123A, AA, AAA Why would anyone want AA or AAA if 123A has more power?

I am confused a bit. I have been reading some threads where people want AA and AAA versions of lights and they give the same amount of light as a 123A?

Am I missing something? I thought 123A lights would always be brighter and have more power and last longer because it's a more advanced battery.

Please inform me of why this is.

Availability.

Legacy recharging capabilities.

Familiarity.

Are AA or AAA models anywhere near as bright compared to 123A models? If yes can you please give some examples and if they require more or less batteries?

Currently I have a surefire e2e, inova x5t, inova T1 and T2. All of which use the 123A batteries because I assumed superiority, but maybe having some comparable lights in AA or AAA could be a good thing.

Because of

CR123A, AA, and AAA are just sizes. You can get lithium cells in AA and AAA sizes, and they outperform their NiMH and alkaline in most applications. There's nothing magical about the CR123A size except it provides a good combination of size and energy for a lot of lights.

Using a particular kind of battery doesn't guarantee that a light will be brighter or better than another. It takes a certain amount of power to light the LED and, everything else being equal, more light requires more power. Now, a battery holds a certain and limited amount of energy. The energy is the product of power and time. So for the same energy, you can produce a lot of power (a lot of light) for a short time, or a little power (less light) for a longer time.

For their weight, and to a lesser extent their volume, lithium cells contain more energy than NiMH or alkaline cells. So for the same weight or size, you can have more light or more run time or some of both if you use a lithium cell than if you use NiMH or alkaline. But there are plenty of flashlights which put out a lot of light and/or run for a long time from NiMH or alkaline cells. (Alkalines have other limitations when used in high output lights, though.) It's just that if you filled the same battery compartment with lithium cells, you'd get either more light or longer run time or some of both.

Lithium cells are considerably more expensive than alkaline and NiMH, and the difference is extreme if you have to buy them at a drug store, when traveling for instance. And overall it's much easier to find alkaline AA and AAA cells than any kind of lithium, in roadside mini-marts for example. Those are probably the main reasons lights using alkaline and NiMH cells remain popular.

c_c

Money wise I prefer to use rechargeable batteries. For that NiMH AA is mostly better than Li-ion. Not in every application, but in most. Li-ion can be more dangerous and they have far less power than lithium. Less power than NiMH even. NiMH technology has been improving faster than. I've traveled abroad and while AA are easy to find nearly everywhere CR123 are next to impossible to find. For traveling I can take rechargeable batteries with me with adapters. If all my equipment runs off the same type of battery that the charger charges, then I only need one charger with me. Also CR123 lights are also normally much more expensive. The general public doesn't like expensive lights or batteries.

Does a 123 REALLY have more power than AA?

Lithium AA
1.5V * 3000 mA*h = 4500 mW*h

Lithium 123
3.0V * 1500 mA*h = 4500 mW*h

EngrPaul said:

Does a 123 REALLY have more power than AA?

Lithium AA
1.5V * 3000 mA*h = 4500 mW*h

Lithium 123
3.0V * 1500 mA*h = 4500 mW*h

Click to expand...

I guess the meant that the CR123s are more powerful than regular AA and AAA alkies. Lithium AAs are bigger than CR123s anyway...

I like the advantages that CR123's have and buying them cheap isn't a big deal because of the good dealers we have that are sponsers here at CPF...but with the recent CR123 venting problems and explosions, even though these are rare incidents it has happened a few times and I have NO luck at all, and with ym lack of luck this would probably happen to me, lol, so my paranoa is keeping me from using them right now...I started off only using them, then I recently switched to AA and AAA lights...Maybe I will switch back sometime in the future...

CR123A's are capable of delivering higher currents than AA's (with the exception of lithium AAs), are smaller and have a higher working voltage. These are all advantages when it comes to high powered flashlights. Also, lithium chemistry works down to colder temperatures, which could be handy for people who would use the lights for hiking or so.

The disadvantages? More expensive, more dangerous, and harder to find. Those are the main reasons why some people stick to AA/AAA lights.

