your opinions of Batterystation 123's

[jayhackett03]

just looking to see what everyone thinks of these? i've done searches and have seen positive and negative information about them. what do YOU think? whats the truth about these batteries? i want to switch to Batterystation 123's because lighthound sells them for cheap. way cheaper than the $3 i'm spending for each Surefire 123a, locally.

[LED61]

Kevin at BS ZTS tests all batteries before he ships. So you get all cells at 100% capacity. From there on you can use them in series or single cell applications. They are good performers at current draw rates of 1C, or around 1.2 amps. If you want to use them in higher amperage demands I cannot recommend them as I would a surefire or duracell.

[jayhackett03]

i'll just be using them in a Surefire G2. will that work ok?

[LED61]

Originally Posted by jayhackett03

i'll just be using them in a Surefire G2. will that work ok?

I would use them with the low output lamp. If you want to use the high output lamp I would buy Surefire or Duracell. But again, that is only what I would do.

[Art Vandelay]

Sombody did a test of the CPF and major brands. They posted graphs and did a nice review. Does anybody have a link to that thread?

[aml]

tacked at the top of the forum
I like amondotech.com TITANIUM batteries.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ad.php?t=67078

[65535]

The graphs show great performance and I have had fine experience.

[idleprocess]

I've never had any trouble with Battery Station 123As. I gather that they don't perform as well as surefire/duracell/energizer/sanyo/other major labels, but they are considerablhy cheaper.

[ACMarina]

I've got them in a G2 with a P61, and I figure they'll be okay for what I'm doing with them..

[voodoogreg]

Originally Posted by LED61

Kevin at BS ZTS tests all batteries before he ships. So you get all cells at 100% capacity. From there on you can use them in series or single cell applications. They are good performers at current draw rates of 1C, or around 1.2 amps. If you want to use them in higher amperage demands I cannot recommend them as I would a surefire or duracell.

I cannot recommend SF's regardless of current draw. two outta 4 SF light's equiped with there cells and 5 outta a box of 12 have prematurely died and/or protection circuit cut in
before the cell was near depleted,,, this is a well worn subject on CPF. Had good luck with BS, and there are now many more brand's at low cost that are well regarded. (although I have not used them any, mostly li ion's for me now) VDG

[carbine15]

I like amondotechs shrinkwrapped batteries. Very convenient. Battery stations are ok too.

[LED61]

Neither Kevin at BS nor Wayne at amondotech recommend their batteries for 2.5 amps current draw. That is what the batteries go through when the high output lamps are used in the Surefire incandescent lights, such as the P61, P91, MN11, MN16, and MN21 lamps. BS cells are not good performers at this high current draw rate, titaniums do better but depending on batch are harder to match at 100% capacity. Please go over to Silverfox's excellent 123 shootout at 2.5 amps. I also think that if something were to happen to a light or a component because of batteries, Surefire would honor the warranty a lot easier if their batteries or duracells were used.

[Art Vandelay]

Make sure you see this update to Silverfox's 123 battery shoot out.

"4/22/05 Wayne at AmondoTech was disappointed in the performance of his Titanium 123 cells and decided to do something about it. He met with the manufacturer and had them change the formulation to provide improved performance. He was successful. These new cells may not be the best at 0.5 amps, but lead the pack at 2.0 amps without heating problems."

Here is another graph of these cells. I am very impressed that Wayne made it a point to come up with a better product and delivered on this." http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/show...05&postcount=1

AmondoTech's Titainium 123 cells are the same price as BatteryStation's ($1 each to CPF members). One thing however, if you buy a flashlight from BatteryStation's they give you a pack of (6 to 20) free batteries, depending on the price of the flashlight.

Unless you use the 20 minute runtime (P61, 91, etc) lamps, you are not going to run at 2.5 amps.

[LED61]

Art Vanderlay, that is old data. There is newer data dating back just a couple of months at 2.5 amps, which more closely resembles high output lamps current demands. Titanium batteries are not as consistent in performance as duracell or surefires. Duracells are the best. At these high current draws and chips down, I would not try to save money sacrificing quality. But, I agree with you, for applications including LOLA´s I would and do use batterystation or titanium batteries so long as they are ZTS matched.

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by LED61

Art Vanderlay, that is old data. There is newer data dating back just a couple of months at 2.5 amps, which more closely resembles high output lamps current demands. Titanium batteries are not as consistent in performance as duracell or surefires. Duracells are the best. At these high current draws and chips down, I would not try to save money sacrificing quality. But, I agree with you, for applications including LOLA´s I would and do use batterystation or titanium batteries so long as they are ZTS matched.

Could you provide a link to the new data? I have seen references to new data, but it looks like they were talking about the data I linked. If you could provide a link to newer data, it would be very helpful. Thanks.

[LED61]

It is SilverFox´s 123 battery shootout and the data is therein. It has November 2006 in the 2.5 amp test. You´ll be impressed.

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by LED61

It is SilverFox´s 123 battery shootout and the data is therein. It has November 2006 in the 2.5 amp test. You´ll be impressed.

12/27/2006 SilverFox posted
Update:

The Titanium CR123 test results are posted.

Tom

12/27/2006 Silverfox posted in response to the question "Posted where?"
Hello Hog and Tim,

The results are posted in the first post of this thread.

Tom

LED61, the first post of Silverfox's 123 battery shoot out thread, is what I linked in my initial post. Here it is again. http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=768005&postcount=1

[kc2ouf]

I've had good experience with Battery Station 123's in my Gladius. When the voltage gets low enough to cause the Gladius to blink, I run them in my single-cell Dorcy till they're dead.

[LED61]

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

Make sure you see this update to Silverfox's 123 battery shoot out.

"4/22/05 Wayne at AmondoTech was disappointed in the performance of his Titanium 123 cells and decided to do something about it. He met with the manufacturer and had them change the formulation to provide improved performance. He was successful. These new cells may not be the best at 0.5 amps, but lead the pack at 2.0 amps without heating problems."

That was the old data I was referring to. At the end of Tom's first post you will find the new data you referred to in your previous post. 2.5 amps testing data.

[Art Vandelay]

Originally Posted by LED61

That was the old data I was referring to. At the end of Tom's first post you will find the new data you referred to in your previous post. 2.5 amps testing data.

OK, I understand. I was hoping Silverfox had a new runtime chart that I had not seen before. In my book, Silverfox is one of the best members along with Quickbeam, Size15s, Newbie, Chevrofreak, JonSidneyB, GreenLED, and many others, not to mention the Mods.

[LED61]

Yes, they are extremely knowledgeable people, don't forget JS in the incandescent front.

[jsr]

Originally Posted by idleprocess

I've never had any trouble with Battery Station 123As. I gather that they don't perform as well as surefire/duracell/energizer/sanyo/other major labels, but they are considerablhy cheaper.

Ditto...same experience and opinion here.

Bottom line is the china-made cells such as BatteryStation, Amondotech Titanium, Powerizer, etc. are considerably lower priced than the major brands for a reason...yield. These china-made brands widen their acceptance standards to increase yield and thus can offer them at a much lower price. That is also the reason why we see more variation in capacity between cells. Widened acceptance requirements also mean less drive to control quality and improve processes (not saying they don't have QC or decent processes in place, but if you have tighter tolerances, you'll need better processes in place to meet the target yields at those tighter tolerances). I think the china-made cells are fine for 1cell applications. I prefer to use Sanyo, Ray-o-vac, and Streamlight cells as they're not that much more when purchased online and offer more consistency.

[jch79]

Here's a runtime test I did a while back with my McLuxIII-PD UX1K, with a few primaries and a couple rechargeables. BS cells seem to perform similar to Titaniums, but both were outshined by SureFire.

I suppose YMMV, depending on flashlight used, environment, length of use, etc.



john