Looking for some 14500 batteries/charger recommendations for my Nitecore SRT3

Hey all, I am a complete noob on decent quality flashlights and rechargeable batteries. I've bought many cheap cheap cheap flashlights throughout the years and finally got what I would call a quality flashlight...the Nitecore SRT3. I love the option to switch between AA and CR123 sized batteries and the light dimming ring. Anyways...the AA alkaline work fine, but I want it brighter like blinding if possible. Looks like only rechargeable batteries can produce it. I was going to get a Nitecore branded 14500 battery and D2 charger and call it a day, but according to some members here they don't work properly in the SRT3. Are AW protected 14500 still the go to for recommendations these days? As a noob and someone on a budget, I was looking for something cheaper, but I guess quality is more important than saving a few bucks and have a fire start in my pocket? If there are other quality, more affordable options, I am all ears.

For the charger, I was just going to get a Nitecore I2 or more likely a Nitecore D2 so I won't have to get a multi-meter. Would either of these be fine for someone who is new to recharging and on a budget. I am willing to save up and spend on higher quality only if they are worth it.

Also, I had some CR123 laying around and tried them. The cheap brand "Great Power" kept flickering non stop, is that because the battery is low or maybe not making proper contact in my SRT3? I then tried an older Surefire 3v CR123 and honestly, it wasn't that much brighter than a cheap AA I had in there before. Is that expected or was the SF one lower in power? I am hoping the 14500 will produce the max output at 550 lumens according to the Nitecore paperwork. As someone who has never seen a light over 200 lumens, will 550 be a night and day difference compared to whatever my SF CR123 and AA alkaline produced? I also read that using higher powered batteries will shorten the life of the flashlight...if I switched over to 14500, how much would it shave off? Like years? Sorry for the long read. I tried reading up prior, but was not sure so I decided to post. I appreciate any help or info on the subject.

I run Efest 16340s (RCR123s) or 14500 cells in all my Nitecore lights. They are unprotected and I keep track of the voltages. I suggest for a new person to use protected cells. I would give the Nitecore branded cells a go.

The output for your light per manufactures specs:
AA 1.2/1.5 Volts Turbo 180
CR123 3.0 Volts Turbo 330
14500/16340/RCR123 3.7 volts, : Turbo 550

The jump between a 180 and 330 isn't very noticeable in many cases. Get the D2, I like mine. Throw the cheap batteries away, or give them to a friend or family member you don't really like.
Welcome to the forum.

Str8stroke said:

I run Efest 16340s (RCR123s) or 14500 cells in all my Nitecore lights. They are unprotected and I keep track of the voltages. I suggest for a new person to use protected cells. I would give the Nitecore branded cells a go.

The output for your light per manufactures specs:
AA 1.2/1.5 Volts Turbo 180
CR123 3.0 Volts Turbo 330
14500/16340/RCR123 3.7 volts, : Turbo 550

The jump between a 180 and 330 isn't very noticeable in many cases. Get the D2, I like mine. Throw the cheap batteries away, or give them to a friend or family member you don't really like.
Welcome to the forum.

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Since it is a Nitecore light, I figured I'd get Nitecore batteries, but I was reading this post:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-is-out-BAM!&p=4246764&viewfull=1#post4246764
They don't seem compatible so I was looking into other suggestions. I will consider protected cells.

These "Great Power" brand batteries seemed more affordable compared to other expensive CR123s out there so I figured why not? I thought it was a good deal, but I guess I did not know any better. I later on purchased Surefire brand thinking those are the real deal. Are they not good also?

I was going to get the I2, but then I saw a picture of the charger that supposedly exploded in someone's Amazon review. That made me look into the D2. There are some reviews of them failing shortly with little use. Does Nitecore have good customer service? Would they offer a new charger or a free fix if mine were to suddenly fail? Or would they give me the run around and just end up with a paper weight?
Thanks for the welcome and the quick reply there.

