New Cells from EagleTac

[rookiedaddy]

First, take a look at what packaging these cells arrived with... :sweat:

From what I understand, EagleTac got new cell types of RCR123, 14500, 17650 and 18650 besides a newer higher capacity 1700mAh CR123A primary. I only bought some CR123A and 18650.

First, let's take a quick look at this newer 18650 3100mAh Protected LiIon battery

a closed-up of the button top (nipple)

According to EagleTac, these 3100mAh uses Panasonic 3100mAh cell, and the label actually says "Cell made in Japan, assembled in China". EagleTac claim these can be discharge up to "4A - 5A", which is lower than the equivalent offering from AW or Redilast (both with Max Discharge Rate of up to 6.2A). Unlike AW (and sometimes Redilast) the "nipple" design should make these cells work in any 18650 flashlights.

Next, let's look at the CR123A...

loose plastic wrapping... instead of shrink-wrap.

1700mAh?

really? 1700mAh? :shrug:


compare the older 1500mAh with the this 1700mAh...

my previous experience and testing of the 1500mAh ET cell shows that the 1500mAh ET cell doesn't really deliver, the performance is lower than that of my 1400mAh Sanyo (made in Japan) CR123A. So I am a little skeptical about the claimed 1700mAh... however, after my initial testing, I've found this cell to deliver about the same capacity (or more) as other cells like Energizer/SureFire. Note that my test deals with low current draw using a flashlight running in low mode (Quark Mini AA warm white). Has anyone tested this newer 1700mAh cells in high current draw applications?


frankly, I'm quite surprise when I receive these cells. when the distributor told me it's "wrap" in recycle box, I thought it's one of those egg-shelf type of packaging... I never expect EagleTac to put each cell in its own individual box, nicely packed! Iimagine the labour involved in packaging these. :sweat: Though I doubt the practicality of packaging the cells like this, but I kinda like the boxes itself... it's cute! :whistle:

 

[BirdofPrey]

I'd be very interested in something with this capacity in my new Zebralight. However, my current Eagletac 2400s don't fit and I had to resort to using my OLD Tenergy cells in order to find some that fit.

 

[LilKevin715]

Thanks for the heads up. The newer li-ion cells from eagletac are priced competitively and should be good. I am kind of skeptical though as you are about the claimed 1700 mah capacity of the CR123 cells. Hopefully someone will do a proper review of these cells. Do you have a caliper to measure the dimensions of the newer CR123 cells? I do notice that my eagletac CR123 cells have a slightly wider diameter compared to other CR123 cells from duracell, energizer, etc.

 

[rookiedaddy]

@LilKevin715, thanks for prompting me to take a measurement. You are right, these EagleTac CR123A cells have a slightly wider diameter, ~0.1 - 0.2mm wider than other CR123A cells. It fits all my CR123A-size flashlight except one -- SureFire LX2. The LX2 has a very tight body tube, less than 17mm in diameter :shrug:. SureFire E2DL, 6P, 6PX, etc. and other Chinese-brand flashlights in my collections can take these EagleTac cells with no issues.

using my cheap non-digital caliper, I get the following...
EagleTac 18650 3100mAh: ~18.35 - 18.45mm
EagleTac CR123A 1700mAh: ~16.45 - 16.55mm

 

[Stephen Wallace]

Which dealer did you order these from?

 

[rookiedaddy]

@Stephen Wallace, I bought these through a local distributor in Malaysia. Do visit cpfmarketplace Dealer's Corner for authorized cpfmp dealers who carry the EagleTac products. :)

 

[Stephen Wallace]

Thanks.

 

[LilKevin715]

I measured my AW 2900mah cells and measured ~18.35mm, very similar to your measurements as they both use Panasonic sourced cells. Most of my "regular" CR123 cells measure 16.45-16.5mm while my Eagletac 1500mah cells measure 16.58-16.65mm. It seems these Eagletac CR123 cells can have quite an amount of variance when it comes to the diameter.

 

[Vortus]

Interesting read. Liked the old ET 18650s and 123s. Worked fine and at a good price. The new ones appear better, quite a list of upgrades to them on the data sheet. Time will tell.

 

[bullinchinashop]

Eagle Tac USA is sold out Is anybody else selling these?

 

[taoh]

PTS/EagleTac-USA just received a new shipment of the 18650s today and it does seem to be available now.

I ordered mine on 01/05 and had to wait until today before they received it themselves. Now I have to wait for the postal service to deliver it.

 

[RBWNY]

Eagle Tac USA is sold out Is anybody else selling these?

I have seen them on Illumination Gear's website. :wave:

 

[ecrbattery]

These EagleTac 1700mAh w/ PTC Protected CR123A are wrap like candy: each battery is wrap in a tiny plastic bag then packed in a tiny little paper box. Thinking about amount of extra labors for packing these CR123A made me cringe. The extra time wasted unpacking these cells for testing also made me cringe again. There are no date stamp on the battery to determine the age. Dealer advertised Made in December, 2011. These cells are Made in China.

EagleTac claim 1700mAh but have no spec sheet at how they obtain the capacity. Dealer advertised 1700mAh - 1800mAh at 100mA discharge but does not state cut-off voltage.

Most spec sheets for other CR123A get the norminal capacity by discharging at 10mA to 2.0V.
This method is not very accurate for flashlights since they draw significant more current. I use the discharge current of 500mA, 1000mA, 2000mA so you can compare the result to other CR123A cells from SilverFox's 123 Battery Shoot Out.

Many devices are unble to drain CR123A to 1.0V so the capacity result at 2.0V cut-off is also included.


Measured physical:

Total Length: 34.4mm
Diameter: 16.7mm
Weight: 16.60g - 16.83g

Warning: the cell's diameter just below the positive terminal measured at 16.9mm !!! This will cause the battery to not fit in some flashlights. Jam up in my Inova 24/7.

These cell have larger diameter and heavier than typical CR123A. Surefire SF123A has a diameter of 16.4mm and weights 16.30g.


Open circuit voltage and AC impedance (IR):

Cell 1: 3.29V 235mΩ
Cell 2: 3.30V 243mΩ
Cell 3: 3.28V 252mΩ


Capacity with CBA III:

1207 mAh at 500mA to 2.0V
993 mAh at 1000mA to 2.0V
614 mAh at 2000mA to 2.0V

1496 mAh at 500mA to 1.0V
1321 mAh at 1000mA to 1.0V
1069 mAh at 2000mA to 1.0V

Although the capacity does not reach 1700mAh even with the larger physical dimension (won't fit in some light), the result are good for at all 3 discharge rates to 1.0V. However, price is high for Made in China cells. EagleTac should eliminate the fancy packaging and lower the price.

 

[chewy78]

i recently ordered some new eagletac 18650's also through pts.com and will see how they perform in my wolf eyes m90 with an ho-9l

 

[ciccio90]

hi to all...have you any info about these eagletac 18650?: DO Not Link Directly to sales sites - Norm they have only a new color or other new toughts about????? thank a lot!