what is the exact voltage of a Surefire 3.0v battery?

[Miracle]

I have a CR123a 3.0 volt battery as seen from the below picture

Rechargeable RCR123A Lithium LiFe Batteries

Capacity: 900mah
Voltage: 3 volts

when I tested the voltage with a battery tester, the actual voltage is 3.3 volts

can some kind souls please use a battery tester to take the actual voltage of a new Surefire 3.0v battery?

What is its actual voltage?

will 2 of the above batteries work with the LX2?

:candle:

 

[Patriot]

Surefure cells or "primary lithium 123 cells" have a voltage of 3.0-3.1V typically when they're fresh.

LiFE cells are rated at 3.0V nominal, a stated working voltage of 3.2V and a peak voltage of 3.6V.

L-ion cobalt have a nominal voltage of 3.7V and a peak voltage for 4.2V.



Might be good to have this moved to the battery discussion section.

 

[Miracle]

Surefure cells or "primary lithium 123 cells" have a voltage of 3.0-3.1V typically when they're fresh.

LiFE cells are rated at 3.0V nominal, a stated working voltage of 3.2V and a peak voltage of 3.6V.

L-ion cobalt have a nominal voltage of 3.7V and a peak voltage for 4.2V.



Might be good to have this moved to the battery discussion section.

Thanks for the quick reply.

What do you mean by LiFE cells peak at 3.6V?

The reason why I am so concern is because when I was at the shop, the shop keeper told me that he had a few guys that bought their batteries and they blew up their surefires.

 

[Patriot]

Those batteries will operate your LX2 but Surefire specifically says to use only primary cells. If you use those batteries and the light fails they can deny rightly warranty repair. With that said, some people use rechargeables in their LED surefires without issue. You're about .3V over design spec with those cells which isn't very much. Use at your own risk.

Li-ion cobalt cells would apply significantly more voltage and would be much higher risk.

 

[DaFABRICATA]

Most of my fresh 123's come in at 3.19- 3.24max
I use Surefires and Duracell's

 

[Miracle]

Those batteries will operate your LX2 but Surefire specifically says to use only primary cells. If you use those batteries and the light fails they can deny rightly warranty repair. With that said, some people use rechargeables in their LED surefires without issue. You're about .3V over design spec with those cells which isn't very much. Use at your own risk.

Li-ion cobalt would would cells would apply significantly more voltage and would be much higher risk.

on one of my other thread, someone mentioned that they used 3.7v in their LX2 with problems.

I would really like to see the result if the LX2 with the 3.7v is run for a prolonged period of time

:candle:

 

[Patriot]

Thanks for the quick reply.

What do you mean by LiFE cells peak at 3.6V?

The reason why I am so concern is because when I was at the shop, the shop keeper told me that he had a few guys that bought their batteries and they blew up their surefires.

It means check your voltage hot off the charger and know what your charger's voltage cut off is. If it's cut off voltage it 3.3V then your risk is smaller. If the cut off voltage is 3.6V and the cell holds that voltage then your risk is higher.

If you're uncomfortable with the idea and you're not a risk taker for the sake of rechargeable convenience, don't do it.

 

[Patriot]

on one of my other thread, someone mentioned that they used 3.7v in their LX2 with problems.

I would really like to see the result if the LX2 with the 3.7v is run for a prolonged period of time

:candle:

Well that's the big question. Since the light is new and most run it on primaries the there's no data available with regards to long term effects. If you read that someone was having trouble, I suppose it would depend on what the trouble is. With regards to the 3.7V in that case, I suspect that he was referring to a li-ion cobalt RCR123 in which case the working voltage is 4.2V or 8.4V total. Yes, nominal voltage is a bit odd in that we don't typically work the battery at that voltage and instead work them at peak voltage.

 

[Miracle]

It means check your voltage hot off the charger and know what your charger's voltage cut off is. If it's cut off voltage it 3.3V then your risk is smaller. If the cut off voltage is 3.6V and the cell holds that voltage then your risk is higher.

If you're uncomfortable with the idea and you're not a risk taker for the sake of rechargeable convenience, don't do it.

If I buy a box of surefire batteries and keep it on the shelf, will its voltage/power slowly decrease over time?

:candle:

 

[Patriot]

As Dafab stated, sometimes you'll get primary cells that are close to 3.2V. I'm usually not lucky enough to get them that new...lol. In any case, lithium primaries sag more under load than rechargeable lithium cells. So, the difference in voltage to the circuit is actually a little more than a 3.2V primary, vs a 3.3V LiFE (your cells). Common sense would tell you that it's .2V difference but due to sag differences between chemistry the difference is a bit higher. Perhaps .4-.5V since the LX2 isn't a high drain light.

 

[Patriot]

If I buy a box of surefire batteries and keep it on the shelf, will its voltage/power slowly decrease over time?

:candle:

About 10% per year at first, and a bit slower than that after a few years. It's not a proportional discharge. Not exact figures but close enough for discussion. Shelf life is the primary's strong suit.

 

[Miracle]

As Dafab stated, sometimes you'll get primary cells that are close to 3.2V. I'm usually not lucky enough to get them that new...lol. In any case, lithium primaries sag more under load than rechargeable lithium cells. So, the difference in voltage to the circuit is actually a little more than a 3.2V primary, vs a 3.3V LiFE (your cells). Common sense would tell you that it's .2V difference but due to sag differences between chemistry the difference is a bit higher. Perhaps .4-.5V since the LX2 isn't a high drain light.

sorry,

I do not understand what you are trying to say here

:candle:

 

[Patriot]

I'm sorry, I probably worded that poorly as it's late and I'm ready for bed.

Different battery chemistrys perform differently under load even if they happen to be close to the same starting voltage. When the LED draws current from the cells, primary cells tend to drop in voltage or "sag" more than rechargeable lithium cells. If you have two primaries with starting voltages of 3.2V and two RCR123 with starting voltages of 3.3V the total static difference is .2V When you place a load on these cells the primaries will sag disproportionately to the RCR123 cells since the later maintain voltage under load better. The result is that difference in total voltage while the light is running is going to be more than just the static .2V. The difference in running voltage might be closer to .4-.5V but that's purly estimated based on the LX2's lumen output. The actual difference in running voltage could be more or less.

 

[Miracle]

I'm sorry, I probably worded that poorly as it's late and I'm ready for bed.

Different battery chemistrys perform differently under load even if they happen to be close to the same starting voltage. When the LED draws current from the cells, primary cells tend to drop in voltage or "sag" more than rechargeable lithium cells. If you have two primaries with starting voltages of 3.2V and two RCR123 with starting voltages of 3.3V the total static difference is .2V When you place a load on these cells the primaries will sag disproportionately to the RCR123 cells since the later maintain voltage under load better. The result is that difference in total voltage while the light is running is going to be more than just the static .2V. The difference in running voltage might be closer to .4-.5V but that's purly estimated based on the LX2's lumen output. The actual difference in running voltage could be more or less.

er...

thanks for the kind explanation.

 

[DM51]

The cells pictured in your post #1 are Lithium-Ion (rechargeable) ones, so they are not made by Surefire. Surefire do not make rechargeable cells - they only make 3.0V Lithium primary (non-rechargeable) ones.

The ones you have are not recommended. The capacity is over-stated, and the voltage, even if regulated down to 3.3V, can be too high to be used as an alternative for primary cells.

I'm moving this thread to the correct (Batteries) section.

 

[Miracle]

The cells pictured in your post #1 are Lithium-Ion (rechargeable) ones, so they are not made by Surefire. Surefire do not make rechargeable cells - they only make 3.0V Lithium primary (non-rechargeable) ones.

The ones you have are not recommended. The capacity is over-stated, and the voltage, even if regulated down to 3.3V, can be too high to be used as an alternative for primary cells.

I'm moving this thread to the correct (Batteries) section.

thanks

 

[ateallthepies]

There is an E missing in that picture in the word BATTRY

Steve

 

[TooManyGizmos]

They just ran out of ROM.