Thoughts On JSBurly's New Batch Of 4.2V 123R's!

Gene

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Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s!

Don't look for technical data here as I'm not a technical sort of guy. I just wanted to let folks know Jon's new batch of 4.2V rechargeable 123's, (that are now on his site!), have some nice improvements over the originals.

These cells are the higher voltage rechargeable Li-Ion 123 cells and work wonderfully on single cell lights such as the Firefly, McGizmo lights, KL1 heads, etc. Because they are of higher voltage, they add that extra "kick" to your one cell lights that you can't get from a regular nominal 3V 123 cell. As an example, I'm running a KL5 head on one of these and I can get full brightness like I was running it on 2X123's that it was made to run on. Of course the runtime is shorter but hey, they're rechargeable! They are also fully under/over discharge protected and are as safe as you could want. These cells are safest and best with one cell lights.

All in all, the originals are a great product and most work as advertised. However, (as some of you are aware of), the original batch of these 123R's had some height uniformity and construction problems and a small number were found to not hold a charge. As an example, none of the original batch would work in my particular Firefly, (because of their shorter height), without some modifications that I refused to do.

With this new batch that Jon is currently selling on his site; www.JSBurlys.com the height uniformity issue is resolved. The height is now uniform from one cell to the other and that is good news! These now work perfectly in my Firefly with no alterations whatsoever to the light or the cell. The examples I have, all came off the charger, (after resting a bit), at 4.1-4.2 volts. These also have improved venting over the original batch which is a minor point but a plus nonetheless.

I have to be honest and say that these Rev. 2 cells are not perfectly constructed and still have a little ways to go. Some of my examples exhibit very small imperfections in the wrappers but all in all, they are much improved over the original batch. As earlier stated, the BIG improvement with these is the height of the cells are now uniform, no more "crushed" look to any of them and they will now work with any light that accepts a 123 cell, as long as it can handle the extra voltage.

Jon worked extremely hard to bring all of these rechargeable 123's into fruition and should be commended for that and for his continued improvements to them. At $20.00 a pair and $28.00 for a pair and a charger, these are a bargain! Jon also sells the nominal 3V rechargeable cells for a slightly higher cost but all of these will save you BIG in the long run. I LOVE rechargeable Li-Ions as unlike NiMH's, you can charge them, put them in your lights and spares carriers and they will hold their charge for a LONG time.

Jon is one of our better dealers here on CPF, if not the best! He's honest and tries hard to please. Thanks Jon for continuing to improve an already great product!
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

[ QUOTE ]
Gene said:
Jon is one of our better dealers here on CPF, if not the best! He's honest and tries hard to please. Thanks Jon for continuing to improve an already great product!

[/ QUOTE ]

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Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Gene,

Why the statement "They are also fully under/over discharge protected and are as safe as you could want. These cells are safest and best with one cell lights."

Wouldn't this protection make them safer in theory than primaries for this purpose? Isn't overdischarge of primaries one of the main concerns in multiple cell lights?

Thanks
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Gene,

With spacers could you charge these on a Pila charger?

Thanks
BTW I have properties by Mt. Shasta, beautiful no?
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Bogus,
Glad you know the area here. It is so beautiful just as long as we don't get three feet of snow all at once like we did awhile back! Where in Oregon are you?

These are fine using multiple cells. Just make sure your light can handle the extra juice and no, the Pila charger will not work with these.
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Theres a set of these on the way to me now too, I cant wait to see how much of a cannon my TW0J Q3 is with them (I wouldnt doubt 70+ lumens!)

I'll also be evaluating them for another purpose, but I'll let Jon disclose that when he's ready /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Hello Bogus1,

I would suggest you NOT charge these cells on a Pila charger.

I noticed that they would heat up to about 85 F on the Pila charger. Li-Ion cells do not like to heat up. Pila cells only get up to about 75 F on the charger. You are not supposed to charge above 1 C on Li-Ion chemistry. The Pila charger is set to about 1000 mA (EDIT: this is wrong, Bill is correct, the charger is rated 1500 ma) which is fine for the Pila cells, but a bit high for the other ones.

When you charge at a rate over 1 C, damage is done to the cell internally and you end up with reduced cycles.

Tom
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Thanks a lot Tom for the specifics. Seems like it might have worked.

Gene, Ashland. Have a couple ranches in Shasta Valley as well.
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

[ QUOTE ]
SilverFox said:
Hello Bogus1,

I would suggest you NOT charge these cells on a Pila charger.

I noticed that they would heat up to about 85 F on the Pila charger. Li-Ion cells do not like to heat up. Pila cells only get up to about 75 F on the charger. You are not supposed to charge above 1 C on Li-Ion chemistry. The Pila charger is set to about 1000 mA which is fine for the Pila cells, but a bit high for the other ones.

When you charge at a rate over 1 C, damage is done to the cell internally and you end up with reduced cycles.

Tom

[/ QUOTE ]

IIRC, my pila charger states output is 1.5A x 2.
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Great to hear that the product is coming along nicely. I was one of the early adopters who received the first batch of cells and I'm quite happy to report that my first-gen cells, despite their not-so-great cosmetic appearance and charger are still working fine after all this while. Good to see that the outstanding cosmetic issues have been corrected, though.

If you're looking for an idea, pop two of those cells into a metal two-cell Surefire with their 9V P90 lamp. Works like a treat. REMEMBER to change the lamp!! You MUST use the P90, if you don't you could end up with stuff ranging from a popped bulb to no light at all. You get around 25 minutes of good light and it works like a treat - think rechargeable HOLA with 5 minutes bonus runtime. 105 lumens!
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Kevin, thanks for reminding me!

I just got a pair of these from Jon, and been meaning to reconfigure my C2, which has an A19 extender and three 123s in it, back to two cells and the same lamp. Problem is somewhere along the way, I'll forget which lamp and which batteries go together!

(yeah, I've done that, fried a perfectly good E1e lamp with two cells)

daloosh
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Anyone doing a capacity check on these ?

TIA

Klaus
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

[ QUOTE ]
glockboy said:
I discharge the battery with the maha c777plus2, it say 623mah.
just order some more.
thanks Jon

[/ QUOTE ]
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Hi All,

Here is a real basic question, so I will apologize in advance.

I myself own four Pila 168S batteries. I purchased them in early January, and use them on my SureFire L4. I am most pleased with the results.

Is there any way for me to tell, by looking, if I might have a newer, or older, generation of the 168S Pila?

If that is not possible, might there be any other way for a non technical person such as myself to be able to figure out that information?

Thanks in advance,
John
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Sixpointone, this thread has been about CR123 sized batteries, not the Pilas, I hope it didnt confuse you.
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Chevrofreak,

You are correct in saying that I was totally confused. However, thanks to your help and information, I have a better understanding.

Thus, feel free to disregard my post above. And most importantly, please allow me to thank you for the clarification!

All My Best,
John
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

Hello Bill,

You are correct. The Pila charger is rated at 1500 ma. I have edited my post to reflect this.

No wonder the cells get hot. If the actual capacity is around 450 mAh, charging at 1500 mA would be over a 3C charge rate.

Tom
 
Re: Thoughts On JSBurly\'s New Batch Of 4.2V 123R\'s

"C" is the cell capacity. For a 1500mah cell, charging at one "C" would be 1500ma.
 

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