Authentic SF batteries are the best and all I use when using primary cells. I ONLY buy from authorized dealers or directly from Surefire. My last huge box came directly from them. They had a big sale. Never ever buy Surefire batteries from eBay or amazon. Unless, you know the dealer is a Authorized vendor. Same with Nitecore products. I strongly suggest using one of the vendors here.
http://www.cpfclassifieds.com

If the Nitecore cells have issues, go with the Xstar or Olight or Fenix cells. Xstar makes great chargers too.

As for warranties, well lets just say, they are about worthless. Sending a $25 item back to China for repairs is never gonna work out well. I highly doubt they are just gonna ship you out a new one on your word. Your best bet is a reputable dealer who stands behind what the sell. Hence my previous advice of using a vendor here. They are LESS likely to be problematic. So I am saying, have realistic honest expectations. Things happen. I own 5 or so Nitecore chargers and have had some for years and used the heck out of them, never had a problem. I know people who claim to have opened it up and it worked once. But, I know mine were genuine. Take that for what you will as others opinions may vary.

The charger you see blow up, My first question is, was it a authentic product? There are tons and tons of fakes out there. The Chinese will knock off a knock off. I am serious. They make fake Nitecore chargers, and Surefire batteries and the list goes on.

Oh, I have to send back a defective Nitecore charger to China? I was going to buy one from amazon cause I have a gift card there, so I thought I could at least send it to an US location for warranty.

I have no idea if it was a knock off that blew up. Just showed up as a negative review on amazon. I figured I'd be safe if I bought from amazon directly under nitecore and not a 3rd party seller.

I was leaning towards an AW protected 14500 cell, but I might have to wait for a confirmation that it works with an SRT3 before purchasing one. It might have the same issues as the Nitecore 14500.

Since I wasn't impressed with 180 lumens to 330 lumens, will I be impressed with a 180 to 550 jump? Feels like I might end up disappointed. Even though I carry this light with me almost everywhere, I barely use it. I might use it like 5 mins a month on average, if that. I'm not even sure what the maintenance is like with Li-Ion type batteries if it gets little usage.

pyro0 said:

Oh, I have to send back a defective Nitecore charger to China? I was going to buy one from amazon cause I have a gift card there, so I thought I could at least send it to an US location for warranty.

Since I wasn't impressed with 180 lumens to 330 lumens, will I be impressed with a 180 to 550 jump? Feels like I might end up disappointed. Even though I carry this light with me almost everywhere, I barely use it. I might use it like 5 mins a month on average, if that. I'm not even sure what the maintenance is like with Li-Ion type batteries if it gets little usage.

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As far as Amazon and warranty, if Amazon didn't make it (like it makes Amazon Basics) they will only replace it in their 60 or 90 day time period (I forget which). After that they will tell you to return it to the supplier. I would suggest the Nitecorestore.com, as they are located in the US, and are an official supplier.

As far as the increase in lumens, if I remember correctly it takes four times the lumens to give an appearance of doubling the output. A jump from 180 to 550 is about three times the output, so it should be noticeable, but it won't be double.

As far as cell maintenance goes, it depends on if the light has a parasitic drain or not, and if so, how much it is. Best bet is to just take your VOM and check the battery voltage about every three months or so and top off as necessary.

What I would really like to see is chargers coming with a 'storage charge' switch. Since we are told we should not store Li-Ion cells at 4.0v or over, it would be nice to have a way to tell the charger to stop at 3.8v or so.

Timothybil said:

As far as Amazon and warranty, if Amazon didn't make it (like it makes Amazon Basics) they will only replace it in their 60 or 90 day time period (I forget which). After that they will tell you to return it to the supplier. I would suggest the Nitecorestore.com, as they are located in the US, and are an official supplier.

As far as the increase in lumens, if I remember correctly it takes four times the lumens to give an appearance of doubling the output. A jump from 180 to 550 is about three times the output, so it should be noticeable, but it won't be double.

