batteries for olight t20 q5

[mikagami]

alright... so i have some noob questions. i've looked around the forums and i am having a difficult time finding what i want to know, so if at any time you can direct me to the right place instead of answering another annoying question, that is fine with me. without further ado...

i have in hand my shiny new olight t20 (quite cool!), and some wallgreen's cr123's. i want to run rechargables instead of constantly buying batteries. unfortunately at this time, i don't have spare time to spend researching this stuff and learning about it, so i figured i'd pester you guys with my questions:


- what is the best rechargeable battery that will fit my light?

the olight site specs out 2 cr 123's or 2 4.2v rechargables, but when i search around, i don't really find any 4.2v. i assume that they aren't really 4.2v rechargeables, or that that is what they peak at or something. can someone clear this up for me as well? as i understand from reading some stuff here, protected is the way to go. will protected cells fit my light?

- what is the best charger i can get for these ideal rechargeables?

it would be cool if the charger could do other types of batteries as well, but if i would sacrifice too much performance or something then just doing one type is fine. some people have mentioned ones with auto shut-offs and the like, and that would be cool too. basically, whatever works the best safely and quickly.

money is no object, and i don't mind things that take some know-how to work. thanks for all the help!

 

[Curious_character]

Welcome to CPF!

The "4.2 volt" batteries referred to are Li-ion rechargeable cells, often called RCR-123. Their nominal voltage during discharge is about 3.7 volts, so you'll more often see them listed as "3.7 volts". Their open circuit voltage is about 4.2 volts immediately after charging, so the flashlight manufacturer probably used that number to describe them as a way of saying that 4.2 volts per cell won't hurt the flashlight.

There are a lot of good sources of RCR-123 cells. You should use only "protected" rechargeable cells in a multi-cell light. Using unprotected ones can be hazardous. Doing a CPF search on "explosion" "fire" and similar terms will get you plenty of information why.

AW's cells are highly regarded here. You'll find his sales thread at the Dealer's Corner of the CPF Marketplace. If you don't want to wait for shipment from China, Lighthound sells some sizes of AW cells along with others. I've also found Battery Station cells to be good. I'm sure you'll get other recommendations of good sources of quality cells. Check out the CPF discount page for links to the dealers I've mentioned and others. I don't think you can go wrong in doing business with any of them.

I just ordered one of those lights yesterday, and I'm looking forward to getting it. Enjoy!

c_c