I have a problem. I laid in a stock of Titanium CR123A batteries (about 160 of them) for the purpose of long term storage, about three years ago. Last week, I got to thinking about it and decided I better try them out to see if they had lost any significant capacity. I broke open a plastic pack of four and installed two of them in my Surefire G2. Nothing... Dead... Ohh, I must have stumbled onto a bad battery I thought, so I installed another two... Ohhhh Noooo .... same thing... Maybe my flashlight has a bad bulb or other problem, So I put the Surefire batteries back in. Blazing light erupts..... This is not good. I tried another two packs of Titaniums and they are all dead. These batteries have been stored in my dresser drawer at room temp for only three years. I thought these batteries were supposed to have a shelf life of 10 years. Looks like I'm out $130. If you have Titanium batteries in storage, check them out. You may be in for a rude surprise.
Titanium CR123A batteries All Dead
- Thread starter k1rod
- Start date
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Wow that sucks, I always thought they had a long shelf life also. Thanks for the heads up on the brand. I buy battery station but 24 at a time is the most I've ordered, plus I like the case.
Been lucky so far, but I'm only at the 3 year mark also....I don't think I'll ever get to 10 with batteries.
Been lucky so far, but I'm only at the 3 year mark also....I don't think I'll ever get to 10 with batteries.
jasonck08
Flashlight Enthusiast
OH wow... thats really not good. I wonder if they are the same batteries that battery junction currently sells?
Ray_of_Light
Flashlight Enthusiast
It happened to me with a batch of 100 China made CR123s. After two years of storage, they flashed at less than 1 Amp. ALL of them.
Since then, I only stock Energizer, Duracell and SureFire.
I recently bought some Cytac and some Trustfire for storing long-term and see if something has changed in Made-in-China battery manufacture.
Regards
Anthony
Since then, I only stock Energizer, Duracell and SureFire.
I recently bought some Cytac and some Trustfire for storing long-term and see if something has changed in Made-in-China battery manufacture.
Regards
Anthony
Black Rose
Flashlight Enthusiast
Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yes it sucks, but...did you buy them with a ten year manufacturer warranty and guaranteed replacement if they failed before their use-by date? In these circumstances, "I thought" and "I heard people say" don't really count for much. If you want reliability you have to buy from a manufacturer that stands behind their product.
Lithium batteries are hard to make well and easy to make badly.
Lithium batteries are hard to make well and easy to make badly.
Black Rose
Flashlight Enthusiast
Titanium CR123A cells don't have "use by" or production dates stamped on them.
Matt confirmed that in his thread on CPFMP regarding the Titanium cells receiving UL certification.
Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
I think that was my point.
If you want to stockpile batteries and have confidence they will work when you need them, you should choose your vendor carefully.
Lumenz
Enlightened
I had the same problem with Battery Station batteries I had stored for 2 1/2 years. After that, I didn't but another Battery Station battery. Ironically, I bought the Titanium batteries next. I didn't have a problem with them since they never sat for more than a year. Just Energizer, Duracell or Panasonic in my future. Surefire is great too, just too pricey.
biker1
Enlightened
Sorry to hear you're out the money.
Thanks for the heads up.
Surefire or Panasonic for me.
I have always used SF, but I will also start to purchase Panasonics because >
- I've read that SF are Panasonic cells
- less money
Thanks for the heads up.
Surefire or Panasonic for me.
I have always used SF, but I will also start to purchase Panasonics because >
- I've read that SF are Panasonic cells
- less money
SilverFox
Flashaholic
Hello K1rod,
To try to wake them up you need to put them into a single cell light and try to get it to light up. If you don't have a single cell light you can put a resistor across the + and - terminal of the cell for a second or two. The idea is to get some current to flow.
They will never be as good as they were new, but they may recover enough to be usable in the short term.
Tom
To try to wake them up you need to put them into a single cell light and try to get it to light up. If you don't have a single cell light you can put a resistor across the + and - terminal of the cell for a second or two. The idea is to get some current to flow.
They will never be as good as they were new, but they may recover enough to be usable in the short term.
