Questions about 123's

[Larbo]

After bringing the two spare cells from my truck and removing the two cell from my ultrafire I keep in my backpack I noticed the DOM of 0305 and 0306 on the cells, taking out my ZTS meter ( and yeah I know its not perfect) I checked them. What I found was two gave no reading and two were 20 percent, hmmm, these were new unused cells, both 0306 where the no readings.
If these are supposed to have a 10 year shelf life why were they almost dead after 3 and 4 years? Not wanting to waste them and wanting to play with my Quark I installed them (its a single cell model). I got about 10 minutes of mixed mode light before they went low enough that turbo didnt work, also they got rather warm..almost hot to the touch, so much I put them in a plastic bag OUTSIDE in the garbage can. I can understand the ones in the truck didnt like the cold and heat of the seasons but the ones from the backpack should have been better off I think.
Could it be that when you buy a $1.50 battery thats just what you get??
Wanted to throw this out there, thanks.

lovecpf

 

[Marduke]

You left out the most important part. You make no mention of what brand the cells are.

 

[Larbo]

I Intentionally left out the name but after reading other threads it looks like its ok to name names.

These are Battery Station batteries.

 

[Mr Happy]

What is the color and design of the wrapper on the batteries? I think there are "old" and "new" Battery Station cells. The old ones were discovered to be of poor quality and were discontinued from sale. The current ones are better quality and come from a different factory.

 

[Black Rose]

Blue and Yellow label = bad

Blue and White label = good (made by Panasonic)

 

[Monocrom]

What is the color and design of the wrapper on the batteries? I think there are "old" and "new" Battery Station cells. The old ones were discovered to be of poor quality and were discontinued from sale. The current ones are better quality and come from a different factory.

That's putting it very mildly, don't you think?

The old, Made in China, BatteryStation cells were discontinued after an incident in which they exploded inside of another CPFer's flashlight. Can't find the link to the original topic, with the pics, but it was quite a startling thread; to say the least.

Must give credit where it is due. BatteryStation cells are now Made in America, with a strong eye towards Q.C.

 

[Larbo]

These are blue and yellow and also printed on them is Made in P.R.C

 

[Black Rose]

These are blue and yellow and also printed on them is Made in P.R.C

Properly dispose of them. It's not worth the risk to even attempt to use them.

 

[DM51]

These are blue and yellow and also printed on them is Made in P.R.C

I think that answers the question.

It is quite a long time now (~2 years?) since these were recognised as bad cells. Battery Station acted correctly in withdrawing them from sale, and have since been selling good and reliable ones made by Panasonic.

 

[Larbo]

I spent two days reading the thread about the 123's in the pelican that went . That was why I bought the ZTS tester and discovered the bad cells.
Iam not sure if I missed the part about the colors in the posts but THANK YOU for the info posted here :thumbsup:
Seems like there is Always something new to learn.lovecpf

 

[Monocrom]

I spent two days reading the thread about the 123's in the pelican that went . That was why I bought the ZTS tester and discovered the bad cells.
Iam not sure if I missed the part about the colors in the posts but THANK YOU for the info posted here :thumbsup:
Seems like there is Always something new to learn.lovecpf

No need for a ZTS tester if the cells are marked as being from China.

Primary CR123 cells from China belong in the garbage. Those are the cells that account for nearly every incident of "vent with flame." It's all about Q.C.

Primaries that are Made in America are made with safety standards in mind. The ones made in China? Not so much.

Ironically, the best rechargeable cells are from AW. And those are indeed Made in China. But as far as primaries go. . . they go in the garbage.

 

[R@ndom]

No need for a ZTS tester if the cells are marked as being from China.

Primary CR123 cells from China belong in the garbage. Those are the cells that account for nearly every incident of "vent with flame." It's all about Q.C.

Primaries that are Made in America are made with safety standards in mind. The ones made in China? Not so much.

Ironically, the best rechargeable cells are from AW. And those are indeed Made in China. But as far as primaries go. . . they go in the garbage.

That's coz nobody has put a high quality protection circuit on better li-ion cells.... Yet :devil:

Energizer, Titanium and some Sanyo cells are made in PRC. Nody seemed to any issues with them

 

[Monocrom]

Energizer, Titanium and some Sanyo cells are made in PRC. Nody seemed to any issues with them.

I have no personal experience with the last two, but I've used Energizer brand primary cells. They are clearly marked Made in USA. I also got four of them with my Wolf-Eyes Rattlesnake. Those are also Made in USA.

 

[Glasstream15]

I use ONLY Surefire 123s. I buy them 12 at a time and keep them in the original box in my dresser drawer. Made in USA, about $2 apiece and PEACE OF MIND.

I use them in a Canon 35mm camera, a Coleman flashlight and a Streamlight TLR2.