Will the Ultrafire WF-137 charge 123 rechargeables if I use a spacer ?

[march.brown]

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I have an Ultrafire WF-137 charger for 18650 cells ... Would it charge 123 size rechargeables if I put a spacer in ? ... I might be tempted to go for a 123 torch as the size is right to carry in the pocket ... The torch would be smaller than my chunky 3AAA torches and my 18650 torches ... One 123 would have the same capacity and voltage as three AAA cells ... I don't want to buy yet another charger.

Any recommended cheap 123 rechargeables ?
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[andrewnewman]

Never used a WF-137 charger but assuming it is a single bay version of the WF-139 charger (for larger cells such as 18650 cells), the answer is "yes" with a caveat.

As is covered extensively in other threads on this forum, with the smaller cells such as 123 size, there is higher internal resistance. This increases the likelihood that a charger designed for larger cells will spend at least part of it's charging cycle presenting > 4.2V. While the charger may ultimately terminate the charge before the *cell* is registering > 4.2V, this practice runs the risk of shortening the lifetime of a given cell. In practice, I have regularly used a WF-139 charger with RCR123 cells and been happy with my cell lifetime (> 3 years in most cases).

No one here will recommend "cheap" RCR123 cells (I think . The best value RCR123 cells come from AW (available on the marketplace forum or from several US-based E-retailers). Search the forum for all of the things that can go wrong with cheap RCR123 cells.

 

[march.brown]

Never used a WF-137 charger but assuming it is a single bay version of the WF-139 charger (for larger cells such as 18650 cells), the answer is "yes" with a caveat.

As is covered extensively in other threads on this forum, with the smaller cells such as 123 size, there is higher internal resistance. This increases the likelihood that a charger designed for larger cells will spend at least part of it's charging cycle presenting > 4.2V. While the charger may ultimately terminate the charge before the *cell* is registering > 4.2V, this practice runs the risk of shortening the lifetime of a given cell. In practice, I have regularly used a WF-139 charger with RCR123 cells and been happy with my cell lifetime (> 3 years in most cases).

No one here will recommend "cheap" RCR123 cells (I think . The best value RCR123 cells come from AW (available on the marketplace forum or from several US-based E-retailers). Search the forum for all of the things that can go wrong with cheap RCR123 cells.

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Thank you very much for your reply.

If I do go to a single 123 size torch as EDC, at least I can use the existing charger ... It is the single cell version.

In the UK, we don't seem to be able to readily find good makes of RCR123 cells or for that matter 18650 cells ... I couldn't find any rechargeables in Swansea, South Wales, though I did find a few of the primary 123 cells ... It seems that the UK shops are not yet ready to sell these new-fangled items.

Does anyone know of a source that charges minimal postage, please ? ... Are there still problems with sending Lithium cells by Air ?

Perhaps I should stick with 18650 protected cells instead and suffer the longer and heavier torches ... I just fancied a shorter torch for the pocket with a battery that gave the same mAh capacity and voltage as three AAAs ... I may even have to stick with a single AA torch and carry a couple of spare batteries ... Any help would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks