Most recommended RCR123A
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weegidy
Newly Enlightened
AW is generally considered the best, but Efest is a less expensive and very good option as well. I used to have a PD30, it was my favorite light. I used 2x protected AW cells.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
For well over a year, I've been happy with protected AW ICR 16340s and unprotected AW IMR 16340s.
Protected Soshine/Orbtronic 16340s...not so much so.
Chris
Protected Soshine/Orbtronic 16340s...not so much so.
Chris
Hi,
What is the difference between the two battery types listed?
Will they fit the Fenix PD30?
Cheers.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
Chemistry. Cobalt vs. Manganese. The latter is slightly safer, therefore you won't find an additional protection circuit added, as it's not needed, but you can still have problems if you're a dolt.
I don't know about the PD30, but I have a PD32 and I use an 18650 sized cell in it and it runs fine. I can't use two RCR123/16340s, because those add up to 8.4v hot off of the charger. Even if I could, the 18650 would still be safer, since it's a single cell.
If an 18650 is too thick to fit into your light, you can try a (Redilast) 17670 sized cell in it, like I run in my unbored SureFire 6P LED. Less capacity, but it works and I don't have to worry about running expensive primaries in SF. It adds protection to a naked Sanyo 16650 cell. At about 2Ah, you might want to buy two of them.
Chris
Aahhyes68
Newly Enlightened
Deleted.... I need to keep reading....<SIGH>
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Aahhyes68
Newly Enlightened
Ok..... I was looking at the RCR123a's until I read this thread about voltage being a problem. I have a few lights that just won't fit a 18650 into the tube.. Two SF's, a Pentagon, Streamlight
SuperTac and a couple others as well. I guess I could get better drop ins for the SF's but that doesn't solve everything for me..
Can you clear this up for me please.. What battery/batteries are slender enough to use in these lights ?? I'm not afraid to spend a couple of extra bucks on good batteries. I really like lights
and rechargeable's are the ticket..
Thanks.
SuperTac and a couple others as well. I guess I could get better drop ins for the SF's but that doesn't solve everything for me..
Can you clear this up for me please.. What battery/batteries are slender enough to use in these lights ?? I'm not afraid to spend a couple of extra bucks on good batteries. I really like lights
and rechargeable's are the ticket..
Thanks.
ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have a SureFire 6P LED that a naked Panasonic NCR18650A cell won't come close to fitting in.
I bought two Redilast 17670s and they both fit fine and work fine. You can also look for the naked Sanyo 16650 cells, which is what's inside the Redilast 17670s, with added protection circuit.
I don't know about your other lights.
www.edcplus.com, which is Redilast, has them. Buy one and use that to see what your other lights can accept, so you're not spending a bunch of money upfront and flying blind.
Chris
I bought two Redilast 17670s and they both fit fine and work fine. You can also look for the naked Sanyo 16650 cells, which is what's inside the Redilast 17670s, with added protection circuit.
I don't know about your other lights.
www.edcplus.com, which is Redilast, has them. Buy one and use that to see what your other lights can accept, so you're not spending a bunch of money upfront and flying blind.
Chris
RetroTechie
Flashlight Enthusiast
For the PD30, I'd try if a 17670 (or 17650) battery fits, and how that works. The lower voltage of a single cell vs. 2x CR123A might be a problem, or not. :thinking: If okay, a single 17670 cell is surely a better option than 2 RCR123's in series.
Another option might be to bore out the battery tube until it takes an 18650 cell. Would be much, much better but again: the lower voltage might be an issue.
Another option might be to bore out the battery tube until it takes an 18650 cell. Would be much, much better but again: the lower voltage might be an issue.
I have a pd30 that I have used rcr123a's in for 4 years and just now all of the cells have lost ability to hold charge. so IMO that is pretty good since I haven't bought cr123 primaries for over 4 years. I bought the 900mah tenergy 3.0v from amazon . it came with 4 batteries and charger. 3v protected--not the 3.7 or lifepo ones. my pd30 functioned flawlessly with them
weegidy
Newly Enlightened
Seeing as this light was designed for use with 16mm cells, I think a 16650 would be a good option... assuming the circuitry can operate on the low voltage. I would be really interested to see how it works out.
Aahhyes68
Newly Enlightened
Thanks, Chris. I'll order two of those and see what works in what...
