True 3.0 V rechargeable?

[Tuk]

Hello,

Apologies if this has been discussed but my searching has come up empty.

Most of my flashlights say that 3.2, 3.7, etc are banned or not recommended for use. Example here page 2: http://www.fenixtactical.com/manuals/fenix-pd22-user-manual.pdf

I have some 3.7V AW ICR123s, but I'm afraid they will destroy my lights. Can anyone recommend a good rechargeable 3.0V?

Thanks

 

[TinderBox (UK)]

I found this thread.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?338181-RCR123-3-0V-that-will-work-with-Fenix-PD22

John.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

There are no "true" 3.0V Li Ion rechargeables for flashlights, if by "true", you mean the cell just naturally puts out 3V. You've probably figured this out, but the 3V Li Ions are regular 3.7V li ions with a circuit on top that makes the output look like 3V -- though it takes a few ms for the circuit to kick in, so for that very short period, the circuit sees the full 3.7-4.2V (which is why you can't use them for incandescents). No one who has those 3V li ions is particularly happy with them, they are not a good solution. Unfortunately, the best solution seems to be to go about obtaining flashlights that *do* support Li Ion. Actually, maybe "unfortunately" isn't the right word -- buying spree!

Actually, the other thing you can do is look for reports of which lights actually do support Li Ion. I have a Klarus XT1c, which officially supports 3V 123A only. But I contacted Klarus by email, and they quickly replied that the circuit can deal with 4.2V, they just choose not to document that because the light can get hot, and of course the user will need to let the light cool down when that happens. I now run a 16340 in my XT1C and it is AWESOME. So, it is worth doing some research to find out which, if any, of your lights can actually handle 4.2V, even if the manufacturer doesn't specifically recommend it.