CR123A - Use a cell in one light only?

[Henk_Lu]

I just got a Nitecore SR3, put a new CR123A in it and wrote a review about it, gladly not yet on CPF, I would be banned by now. Indeed, I did the most terrible newby-mistake : I didn't try another cell and complained about weak brightness...

OK, back to topic : I was pretty sure that the cell was a brand new one, I nevr put a used one back in the stock and I got the cell one week ago. Perhaps it was a bad cell. Then I put another cell in the light, which I knew it had been used for about 2 minutes in another light, for testing purposes, a few days ago. The light was brighter, but still not much difference. Trying a third cell made the light shine bright at last.

I tried the second cell, the hardly used one in 2 other lights, same result, no brightness, the cell has 2,75 Volt while the "bad" one has 2,90 Volt. Of course, the difference can result from the fact that the cell with the lower voltage has been tried just 2 minutes before measuring, the other one 5 minutes before.

Two months ago I experienced about the same thing when I got my Ra Clicky back (the light had been exchanged). The cell I used in the old one worked well when I took it out, it didn't work at all in the new light and not in other lights either. It had been stored 3 months.

So, my question is indeed if you should use a cell in one light only? The other way : You shouldn't put a cell that has been used in one light in another one. That sounds pretty dumb, doesn't it? Except the unlikely possibility that I got 2 bad cells in a row, I'm searching for an explanation of what happened. Except once in a 2 cell light (the light switched to moon mode after about 15 minutes of use), I never had problems with those cells. What's more, I preffer CR123A lights over AA, because I experienced such problems with my Panasonic Infinium (Eneloops from Panasonic)...

 

[Mr Happy]

Specifically what brand of CR123A did you use? This can make a difference.

 

[Linger]

I'd suggest checking them out again on the dmm.
The battery doesn't know what flashlight you've used it in, nor is the cell particular if you swap it out or try it in several lights.

Best,
Linger

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Usually, just usually, 2.90 is on the edge capacity wise. 2.85 from my experiences is always too low capacity wise for a high drain flashlight. I don't know what the drain is with your light on the different levels. I would suggest using RCR123's for this light. I suspect the SR3 delivers around one amp to the LED on the highest level, which could mean that the CR123 current draw is well over one amp, and probably more like 1.25A's+, not good territory for primary CR123's, pulling current/voltage pretty fast.

Bill

 

[Henk_Lu]

Specifically what brand of CR123A did you use? This can make a difference.

The bad cell was a Golston, the other a Cytac. I normally use the Cytac, available for a good price and according to the dealer nearly the same performance as Varta, which they sold before (but nearly double price)... The ones that made problems once in the EagleTac T10C2 were two Varta!

 

[Henk_Lu]

Usually, just usually, 2.90 is on the edge capacity wise. 2.85 from my experiences is always too low capacity wise for a high drain flashlight. I don't know what the drain is with your light on the different levels. I would suggest using RCR123's for this light. I suspect the SR3 delivers around one amp to the LED on the highest level, which could mean that the CR123 current draw is well over one amp, and probably more like 1.25A's+, not good territory for primary CR123's, pulling current/voltage pretty fast.

Bill

I actually don't have any RCR123, I wanted to stick to Primaries for my 123 lights. I also suspected that a single cell would not be able to deliver enough power for an R2 on high for a long time...

I only wonder that the SR3 actually keeps all 8 modes, even with a not-so-new CR123A. I thought that the light was regulated in a way that one mode after the other would quit working totally if the power is not enough, which would mean that mode 7 and 8 would be exactly the same. This isn't the case, you still see a minor difference between the two and probably all modes get dimmer with a used cell. I can't actually test this, as I have only one light and no testing equipement to measure any output.

 

[Mr Happy]

The bad cell was a Golston, the other a Cytac. I normally use the Cytac, available for a good price and according to the dealer nearly the same performance as Varta, which they sold before (but nearly double price)... The ones that made problems once in the EagleTac T10C2 were two Varta!

I see that Golston CR123A cells have previously been found to be inconsistent and potentially weak performers: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=84104

I can't find much information about Cytac.

What people have often found in testing is that some cheap brands of CR123A do perform poorly in terms of capacity, maintaining voltage under load, and in terms of manufacturing consistency. The best kind have been found to be made in a factory in the USA or in Japan. I do not know what options are available in Europe, nor how Varta cells perform in testing.

In summary the observations in your first post could be down to the quality of the cells and not something general to all CR123A cells.

 

[Henk_Lu]

I see that Golston CR123A cells have previously been found to be inconsistent and potentially weak performers: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=84104

I can't find much information about Cytac.

What people have often found in testing is that some cheap brands of CR123A do perform poorly in terms of capacity, maintaining voltage under load, and in terms of manufacturing consistency. The best kind have been found to be made in a factory in the USA or in Japan. I do not know what options are available in Europe, nor how Varta cells perform in testing.

In summary the observations in your first post could be down to the quality of the cells and not something general to all CR123A cells.

I couldn't find out about the Cytac either (but they look like Tenergy, same blue colors...), so I trusted the dealer and until now I never had any problems with them.

As everybody knows, the CR123A a pretty expensive in Europe. I get the Cytac for about 1,35 € while a Surefire costs at least 2,50 € (has been nearly 2 years I bought some...) and I only get them from the official dealer in Luxembourg.

I wonder if I should order some in USA, as it seems 4sevens are high quality and if I take a pack of 50, they become even cheaper than the Cytac... :thinking:

I don't really want to start with rechargeables, that's nearly a hobby beside the flashlights, you begin with RCR123 and a charger and you end up with another drawer full of different chargers and batteries, while some of them will even be highly dangerous if not treated and used correctly.