different thread. Don't care about the safety, more worried about light damage.

And best of all, Lithium AAA / AA's are MUCH more expensive then quality USA CR123's by a large margin....everywhere?

So whats the scoop? Are $1.00 AAA lithiums non existent if your buying less than 10,000? :sick2:

ONLY looking for Energizer Lithiums.