I have another question if you don't mind. I currently have a ThruNite that takes a single CR123 and I have also thought about the Fenix that takes a single CR123..
Is there a RCR available that is equal to a primary's voltage after charging ? I've always tried to stay away from the CR123's because there wasn't a good rechargeable.. Now their out there but the V's are too high.. WT*.....
I dunno...
RetroTechie
Flashlight Enthusiast
Say again? PD30 takes 2x CR123A, right? Rechargeable version of those (16340) is nominal 16 mm. diameter, but CR123A's are 17 mm. diameter. So for a 2x CR123A light, a 17670 cell should fit (at least in theory
).Yes, LiFePO4 cells are 3.2V nominal (and they drop to that voltage real quick when discharged), which normally is close enough to CR123A's 3V. But LiFePO4 in 16340 format is hard to find, many of those are junk, the best you can get is ~500 mAh or so. And few chargers can handle these cells properly.
1:1 voltage-alike replacements are only needed for incandescent lights. For LED lights, it depends on what voltage range the light was designed for. If a light takes up to ~4.2V (for a single-cell light) or up to ~8.4V (for a 2-cell light), then you can put RCR123's in them. And for lights designed to take 2x CR123A (up to ~6V), it's always safe to put in a single cell as replacement. Whether that works well or not, is another issue.
16650 is better/newer/higher capacity (real ~2000mAh) than 17670, I used Keeppower 16650 with my Jetbeam PC20 (this flashlight not supported 18650 battery)
PD30 can run with 17670, so you can use 16650 also
http://archive.light-reviews.com/fenix_pd30_r4/
PD30 can run with 17670, so you can use 16650 also
http://archive.light-reviews.com/fenix_pd30_r4/
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Received the following response from Fenix China:
"We recommend customer to use 3V CR123A battery, the voltage of rechargeable CR123 has 3.7V and will reach 4.2V when getting fully charged, high voltage may will do harm to PD30 circuit."
Are there any rechargeable CR123A available which stay within the safe voltage limit quoted?
Cheers
"We recommend customer to use 3V CR123A battery, the voltage of rechargeable CR123 has 3.7V and will reach 4.2V when getting fully charged, high voltage may will do harm to PD30 circuit."
Are there any rechargeable CR123A available which stay within the safe voltage limit quoted?
Cheers
EdFromOhio
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 23
That voltage sounds more like a CR2 battery.
Yes when you are using 2 x CR123 primaries in series in a flashlight , it's actually running 6 volt.
2 x 3 volt = 6 volt.
All the one cell li-ion suggestions above are well below that figure.
Whether they will work in your particular flashlight I don't know , but they won't harm it.
If you will go for a 6 volt solution as in your primaries , you can probably also use 2 x RCR123 3.0 volt li-ions , or 2 x RCR123 Lifepo4 ( 3.2 volt ). Whether they will harm your light or not I can't garanty , but I think the risk is little.
Personally I would stay away from the RCR123 3.0 volt li-ions , they are usually not recomended.
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ChrisGarrett
Flashlight Enthusiast
SureFire sells the K2 Energy 3.0v Li-Po RCR-123/charger set on their site, so you can use those RCR-123s in many lights, but the problem then becomes one of capacity. As you no doubt know, in series, you gain voltage, but not capacity, so stacking two, three of those Li-Pos still leaves you with a shortish runtime for all that work and you'll need a few 'sets' to make up for the same runtime you'd get with common primaries in that setup.
That's why running the bigger single cells, if the light functions correctly, is the ticket IMO. You might lose a little 'brightness' in an unregulated (non-current regulated ?) light, but you have gobs of capacity, as in the of the 18650 form factor.
Chris
You're right , one of the downsides with lifepo4 is low capacity.
One must make up with himself which solution he prefers. If e.g. 18650/17670 li-ion works without notably loss in output , I think that's the best solution for most people.
Next I would try 2 x lifepo4 , and last 2 x li-ion 3.0 volt.
However personally I don't need a lot of capacity. I use my light in small bursts for work.
But the needs could be different for another person.
One must make up with himself which solution he prefers. If e.g. 18650/17670 li-ion works without notably loss in output , I think that's the best solution for most people.
Next I would try 2 x lifepo4 , and last 2 x li-ion 3.0 volt.
However personally I don't need a lot of capacity. I use my light in small bursts for work.
But the needs could be different for another person.
