123 Primary Lithium cell info/testing/links

[hermosabeach]

wow- this thread is information overload...

My drawer full of no name batteries are all dead.... I am now deciding between Battery Station and Surefire....

[james22]

I haven't been able to find what the rough voltage/capacity differential required to create this situation in 123 primaries is. Is one battery being a tenth of a volt lower going to be a significant risk or does it take more?

[Steve-at-Springboard]

They are the same battery, both made by Panasonic in Georgia. I sell both. Make sure they're fresh (< 1 year old) and you will be getting a good battery. Battery Station date is coded, though. Surefire's expiration date in plain text. Battery Station usually cheaper.

wow- this thread is information overload...

My drawer full of no name batteries are all dead.... I am now deciding between Battery Station and Surefire....

[cy]

amazing after all these years .. this ancient thread by Newbie is still the standard.
been about a year since I heard from Newbie ...

[Raymund]

Hey folks,
Im new here and just got into the newer more modern LED lights.
Just ordered a couple of my first LED lights,specifically Inova X5 and XO3 along with a few packs of Surefire 123 batteries.
Sadly came here after the fact to learn more about the 123 cells.
Kinda freaked out now and having second thoughts on my selection.
Are the problems with the 123 cells as bad as what they were years ago?
Any recent or updated info/advice for us green newbies in regards to the 123 cells?

[SilverFox]

Hello Raymund,

Welcome to CPF.

The first thing to keep in mind is that storing energy has some danger associated with it. The higher then energy density, the higher the potential danger.

Single cell lights present less of a potential problem than lights that use multiple cells. If you use quality cells and don't mix and mach partially used cells you eliminate most of the potential issues. Occasionally a "bad" cell makes it through the manufacturing process but that is rare when quality cells are used.

With a multi cell light a good practice is to change the batteries as soon as the light shows any signs of dimming a little. Never leave the light on to run the batteries completely dead. If the flashlight suddenly heats up, shut it off and remove the batteries. If you want to drain partially used cells, pick up a single cell light and use that.

Those are some basic guidelines to stay safe.

Tom

[DHart]

Single cell lights present less of a potential problem than lights that use multiple cells. If you use quality cells and don't mix and mach partially used cells you eliminate most of the potential issues.

For this reason, I migrated (with a few exceptions) to lights that take single cells, like using a single 18650, rather than two 16340 cells. And with some exceptions, most of my compact lights these days are wide-voltage, single-AA size lights that take a single 14500, AA NiMH rechargeable, AA Lithium primary, or (if necessary) a AA Alkaline. Just less potential for problems this way and the flexibility to power with the ubiquitous AA primary. When choosing lights that do take multiple cells, going with multiple Eneloop AAs presents significantly lower risk than going with multiple Li-Ions.

As Tom says, if you choose high quality cells and be sure that you closely follow the proper guidelines for discharging and recharging, you should be fine. If you don't want to have to pay such close attention to things such as running down the cells and when/how to recharge, going with Eneloops reduces the potential for problems.

[Raymund]

Hello Raymund,

Welcome to CPF.

The first thing to keep in mind is that storing energy has some danger associated with it. The higher then energy density, the higher the potential danger.

Single cell lights present less of a potential problem than lights that use multiple cells. If you use quality cells and don't mix and mach partially used cells you eliminate most of the potential issues. Occasionally a "bad" cell makes it through the manufacturing process but that is rare when quality cells are used.

With a multi cell light a good practice is to change the batteries as soon as the light shows any signs of dimming a little. Never leave the light on to run the batteries completely dead. If the flashlight suddenly heats up, shut it off and remove the batteries. If you want to drain partially used cells, pick up a single cell light and use that.

Those are some basic guidelines to stay safe.

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the additional information.I'll certainly follow the advice here.

One of the things that made me interested in the X5 specifically was the reviews stating that they would still work with nearly dead cells and folks talking about "vampiring the last drop of energy" from the 123 cells with it.Thought that might be handy in a emergency/survival situation etc..I'd hazard to say thats a bad practice in the 123 cell lights?

Looks like the battery and light manufacturers would be more specific about the details involved in regards to the use of 123's in the owners manuals.
Good example,I downloaded the lights owner manuals before ordering,and beyond polarity and the mixing batteries warnings,there was no further guideline in regards to use specific to the 123 cell.

Come to think of it,beyond the basic warnings on all the battery packages and what is mentioned in the lights OM Ive never even researched battery use, specifically online.

So I appreciate all the advice here and glad I found CPF.

[Raymund]

Hello Raymund,

Welcome to CPF.

The first thing to keep in mind is that storing energy has some danger associated with it. The higher then energy density, the higher the potential danger.

Single cell lights present less of a potential problem than lights that use multiple cells. If you use quality cells and don't mix and mach partially used cells you eliminate most of the potential issues. Occasionally a "bad" cell makes it through the manufacturing process but that is rare when quality cells are used.

With a multi cell light a good practice is to change the batteries as soon as the light shows any signs of dimming a little. Never leave the light on to run the batteries completely dead. If the flashlight suddenly heats up, shut it off and remove the batteries. If you want to drain partially used cells, pick up a single cell light and use that.

Those are some basic guidelines to stay safe.



Tom

Tom,

I know this is going a bit OCD,but would it be advisable to test the 123 cells before use?

Or is just staying with fresh supply name brand U.S. made batteries as far as is really needed for average consumers light use like myself?

Thanks again.

Ray

[SilverFox]

Hello Ray,

If a battery blew up every day you would see more warnings. This is a pretty rare occurrence but when they go often there is some damage done to people and surroundings. We are trying to raise awareness in an effort to avoid the close calls.

There is no problem testing cells before use but you need a tester that puts a load on the cell to get a true reading. Resting open circuit voltage is not meaningful. ZTS makes a tester for this. I have one and use it frequently and think it is a good investment.

Tom

[Raymund]

Thanks Tom.

[eric1565]

Cheap lithium batteries can be dangerous. Obey he amp rating, and if you are buying cheap cells take the amp rating down by a factor of 5