123 Battery Shoot Out

[wintermute]

I'd love to see a rechargable 123 shootout as well, the JSBurly R123s vs. the BatteryStation R123s really interests me. Although I was looking at rechargable 123s previously, but it looks like the low-cost and greater energy capacities of the BatteryStation CR123A seem like the best fit for high current uses.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello GreenLED,

I have multiple tests of everything listed except the Ray O Vac and the Golston. Dano seems to be the only one that can find the Ray O Vac's and he is paying a premium price for them. The test results seemed to be in line with the others tested, so we did not go for improved statistics.

The Golston cells are acting like they are old stock and the chemistry needs a little "kick start" to get going. If they had not been sealed in plastic, I would have accused Chevrofreak of sending me "used" cells... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have not experienced such varied performance (or lack of it) with any other brand, and would suggest steering clear of the Golston cells in principle. You never know if the cell you grab is going to work or not.

All of the other cells may vary in capacity, but cell to cell performance is reasonably consistent.

Wonka,

I am working on a Rechargeable 123 Shoot Out, but will be testing chargers and AA NiMh cells first. The best cells in the world are only as good as the charger used to charge them. Once we have an idea of which chargers are good, we can go from there to check the cells out.

Tom

 

[greenLED]

Excellent, SilverFox! I am no longer skeptical.

 

[HarryN]

Hi Silverfox - I have a line on some Varta's, which will likely behave similar to the Ray o vac - given the heritage.

I am still trying to find some comparable SAFT or eq, but so far I have only been able to find the low current ones. I also saw some A size (vs 123 = 2/3 A) but they also were low current. My interest, is that they were rated at over 3000mah, which would be amazing for only 50 % more length.

 

[Codeman]

Thanks a bunch, Silverfox! You just answer my questions!

 

[wintermute]

[ QUOTE ]
SilverFox said:
I am working on a Rechargeable 123 Shoot Out, but will be testing chargers and AA NiMh cells first. The best cells in the world are only as good as the charger used to charge them. Once we have an idea of which chargers are good, we can go from there to check the cells out.

Tom

[/ QUOTE ]

Awesome, I look forward to your NiMH AA shootout as well as your r123 shootout!

 

[83Venture]

Any info on the BugOutGear 123 batteries?

 

[SilverFox]

Hello 83Venture,

Those are rechargeable cells. I haven't done any capacity comparison testing on those types of cells yet. It is on the slate for the future.

Tom

 

[DaGeek]

Great review. Good work silverfox.

 

[KDOG3]

So I take it that 2 and 3 cell Surefire lights are of the High current draw type?

 

[SilverFox]

Wayne at AmondoTech was disappointed in the testing results of the Titanium 123's. He decided to meet with the manufacturer of the cells to see if something could be done to improve the performance.

He was successful...

These new cells did OK at 0.5 amps, better than OK at 1.0 amps, and now lead the pack at 2.0 amps. I should also mention that there were no heating problems at 2.0 amps as well. I believe they got up to 85 F during the test.

It is refreshing to find a supplier that not only is interested in improving the products he has, but is also successful in making it happen.

Thanks Wayne.

Tom

 

[Ginseng]

Dang,

I had spoken with Wayne some time ago about these new 123s and it sounds like they turned out as he hoped. Very impresive.

Wilkey

 

[AtomSphere]

[ QUOTE ]
SilverFox said:
Wayne at AmondoTech was disappointed in the testing results of the Titanium 123's. He decided to meet with the manufacturer of the cells to see if something could be done to improve the performance.

He was successful...

These new cells did OK at 0.5 amps, better than OK at 1.0 amps, and now lead the pack at 2.0 amps. I should also mention that there were no heating problems at 2.0 amps as well. I believe they got up to 85 F during the test.

It is refreshing to find a supplier that not only is interested in improving the products he has, but is also successful in making it happen.

Thanks Wayne.

Tom

[/ QUOTE ]

You refering to energisers right? So would they have a different covering for their improved 123 cells? If not we wouldn't know which one is the newer version from the older ones

 

[SilverFox]

Hello AtomSphere,

No.

AmondoTech carries the Titanium brand cells.

The cells that I tested had the same labeling as the old cells.

Tom

 

[AtomSphere]

thanks for the info!

 

[AtomSphere]

I am wondering about the performance of golsten 123 cells. The charts are not displaying on the 1st page of this thread.

The price on www.code09.com is very attractive on these cells. But i am worried about performance and protection on golsten cells

 

[Billson]

Tom,

Do you have plans to test the Panasonic cells? I thought they were pretty highly regarded in terms of performance.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Billson,

I would be happy to test some Panasonic cells, but don't have any.

Where are they available from?

Tom

 

[AtomSphere]

wow... would be intresting to see panasonic in the charts!

 

[Billson]

Hi Tom,

I came across these and thought of looking them up on your charts when I discovered they were not yet tested. They're pretty cheap for branded cells so I was wondering how good they really are.

Update: They have suddenly disappeared from the site so the url is empty. Probably sold out or something.

Thanks.