CR123 Batteries? Rechargeable Option?

[Michael J. Spangler]

hey guys. i was wondering what everyone's view is on the different CR123 batteries? what's the best brand? best place to buy etc?

and i've heard about some mods to use the 18650 batteries or something like that.... what's the way to go?

i'm thinking of this for an L4 or an E2D LED what do you guys think? thanks

 

[xcel730]

:welcome:

L4 and E2DL both take 2 x 3.0v primary CR123a batteries (non rechargable). You will not be able to use 3.7v RCR123a batteries (rechargable) on these flashlights. However, you could use 3.0v LiFEP04 RCR123a batteries, but note that you only have 500mAh with LiFEP04 instead of 1500mAh for primary CR123a battery, so you'll be sacrificing runtime.

For primary CR123a, I've been using Surefire, Duracell, and Panasonics, but there are other brands for you to choose. I would stay away from cheap batteries, especially for two cell flashlights. For all rechargable Li-Ions, including RCR123a and LiFEP04 batteries, I've been using AW brand, which is highly recommended by many members of this forum.

Standard 18650 batteries will not fit in L4 or E2DL. You could have mods bore the battery tubes a little wide, but you're be running the flashlight on 3.7v instead of 6.0v with 2 batteries.

For me, I'll stick with primary CR123a batteries for these flashlights.

Also, there's a subforum that discuss in details regarding batteries and electronics. You may find it helpful.

Enjoy.

hey guys. i was wondering what everyone's view is on the different CR123 batteries? what's the best brand? best place to buy etc?

and i've heard about some mods to use the 18650 batteries or something like that.... what's the way to go?

i'm thinking of this for an L4 or an E2D LED what do you guys think? thanks

 

[NotRegulated]

Instead of an 18650 rechargeable you can use one 17670 3.7v rechargeable. The 17670 is the same length as the 18650 only thinner...about the same size as the two 123's. They usually fit fine in the L4 or E2e/D body however, sometimes they don't. The 17670 fits in all of my L4/E2e bodies except one which seems to taper off to tighter tolerences near the tailcap end of the tube. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if they will fit or not in your tube unless you try one. I run one protected AW 17670 in my L4 and get about 40 minutes of runtime. The 17670 works equally well with all my L1 LED heads on the same body.
People also use two rechargeable 123's but I haven't to any extent. The 17670's work just fine for me.