120p and rechargeables

[naggalowmo]

Hey everyone,
I've got a question that maybe some of you can answer. I was looking into some AW 123a's for my 120p and I'm confused. I know runtime won't be as great but I'm seeing conflicting results for brightness. One review site shows a 500+ drop in lux using AW rechargeables over primaries. One review that I found on this site says that it will be brighter, while another says that brightness will be exactly the same. Which is it? :shrug:

 

[SolarMan]

brightness will stay the same.

Runtime decreases as the capacity of Lithium Ion batteries have less capacity than primaries.

 

[selfbuilt]

There's very little difference in output. You can see some 120P runtimes on primaries and AW RCRs in my NiteCore Extreme review.

In my tests, the RCR were just slightly less than the primaries for the first few mins, but then slightly exceeded primary output. And as already mentioned though, expect to see much lower runtimes on RCR.

 

[270winchester]

In my tests, the RCR were just slightly less than the primaries for the first few mins, but then slightly exceeded primary output. And as already mentioned though, expect to see much lower runtimes on RCR.

in my experience on the AW R123s the light runs about the same length on high levels.

 

[cernobila]

ok, so what is the runtime on high with both, CR123 and RCR123 cells? The web site does not have this information, or at least I could not find it......

 

[SaturnNyne]

in my experience on the AW R123s the light runs about the same length on high levels.

In the test I did, my 120P actually ran longer on RCR at full power. It got 29 minutes on a new US made BS primary and 37 minutes on both a 900mah BS and 750mah AW RCR.

 

[Oddjob]

I can't say I notice any differences in brightness with RCR's vs primaries. Generally from what I have read and in my uses I find primaries run anywhere from 30 to 50% longer than my RCR's. I have a mix of RCR's so some charge better than others. RCR's will actually last longer if you do not run them down before recharging them and certainly do not wait until the protection circuit (of a protected cell) kicks in to recharge it.

 

[selfbuilt]

in my experience on the AW R123s the light runs about the same length on high levels.

As my graphs show, I find the same for max regulated output at 120 lumens (i.e. about 30mins max output on both primary and RCR, before dropping down to a half level). But at all other output levels, primaries last longer than RCR before half-level drop down occurs (e.g. ~85mins vs 55mins for 85 lumens, ~550mins vs 300mins for 30 lumens, etc.). Also, in terms total runtime, primaries exceed my AW RCRs at all levels (e.g. ~260mins to 100mins total light at 120 lumens, ~780mins vs ~330mins for 30 luments, etc.).

 

[naggalowmo]

Thank you for your answers everybody :thumbsup:
Looks like i'll be getting some AW's :naughty: