What runtime graph is more realistic?
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HoopleHead
Flashlight Enthusiast
CR123A primary vs. RCR is my guess.
On high, the 120P only gets 30 mins before dropping down so id probably go by the first chart.
But what do I know.
On high, the 120P only gets 30 mins before dropping down so id probably go by the first chart.
But what do I know.
MrGman
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The difference of a really cr@ppy RCR battery iin the first graph versus the better AW brand rechargeable in the second one. The quality of rechargeable 16340 batteries varies greatly. How well they continue to work as they go through their cycle life varies as well. I gave up entirely on trying to use them, simply not worth it.
phantom23
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StarHalo
Flashaholic
A flashlight will always react completely differently to li-ions versus primaries, but that being said, the two charts you presented are remarkably similar - note that in each instance, right around the 30 minute mark, the regulator takes its first step down, then after that it continues to step down in visible increments. No doubt in part to how well the Novatac's circuit is designed.
But in most flashlights, how the circuit reacts to one battery has no bearing on how it does on other batteries.
But in most flashlights, how the circuit reacts to one battery has no bearing on how it does on other batteries.
Splunk_Au
Enlightened
So are AW batteries crappy or what?
rockz4532
Enlightened
no, the AW's are the best, the ultrafire elcheapos are imo the worst
MrGman
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If I read the top graph correctly the pink(ish) color graph is the one of the rechargeable battery and it simply drops dead after 29 minutes roughly. The blue one with the nice stair step is a primary. the second graph is only with rechargeable batteries so only rechargeable to rechargeable can be directly compared. The rechargeable in the second graph for the Novatac 120P looks more like the non rechargeable in the first graph. It doesn't look much like the actual rechargeable in the first graph. Regardless of what brand of battery it is, if its had a lot of use and is closer to the end of its life than the beginning and shows a lot less run time than the AW cells in the lower chart, its a "cr@ppy" battery at this stage of the game. The difference of useable run time that I can see is well over 20 minutes. For a light that only gets less than 1 hour on the best rechargeable to begin with that is a substantial percentage difference.
If the original poster is truly wanting to know the difference in performance of the primary battery versus the rechargeables, the deficiencies of 16340 batteries in total charge versus a single primary should be obvious by now and not a factor of the flashlight specifically. Heavier current draw lights will simply point out that deficiency more obviously.
I am of the belief he wanted to know why with the rechargeables shown in the curves were so different. Which goes back to my first answer in that they vary so much by brand and by where they are in their life cycle. No matter of how good you think AW cells are, they don't hold up forever, eventually they got to start showing signs of end of life. The question is do they start having a lot less charge after 500 cycles or 50.
I personally don't care for myself as I think they are all a waste of time in that cell size. But it would appear others still need to explore this mystery.
If the original poster is truly wanting to know the difference in performance of the primary battery versus the rechargeables, the deficiencies of 16340 batteries in total charge versus a single primary should be obvious by now and not a factor of the flashlight specifically. Heavier current draw lights will simply point out that deficiency more obviously.
I am of the belief he wanted to know why with the rechargeables shown in the curves were so different. Which goes back to my first answer in that they vary so much by brand and by where they are in their life cycle. No matter of how good you think AW cells are, they don't hold up forever, eventually they got to start showing signs of end of life. The question is do they start having a lot less charge after 500 cycles or 50.
I personally don't care for myself as I think they are all a waste of time in that cell size. But it would appear others still need to explore this mystery.
You are correct. I should have been more clear in my op. I was wondering why there was such a big difference between the two rcr123 runtime patterns.
I agree, rcr lithium ions are pretty pointless in a size this small, but they are nice to have as backup batteries.
I too am curious as to what time in the battery's lifespan that it starts to behave poorly. It could be 50 or 500 cycles for all you and I know.:shrug:
MrGman
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exactly, I bought some batteries brand new that weren't lasting 5 minutes on a fresh charge to run a light that was drawing 600mA from a pair of them. Attempts to condition the batteries was useless. I don't have the time to experiment and find out what rechargeable batteries in that format are going to work. I use primaries or go with the 2X17500 format which I have found far more reliable. For my little Fenix P2D its a primary, don't care about the cost. I like that it works for hours on end as expected.
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