As far as cell maintenance goes, it depends on if the light has a parasitic drain or not, and if so, how much it is. Best bet is to just take your VOM and check the battery voltage about every three months or so and top off as necessary.

What I would really like to see is chargers coming with a 'storage charge' switch. Since we are told we should not store Li-Ion cells at 4.0v or over, it would be nice to have a way to tell the charger to stop at 3.8v or so.

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Some good info there, thanks. I'm trying to step into the recharging world and wow, there is soo much to keep in mind. Feels like I didn't have to worry about those 1 time use batteries.

As far as a charger for 14500 cells, I use an Xtar VP2. It has switchable charge rates of .25A, .5A, and 1A, and switchable charge rates to handle LiFePO4, regular Li-Ion, and 4.35v cells. So I am ready for basically any Li-Ion cell currently out there. I got it for some 10440 cells I have, but it will work great for my 14500 ones as well.

Timothybil said:

As far as a charger for 14500 cells, I use an Xtar VP2. It has switchable charge rates of .25A, .5A, and 1A, and switchable charge rates to handle LiFePO4, regular Li-Ion, and 4.35v cells. So I am ready for basically any Li-Ion cell currently out there. I got it for some 10440 cells I have, but it will work great for my 14500 ones as well.

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I was looking into a Nitecore I2 or most likely a Nitecore D2 because I like sticking to the same brand for some reason. I will also look into those Xtar VP2 chargers. Thanks.

Edit: I like the option of changing charging rates because slower is better, from what I've read. This also sounds cool "Activation function for over discharging battery.VP1 can recover the overly dicharging protected batteries." What I like about the D2 is it lets you know how much time is left til it's full, I believe.

The issue with 14500 is that they have to have button tops, and the overall battery length needs to be shorter than average. Despite its excessive length, the SRT3 will not accept many of the protected 14500 batteries on the market. The protected Nitecore 14500 (51.6mm long) fits fine in my SRT3. I doubt that a battery longer than 52.5mm can fit in the SRT3.

SubLGT said:

The issue with 14500 is that they have to have button tops, and the overall battery length needs to be shorter than average. Despite its excessive length, the SRT3 will not accept many of the protected 14500 batteries on the market. The protected Nitecore 14500 (51.6mm long) fits fine in my SRT3. I doubt that a battery longer than 52.5mm can fit in the SRT3.

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Really, it works? I was going by this post here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-is-out-BAM!&p=4246764&viewfull=1#post4246764

Is your Nitecore 14500 a recent purchase? Maybe they found out they weren't compatible and fixed it later on?

pyro0 said:

Oh, I have to send back a defective Nitecore charger to China? I was going to buy one from amazon cause I have a gift card there, so I thought I could at least send it to an US location for warranty.

I have no idea if it was a knock off that blew up. Just showed up as a negative review on amazon. I figured I'd be safe if I bought from amazon directly under nitecore and not a 3rd party seller.

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The thing about buying from Amazon is that you need to know who to buy it from.. If the price is too cheap and the seller is not Amazon, the manufacturer or a respected seller, chances are , it's a knock off..

I am located in Singapore, but have been buying stuff from Amazon for a number of years.. I tend to keep to buying from one of the above 3 sellers even though there may be cheaper sellers, simply because the hassle of doing returns.. Whenever I see negative reviews of an item, I also notice that there are sellers selling it at dirt cheap prices($6 Dremel bit from Amazon, being sold at $0.50 from some unknown source).. And while the review may state its an Amazon verified purchase, it does not mention which seller the reviewer was stating, and may actually cause the overall rating if the item to drop..

truthfully, Asia made items are cheaper for me to purchase locally at the shop, if it's available (eg camera lenses). Things like Buck knives and Dremel bits.. That's a different story...

Oh and for recommendation , you could try the xtar vc2 or vc2 plus master.. As it is a usb charger, it could draw power from the adapter, Computer , car adapter or even a suitable power bank..

