We disklike China made batts, but ?

[Albinoni]

Ok this is what I dont quite get here, I know alot here are against these so called Chinese branded batteries i.e CR123A type, but isnt brands like Surefire, Rayovac batts also made in China. Not sure about where the Duracell CR123A ones are made.

 

[Beamhead]

My Surefire cr123's say made in USA, so do my Duracells.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Albinoni,

Actually SureFire, RayOVac and Duracell cells are made in the US, and there are others as well.

Sanyo has some cells that are made in China. They have a little less capacity than the Sanyo cells made in Japan, but they are consistent fro cell to cell.

Some manufacturers seem to be taking short cuts in the materials they are using to manufacture the CR123 cells. This results in cells that drain unevenly and sometimes blow up. Almost all of these cells cost less than the others and are made in China.

Sanyo has proven that good, high quality cells can be made in China, but their price reflects the cost of their high quality.

Tom

 

[jch79]

Rayovac CR123's are Made in USA, as are BatteryStation's.

Albinoni - not sure why you're generalizing about "we dislike China made batts" :shrug: - you'll find that a LOT of CPF'rs like AW's Li-Ion batteries, which are manufactured in China. Andrew provides a quality product and great service.

 

[Albinoni]

Ok many thanks for your answers. I had always thought that brands like Rayovac, Surefire batts were actually Chinese made, though Surefire is an American brand, they had their batts manufactured in China due to cheaper cost and labour. Perhaps I'm over generalising here when I think that if a battery is made in China forum users here dont like or buy it, but I suppose if its a well known brand such a say Energizer, Sanyo, Duracell etc etc than it should be ok providing their quality control is up to scratch. Nearly all Sanyos I've seen are made in Japan.

 

[bones_708]

It seems simple to me. If a battery is made in USA or Japan you can feel pretty comfortable that it will be adequate quality. China cells may be just as good but may also be very bad sometimes even when they have the same labeling. Quality can vary from batch to batch (different vendors?) and most people just don't want to have to worry.

 

[Manzerick]

It's amazing how the quality can differ by country.


I wonder why company's have not take advantage of the low labor market and put out a "good" product? ALthough cheap is always cheap... we could have low cost "good" 123a's..


Just my .02 paso's

 

[ltiu]

but isnt brands like Surefire, Rayovac batts also made in China.

What made you think so? Does it say on the packaging or on the battery jacket? Do you have pictures to show?

 

[ltiu]

I wonder why company's have not take advantage of the low labor market and put out a "good" product?

Some things are made by robots. I think battery manufacturing is highly automated. So low labor cost does not really matter that much.

 

[ltiu]

It seems simple to me. If a battery is made in USA or Japan you can feel pretty comfortable that it will be adequate quality. China cells may be just as good but may also be very bad sometimes even when they have the same labeling. Quality can vary from batch to batch (different vendors?) and most people just don't want to have to worry.

Duracell CR123A's are made in the US. Duracell CR2's are made in Japan.

 

[dano]

Duracell CR123A's are made in the US. Duracell CR2's are made in Japan.

Duracell 123's are now made in China, as Gillette sold the company and closed the factory that was in the U.S.

-dan

 

[ltiu]

Duracell 123's are now made in China, as Gillette sold the company and closed the factory that was in the U.S.

-dan

Hmmm, perhaps that's the reason why Duracell CR123A's are being sold for $2.99 for a pack of 2 at Best Buy? Maybe they are clearing out the last of the US made Duracells to make way for new Chinese made stocks?

I recently (last week) got a few of these Duracell CR123A's on sale at Best Buy (retail store only). They are clearly marked made in the USA with expiry of 2017. The distinguishing marks on the battery are the same as Surefire, Energizer, Ray-O-Vac and Panasonics.

Best Buy is also clearing out CR2 2-packs for $2.99. These are marked made in Japan with expiry of 2017.

I have yet to see made in China Duracell CR123A.

 

[WildChild]

Duracell 123's are now made in China, as Gillette sold the company and closed the factory that was in the U.S.

-dan

Duracell closed its own factory that was in the US to probably buy from Panasonic. All recent Duracell CR123A clearly looks like Panasonic, SF, Energizer, Rayovac, etc. cells made in USA.

 

[mtsao]

My observations are that the quality of goods in China can vary hugely in terms of both cost and quality. There are plenty of high-tech brand-name electronic goods that are made in China (Ipods, Thinkpad notebook pc's, etc). At the same time, there are plenty of cheaply made, poor-quality goods and knockoffs.

I think it comes down to how much the mfg is willing to spend/save. As for batteries, do you remember last year when there was a scare over cheap rechargeable batteries causing cell phones to catch fire? Most likely those are batteries being sold for $2 bucks on ebay...and made in China.

mike

 

[ltiu]

Duracell 123's are now made in China, as Gillette sold the company and closed the factory that was in the U.S.

-dan

BTW, any proof of Duracells made in China? Pictures?

 

[dano]

BTW, any proof of Duracells made in China? Pictures?

I don't have time for that.

I also have Duracells made in Japan. The Texas factory was closed, and Proctor & Gamble, who now own Duracell seem to be outsourcing the 123-cells, as Duracell does not own a Lithium factory.


Hell, I still have the original Duracell 123's that came with my SF 6C and they still light up the light (and these cells are 20+ years old).

 

[jufam44]

Wow, dano, that's pretty neat. What is the voltage measuring on those 123's from 20 years ago? Thanks for the insight!

-Max

 

[Albinoni]

Something I would like to add here when we or I say made in China we have to look at two things here.

1. Stuff thats made in China but owned by foreign investments or foreign
companies. Eg Sony, Panasonic, Buick, Duracell etc etc.

2. Stuff thats made in China and purely owned and operated by Chinese companies.

To me I dont care where the profuct is made and where its made is not an issue, but what counts the most is the quality control. We cant say that stuff thats made in the US is the best or better, perhaps some stuff is and some isnt. I once knew an American from LA and we discussed cars and he said to me that US built and owned cars are junk compared to what Japan has to offer, I mean take for eg the Lexus has been the No1 selling luxury car in the US for quite sometime.

But than again I'm sure there's stuff made in China thats owned and operated by Chinese ompanies thats very good, for eg the Shangling CD Player which well renowned and has won quite a few awards. Ok mind you it does use foreign componentry like from Philips. Plus we can also consider Lenovo who bought out the manufacturing rights to IBM a few yrs ago.

Here:

http://www.shanling.com/index_e.html

Also while on the subject of batts re well known brands made in China (eg Duracell, Energizer etc) who knows really which factories they come out from. And also does brands like Energizer and Duracell manufacture their own batts or are they made by someone else.

 

[fnmag]

Re. CR123 batteries. These are quite powerful for their size and I'd highly recommend that you purchase US or Japanese made batteries due to quality control and "track record".
As already stated, AWs China made batteries are an exception as they have provided very good service to me.
I'm sure China is capable of producing fine batteries in general but it simply doesn't seem to be the case at the present time.
Therefore, I'd err on the side of caution.
YMMV

 

[mossyoak]

surefire is made by panasonic in Ga if i remember correctly, and duracells are probably made at that factory to.