extremely good cr123 find for cheap

[Misterbean]

so i was at my local salvage store the other day(hudson's dirt cheap) and i saw a big battery bin. it was just full of batteries that were almost all loose. so i got my meter and took it in and started testing the cr123s because they are stupid expensive. i got 20+ cells that all read 3.2+ volts and a 10 or so that were just under 3.2(no lower than 3.16 or so). so what kind of price did i get them at you ask. 5 cents a piece!!! so if any of you live around dirt cheaps you should go and check them out. take your meter with you and check the voltage and all because i did find a few that were bad.

 

[Marduke]

"Good Deals" in the MP would be a better spot to post this.


BTW, you can get cheap NiMH and E2 lithium cells there also:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=170100

 

[Misterbean]

by the way all cells were duracell, enegizer, and sanyo cr123a.

 

[greenLED]

:welcome: Misterbeam

Just be aware that a voltage meter doesn't tell you the full story about the remaining battery capacity.

CPF'ers have documented that mixing batteries in different states of discharge (meaning capacity, not voltage) can lead to explosions.

So, please proceed with caution with those cells. The best thing to do would be to find a battery analyzer and determine what the remaining capacity of those batteries may be. You can match cells according to that. Even then, I'd keep a close eye on them, and probably only use them only in single-cell applications.

 

[Misterbean]

i only have 1 cr123 light that i use alot and it is a single cell light. and also what i didn't mention is that alot of the cells were still in the 2 packs or whatever. i've kept them together for my 2 cell lights if i ever need them.

 

[greenLED]

That's a sensible precaution, but still no warranty that those paired cells will degrade equally.

 

[matrixshaman]

That's an awesome price ! There are a number of single cell lights they would be great to use in even if they are less than full capacity - either way nice find. I have no idea what or where this place is but I don't think there's anything like it around here (or any other place I've lived). Where are they located (and is it a chain store?).

 

[Marduke]

That's an awesome price ! There are a number of single cell lights they would be great to use in even if they are less than full capacity - either way nice find. I have no idea what or where this place is but I don't think there's anything like it around here (or any other place I've lived). Where are they located (and is it a chain store?).

It's a chain, check my link above for a store locater.

 

[NA8]

5 cents seems a bit low for a reasonable profit.

One wonders if someone happened by the dumpster when QC was tossing the bad batches. Figuratively speaking, of course.

 

[Marduke]

Hudson's Dirt Cheap sells returns, store closings, and overstock. They buy pallets of junk for pennies and sort it out later and sell it for what they can.

Several times I've seen the clearance items from WalMart and Target that didn't sell make it's way into one of these stores.

 

[Misterbean]

i think most of the stores are in the south. they sell primarily returns and salvage from store burnings and water damage. i live in the same city as the corporate headquarters for hudsons so i think our hudson's and our dirt cheat get the best stuff. i've bought plenty of things in there for great prices including decent flashlights i've used for modding. Dorcy metel gear for 1 dollar that is getting a mod soon. the batteries i've gone through so far from there have been near full capacity when compared to store bought batteries. all the born on information has been fairly recent.