Help. Need Charger and Battery for a cop friend.

[BigMHoff]

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[mdocod]

Hi BigMHoff,

There is no short answer to your questions, which is why I decided to write a very long one...

Start here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=201375

The link can also be found in the "threads of interest" section of the "flashlight electronics" section of this forum.

Eric

 

[PhantomPhoton]

I know that you can use 2 RCR123's for a P3D however I'm not sure if it can take 3 RCR123's (hot off the charger it will be ~12.6V)

AW has nice, safe chemistry (IMR cell) RCR123s available in the Marketplace, definitely the way to go for a P2D. They should do fine with the P3D and TK10 as well.

For a charger it's a tough choice choosing between cheap price and high quality. The WF 139 available from a few CPF friendly vendors should do if cheap is your thing.

 

[mdocod]

The P1D and P2D shouldn't be used with 3.7V cells, the circuit is not designed to handle the higher input voltage...

 

[BigMHoff]

B

 

[BigMHoff]

I

 

[mdocod]

Battery Junction says the UltraFire WF 139 shouldnt be used with thier 3 volt cells. But AW sells them with his 3 volt cells. I am so confused!

Is there a better charger that adapts to all RCR123's? DC and the ability to charge other batt types would be great. Thanks for the help so far.

The charger that AW sells with his 3.0V LiFeP04 cells is the WF-138, it has a 3.7V and 3.0V cell setting. The 3.0V setting on that particular charger is designed for use with LiFeP04 chemistry cells, which need to have their charge terminated at ~3.6-3.8V. The 3.7V charge setting is designed to charge to ~4.20V for use with LiCo cells. Other 3.0V cells on the market are 3.7V LiCo cells, but with a diode built in to buck the voltage down close to 3V. This type of cell requires ~4.4-4.5V to fully charge (depending on the specific cell)... There are also 3.7V LiMn chemistry cells available from AW, and they require a charge termination at 4.20V just like 3.7V LiCo cells to work right..

So there are 4 different lithium-ion rechargeable chemistries available in the "RCR123" size category, and 3 different categories of charger. Using the wrong charger on certain cells could cause an explosions, while other mis-matches would just result in under-charged cells. Considering how confusing the industry is, it would not be smart to have some budget li-ion charger with all the different charge settings for any possible li-ion cell. There are Hobby style chargers costing several hundred dollars that could probably be used to safely charge any of these cells, but obviously, the several hundred dollar purchase usually comes with the assumption that the person buying it knows what they need, and is willing to spend a few hundred dollars to get those abilities, and will know how to use it safely.

Eric