What do you do with partially used 123a's?

[jaundice]

I use a pair of Surefire G2s (one with a Malkoff M60L and one with a stock P60L) at work. I use them with cr123a primaries until the leds drop out of regulation. At that point I change the batteries. So I have a large and growing pile of partially discharged 123s that I'm wondering what to with. They have a decent charge on them, so I'm hesitant to throw them away. I'm looking for ideas on what to constructively do with them.

What do you guys do with your partially discharged 123s?

One idea I had (feel free to call me an idiot, if this is crazy/stupid) is to simply buy another G2 (probably in a different color) and a Malkoff M30 and drop a pair of partially used CR123a primaries in it and run it until it drops out of regulation. Malkoffs website says the input voltage for the M30 is 1-5.5V, so partially discharged primaries would have a voltage less than 5.5V and therefore power the light. Would this work?

Thanks,

-John

 

[Sgt. LED]

:thumbsup: Milky candle!

The M30 on 2 partially dischared primaries sounds OK, better be very sure about the starting voltage though!

 

[MWClint]

i use my dead cr123a primiaries in a peak mckinley 7x 5mm leds.
it has a pretty efficienct boost circuit.

 

[Hitthespot]

Mixing batteries that are not new is never a good idea. I would find a one cell light that can drain your batteries. There are a number of battery vampires I have read about here on CPF. Just do a search.

Bill

 

[victorsamuel]

i use them in my inova x5

 

[kongfuchicken]

Mixing batteries that are not new is never a good idea. I would find a one cell light that can drain your batteries. There are a number of battery vampires I have read about here on CPF. Just do a search.

Bill

Agreed. Reverse charging can occur when using two partially depleted cells that are not evenly matched and result in rapid disassembly of your light and its surroundings.

 

[gopurple]

I use my on a Inova X5 with red led, it takes one 123 only, not have to worry about miss match voltage.

 

[jaundice]

Kongfuchicken: Thanks for the warnings on mixing/matching cells. In my case, I have carefully kept together then cells that I've used, so the pairs are as from new. Is there still a problem with re-using a segregated pair of cells?

Sgt. LED: Yes, I would need to watch the starting voltage, but I figure if the cells no longer drive the regulation of an M60L, I'm good to go, right?

Hitthespot: Thanks for the suggestion to look up battery vampires. I've tried searching, but didn't use that term, so I didn't come up with much. I'll try that.

Finally, although I want a battery vampire, I need a BRIGHT one, not a now powered unit that milk the last little bits from my batteries. I know that's an oxymoron, but that's what I need.

-John

 

[paulr]

If your light is well designed then the batteries should be at least 90% depleted when the light goes out of regulation. There's not much point to trying to squeeze out the last few percent, especially if it means dedicating another light basically to that purpose. If you're using enough 123's for spent cells to pile up in any quantity, think about rechargeables.

 

[bluecrow76]

I use my on a Inova X5 with red led, it takes one 123 only, not have to worry about miss match voltage.

+1!

 

[bullfrog]

This thread should be pretty helpful for ya

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2695199

 

[streetmaster]

If you're using enough 123's for spent cells to pile up in any quantity, think about rechargeables.

+1 Very good point. Rechargeables are the way to go, no need to worry about spent cells anymore.:twothumbs

 

[jaundice]

Paulr;

Thanks for your input. Yes, I have thought about rechargeables, mainly for the added benefit that I'd know they're topped off when I went to work, rather than guesstimating the amount of run time left on the cells in my light. At this point, though, I prefer the runtime of primaries vs. rechargeables. A cr123a has ~1400 MaH of juice vs. ~750 MaH in rechargables.

You're probably correct that my Malkoff M60L is draining at least 90% of the juice in my batteries. However, can I assume that 1) if there's enough voltage in the cells to run the regulation in another light, the use is safe? 2) What's the difference, at the end of a run, of putting a set of used cells in a light to run versus running a fresh set all the way down?

Perhaps I'm just searching for a reason to buy a Malkoff M30. You guys aren't helping me out by inserting reality into this situation!

-John

 

[jzmtl]

If they cannot maintain regulation I'd throw them away, sure you can drain every bit of juice out of them but why bother.

 

[parnass]

If they cannot maintain regulation I'd throw them away, sure you can drain every bit of juice out of them but why bother.

That is my approach, too.

If a CR123A battery is almost exhausted, I won't be able to rely on using it.

Too, I wouldn't use 2 near exhausted batteries in series for safety reasons. I don't trust that they will discharge equally if they are close to end of life.

 

[Chrontius]

What about an M30 in a Fivemega 3p clone body? You have the benefit of having a 3p and an M30 when you get around to owning a RCR setup, too.

 

[brucec]

Put them in the battery disposal bin at work.

 

[ev13wt]

Make some battery art.

 

[DM51]

Please post in the correct sub-forum. I'm moving this to the Batteries section.

 

[Igor Porto]

I would get a fully regulated flashlight so that I can get the most out of the batteries. Seems like you're spending quite a bit on them and not getting all they can offer you.