Tom
Bit confused. American-made CR123 cells have a shelf life of 10 years. I know Matt's Titanium brand cells are Made in China. But he swears by them. How is it that they have a shorter shelf-life?
Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
On what basis do you believe CR123A cells have a shelf life of 10 years? Perhaps some cells may have a use-by date marked on them that is 10 years into the future, but those are just so many letters printed on the packaging. You should subject such claims to the same critical analysis as any other marketing claims you may read. The truth is that unless you buy from a manufacturer who will provide a 10 year warranty with a guaranteed replacement policy, such claims are worth only as much as your trust in the source. Maybe the batteries will last that long and maybe they won't. But if they don't, what recourse do you have?Bit confused. American-made CR123 cells have a shelf life of 10 years. I know Matt's Titanium brand cells are Made in China. But he swears by them. How is it that they have a shorter shelf-life?
As to the question about how cells manufactured in one place can be different from cells manufactured in another place, I just don't know how to respond. There are so many variables involved in the design, the manufacturing process and the quality control procedures it would be a miracle if they behaved the same. As I said above, CR123A cells are hard to make well and easy to make badly. Very easy.
Ray_of_Light
Flashlight Enthusiast
There are many past threads on the matter of China-made 123 cells.
When I analised the situation in the years from 2004 to 2006, Chinese 123 cell factories were producing the 123 batteries using mineral-grade manganese dioxide (same used in cheap heavy duty batteries).
Paradoxically, they can't use this type of manganese dioxide in cheap alkaline cells, since it has to be pelletized for that use.
Quality 123s uses high-purity, industrially cooked manganese dioxide. The high quantity of impurities present in the mined manganese dioxide, in presence of organic electrolyte and highly reactive lithium, produced a train of chemical parasitic reactions that killed the chinese batteries within two years from production.
The presence of other unforeseen metals (Sn, Pb) in these batteries, the presence of dew and defective crimp seals, togheter with the lack of a PTC, are all factors that concurred to induce an explosive behavior of the chinese cells.
After all these facts, the general recommendation of not using China-made 123 has been the word spread among light manufacturers and users.
As matter of fact some chinese manufacturers (Cytac, to say a name) do not print "Made in China" on their cell. None of them provide an expiry date on the batteries, and this is a fact that I don't like at all.
I don't know what is the actual "state of the art" of 123 cells manufacturing in China. I bought lately some China-made 123 cells and stored them - to verify if something has changed in the meantime, but the tests will take time.
As Mr. Happy rightly said, manufacture of lithium batteries is a difficult business, and things can go bad easily. If you need long term reliability from your cells, buy only USA made cells.
Regards
Anthony
When I analised the situation in the years from 2004 to 2006, Chinese 123 cell factories were producing the 123 batteries using mineral-grade manganese dioxide (same used in cheap heavy duty batteries).
Paradoxically, they can't use this type of manganese dioxide in cheap alkaline cells, since it has to be pelletized for that use.
Quality 123s uses high-purity, industrially cooked manganese dioxide. The high quantity of impurities present in the mined manganese dioxide, in presence of organic electrolyte and highly reactive lithium, produced a train of chemical parasitic reactions that killed the chinese batteries within two years from production.
The presence of other unforeseen metals (Sn, Pb) in these batteries, the presence of dew and defective crimp seals, togheter with the lack of a PTC, are all factors that concurred to induce an explosive behavior of the chinese cells.
After all these facts, the general recommendation of not using China-made 123 has been the word spread among light manufacturers and users.
As matter of fact some chinese manufacturers (Cytac, to say a name) do not print "Made in China" on their cell. None of them provide an expiry date on the batteries, and this is a fact that I don't like at all.
I don't know what is the actual "state of the art" of 123 cells manufacturing in China. I bought lately some China-made 123 cells and stored them - to verify if something has changed in the meantime, but the tests will take time.
As Mr. Happy rightly said, manufacture of lithium batteries is a difficult business, and things can go bad easily. If you need long term reliability from your cells, buy only USA made cells.
Regards
Anthony
Perfect example of unethical business practices. Thankfully, I know which cells are Made in America. I've stuck with CR123 cells that are known to be American-made. And will continue to do so.
