New CR123s failed -- Update!

[Stream]

Okay, I just put in a pair of brand new BatteryStationCR123s in my SL Scorpion yesterday (and yes, I'm 100% sure they were new). Problem is, when I started using it today it went dim after no more than 10-15 minutes. So I'm scratching my head looking for an explanation for what happened, I haven't had this problem with any of the other batteries from the same batch. Upon closer inspection I see that there is a small tear on the side of the wrapper, I'm not entirely sure whether this happened before or after I removed them and put them in my pocket (with another flashlight). But if this tear was there before I removed the cells, could the exposed side of the cell have completed the circuit and slowly discharged it?

 

[zespectre]

Re: New CR123s failed

Didja try another set of batts? I have had a couple of DOA cells but that would be something on the order of 2 out of about 60 and both of them were from the same batch.

 

[Stream]

Re: New CR123s failed

Yup, I tried a set of new batts (from the same batch) and they're working fine. I've also used many batteries from this batch before this and not had any problems with them.

 

[elgarak]

Re: New CR123s failed

Which batch is it? They print the production month (I believe) on the bottom of the battery. Lerch over on the LED board reported way shorter runtime in his U2 with new Batterystation's from the "0505" batch, as compared to the Surefires he used before.

The latest batch I ordered from Batterystation are the same "0505" batch, but I have not yet used any of it (I'm still using up some from a earlier batch).

Maybe there's some problem in the "0505" batch?

 

[Stream]

Re: New CR123s failed

Yes it is the 0505 batch. I plan on doing a runtime comparison sometime soon with BatterySation vs Streamlight CR123 cells since this has been a topic before. It won't be anything very technical, just popping a set of unused SL cells and two of this batch of BS into identical flashlights and comparing the runtime.

 

[Stream]

Re: New CR123s failed

Okay, I just found out that I have another pair of DOA BatteryStation batts from the 0505 batch -- that means 4 out of 40 for now (I still have 24 left). They ran for about 1 minute and 34 seconds before dying out. I also compared a set of unused Streamlight batteries (batch number 4204) to a set from the 0505 batch of BatteryStation cells by putting them into identical flashlights and observing the runtime side by side. The result: the BatteryStation cells ran for about 45 minutes before visibly yellowing, at 50 minutes they were pretty much dead. The Streamligths ran for about 60 minutes before going yellow, and ran up to 70 minutes before dying.

 

[Billson]

Re: New CR123s failed

You should send the DOA batteries to Kevin for him to look at in case it is something wrong with this batch.

 

[louie]

That's a little less reliable than I'd like to see. One has to carry several more spares to guarantee having some good ones. I don't think BS claims to be as powerful as the name brands, and perhaps this is a case of getting what you pay for - better quality control and performance. But even Surefire has some reports of duds.

It's impractical to run each battery for 2 minutes to check for duds. Do you have a voltmeter to check unused cells? I just checked the open circuit voltage of all my CR123s, although this may not mean much:

20 Battery Station batch 0505: 11 were 3.285v +/- .005v; 5 were over 3.29v; 4 were under 3.275v, with the lowest being 3.088v. Hmm.

10 BS batch 12-2004: lowest was 3.264 and highest was 3.280, typ. 3.273v.

5 BS batch 06-2004: between 3.226 and 3.249v.

5 Surefire batch 12-2011: low 3.272 and high 3.279.


Seems like they do drop as they age, but the 0505 @ 3.088v looks bad. I may hedge my bets by stocking both BS and Surefires.

 

[wwglen]

Usually on\y onme out of the pair is actually failed.

At least that is the failure mode I got when my surefire 123s failed in a streamlight twin task.

wwglen

 

[Stream]

That's a little less reliable than I'd like to see. One has to carry several more spares to guarantee having some good ones. I don't think BS claims to be as powerful as the name brands, and perhaps this is a case of getting what you pay for - better quality control and performance. But even Surefire has some reports of duds.

It's impractical to run each battery for 2 minutes to check for duds. Do you have a voltmeter to check unused cells? I just checked the open circuit voltage of all my CR123s, although this may not mean much:

20 Battery Station batch 0505: 11 were 3.285v +/- .005v; 5 were over 3.29v; 4 were under 3.275v, with the lowest being 3.088v. Hmm.

10 BS batch 12-2004: lowest was 3.264 and highest was 3.280, typ. 3.273v.

5 BS batch 06-2004: between 3.226 and 3.249v.

5 Surefire batch 12-2011: low 3.272 and high 3.279.


Seems like they do drop as they age, but the 0505 @ 3.088v looks bad. I may hedge my bets by stocking both BS and Surefires.

I usually carry at least four spares. I never really expected BatteryStation cells to outperform the brand names, but according to the CR123 Shoot Out test at the top of this board BS outperforms ST cells. Maybe this was the case with an early BS batch, but the latest offering from BS doesn't perform nearly as well as SL batteries.

I'm not sure if checking unused cells with a voltmeter is going to tell me if a cell is a dud or not. My BS cells measure an average of 3.28V (batch 0505), and I think I remember also measuring the ones that were duds at about 3.28V before they were used. I'm afraid of using any of the BS cells now, it's sort of like randomly mixing new and used cells. Do you think there could be any danger of one cell being overloaded and exploding?

Usually on\y onme out of the pair is actually failed.

At least that is the failure mode I got when my surefire 123s failed in a streamlight twin task.

wwglen

If I had any one cell CR123 lights I would use them to check the cells individually. By the time I got a chance to measure the DOA cells with a voltmeter they seemed to have recovered to about equal voltage. I might run them again in the same light just so I can measure them immediately after removing them.

 

[louie]

Yes, I'm not convinced new voltage says much. I just tried my low voltage (3.088v) batch 0505 in my HDS B42gt on a job yesterday, mixing light levels, and it seems to be giving normal service so far.

 

[gadget_lover]

My experience is that the voltage of the cell does say a lot. When brand new it should be above 3.2volts when not under load. If it's down around 3.0 volts it's already partly depleted or defective.

Checking your cells to make sure they are above 3.2v should assure that your spares are not duds.

This is different from trying to tell how much capacity is left just by measuring the voltage. That can be guessed at when they are under load, but (to my knowledge) not accurately.

Daniel
(Darn, now I have to check all my batts.)