UK CR123's are approx £1 web, £6 shops !!

Same for CR2's

All good points. What are the chances of them being dangerous? I have never had a problem with them.

Can all or most quality AA flashlights take lithium rechargeable's and not be damaged by the higher current then?

Erm, AA lithiums are *not* rechargeable - and most flashlights will take them without a problem. You can buy rechargeable lithium cells that are the same size as AA cells, however they are 3.6/3.7V and will damage the flashlight. Some flashlights such as the Ultrafire 1W AAA/AA series are designed to use these however.

Lithium cells can be dangerous if shorted out or abused in another way - okay, all batteries can be dangerous in these cases but lithiums tend to explode violently and vent with flame. Browse around these forums and you'll find a few incidents members have reported. Some of them even exploded without any reason!

Overall though, most people have no problems with lithium cells.

CyByte said:

Can all or most quality AA flashlights take lithium rechargeable's and not be damaged by the higher current then?

Click to expand...

From what I gather that depends on the lights circuitry.

I almost bought a T3 as a Christmas gift for myself , but I couldn't go for the kill because of 123s. I know they are cheap online, but I wasn't into buying a large quantity to sit in a closet somewhere. I ended up going for a Streamlight Propolymer Lux 4aa. 1) uses aa, 2) can use NiMh, 3) has a 4 1/2 hour runtime with NiMh, 4) I already have NiMh around the house, done deal. Now the Polymer is a bit larger than the T3, but the light output is similar. In my perfect world I will be able to use Rcr123 in my next light. Bring it on internet research...

It's all about the "free" runtime!

Even bought on the web, 123s cost $1.25 each. NimH ain't cheap to buy, but then they never cost again.

A good example would be my Garmin Legend GPSr. It runs on 2xAA. By using NimH I haven't incured any battery cost since I strted using it.

The only 123 light I actually USE is my Fenix P1. And I only doe THAT because I have at least 20 Battery Station 123s left from a buy of 50.

I would hope that something in a Cree 1xAA light with a twisty head will show up from Fenix in a couple months to replace it.....

Besides how easy it is to find AA and AAA batteries, the lights are much smaller. My favorite now is the Fenix L0 which easily fits in my coin pocket.

Phredd

I don't buy 123 based stuff because having to order 20 batteries to get a semi decent price doesn't make sense to start with and paying $3-$5 for a 123A in the stores in case of an emergency doesn't inspire me neither. I can go to Sam's Club and get an 8 pack of lithium AA energizers for less than $2.50/battery but an 8 pack of 123A cells doesn't seem to exist in the retail sector.... come to think of it I don't recall seeing even a 4 pack of cells in major stores.

Another reason to use primary lithium cells versus alkaline: if you are keeping a flashlight on hand mainly for emergency use and not using it often, paying the extra for lithium batteries (CR123 or other size) is often NOT more expensive than paying for alkalines, because of the "shelf life" difference in the two types of cells. The reason for that is that primary alkalines generally discharge much faster than primary lithiums when they are just sitting around in your flashlight not being used.

Yes I also agree. when you are out in the African wilderness or Antartica or the Brazilian rainforest or the Sahara , places I myself frequent weekly being a big game hunter (elephants,Tigers,polar bears and the occasional psychotic chimpanzee ) the chances of finding a CR123 are pretty slim. But as for AAs' , the locals are 100% guaranteed to have them for sale in their village Kwik Mart. I cant be caught in the bush with a dead flashlight at 1am with the sounds of a hungry Lion or crazed chimp just outside my tent . :laughing:


AW has come out with new even safer rechargeables RCR123 with new venting capabilities . If 123s' were blowing up left and right and putting people in the hospital on a regular basis I think they would cease to be produced or used. occasionally cars will have a manufacturing problem and catch fire spontaneously in peoples garages and burn their houses down . do we all cease owning and using cars ? I think these explosive 123 events are overplayed and overhyped . everything we do has inherent risks . the 123 battery is a great platform for flashlights. and with a small investment in rechargeables the cost is minimal .