I tried charging/ topping off some of my Li-ion cells with the power bank .. No issue ..power bank was a 16000mah unit with output of 2.1A

canonite said:

Oh and for recommendation , you could try the xtar vc2 or vc2 plus master.. As it is a usb charger, it could draw power from the adapter, Computer , car adapter or even a suitable power bank..

I tried charging/ topping off some of my Li-ion cells with the power bank .. No issue ..power bank was a 16000mah unit with output of 2.1A

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The VC2 Plus master caught my eye because it shows how much time is left before it is full. I thought the Nitecore D2 did the same thing, but turns out it just shows the elapsed charging time. I did go with the D2 though because it shows the volt levels and just went with the cheaper option as my first charger. I figured if I really really get into recharging, I'll upgrade to whatever has the best quality at the time. Looking back, the VC2 Plus seems to have the better value and if it had a voltage meter, it would probably be the perfect charger for me. I just got my battery/charger and would like to thank everyone that helped me out. I value all your input and suggestions.

canonite said:

The thing about buying from Amazon is that you need to know who to buy it from.. If the price is too cheap and the seller is not Amazon, the manufacturer or a respected seller, chances are , it's a knock off..

I am located in Singapore, but have been buying stuff from Amazon for a number of years.. I tend to keep to buying from one of the above 3 sellers even though there may be cheaper sellers, simply because the hassle of doing returns.. Whenever I see negative reviews of an item, I also notice that there are sellers selling it at dirt cheap prices($6 Dremel bit from Amazon, being sold at $0.50 from some unknown source).. And while the review may state its an Amazon verified purchase, it does not mention which seller the reviewer was stating, and may actually cause the overall rating if the item to drop..

truthfully, Asia made items are cheaper for me to purchase locally at the shop, if it's available (eg camera lenses). Things like Buck knives and Dremel bits.. That's a different story...

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I am totally with you on ordering from Amazon. Can't really beat Amazon's customer service. I do have trouble trusting some reviews on Amazon, even if it is a "Verified Purchase." The trend these days seem to be where reviewers are sent free or dirt cheap items for a 5 star review. Some reviewers basically get sent a code so the final price will be $0.99 for example and will show a "Verified Purchase" tag. Also heard some times they can be sent empty boxes for the same tag. I don't know how accurate all this is though.

I currently have the D4 and VC2..
VC2+ and VP2 on the way to me though ..

VC series mainly because of the USB and power bank charging ability( charge while outside without the need of power socket). The interface helps too. But unsure how accurate the balance charge timing would be..

VP because of the voltmeter reading and charging current selection

D4 was the first one I bought .

Only Panasonic - Sanyo cells would be my recommendation.

Highest capacity 14500 is Sanyo 840mAh + Protection.

Xtar VC2 very good (price and quality).

With Chinese battery manufacturers you never know which core cell is in one battery and which in another.
Thanks to Efest, and xxxfire

Orbrtonic's protected Sanyo 840mAh 14500's is your best option IMO.

As for charger, check out the many charger reviews in the forums & choose one that fits your needs & price.

I already went with the D2 and AW protected 14500 cell. Wish you guys replied earlier. I'll look into these suggestions for possibly future purchases. Thanks.

pyro0 said:

I already went with the D2 and AW protected 14500 cell. Wish you guys replied earlier. I'll look into these suggestions for possibly future purchases. Thanks.

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AW is OK, much less capacity (I think 700mah), but good cells.

Test by HKJ here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?345104-Test-Review-of-AW-14500-750mA-(Black)

space-cowboy said:

AW is OK, much less capacity (I think 700mah), but good cells.

Test by HKJ here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?345104-Test-Review-of-AW-14500-750mA-(Black)

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I bought it because it seemed to be highly recommended digging through older posts and it was compatible with my flashlight.

What would you recommend that are better?