ANSWER FROM AMILITE

Q: Can we use rcr 123 in T5. Will it be more lumens like D-mini?


A:Hello David
You can use RCR123 and you will get some more brightness.

Thanks

Yoo

Amilite

Interesting, seems to be some different statements from the Amilite crew. I think it was whc, who asked them too about the RCR123a and they said it could be done but it may shorten the life of the LED. I would be using RCR123a's a lot if I got this light, hmm now I don't know. Don't want to have a dead LED just because of the RCR123a.

I'm on the brink of just buying this light and forgetting about paying tuition for about 1 min, who needs school when you've got bright flashlights?!

I thought the T3 could not use rechargeables but the new T5 could. The Seoul LEDs that Amilite uses are the same LEDs used in lights that are able to use rechargeables.

Well, I don't really care for rechargeables in my EDC lights, I bought the T5 to use primaries when I'm out in the woods. I use rechargeables mainly to play with my big lights in the civilization wheres there's always an outlet nearby.

More bright never hurts ) often rcr has better discharge curve also

Many mfrs don't recommend the use of Li-Ions and put the statement "it may damage it" because they don't want to be liable if something happens when used in a setup outside of what their development and testing involved. It doesn't actually mean anything will happen, it's just a liability issue. I've run tons of lights on rechargeables that aren't recommended, but as long as the driver can take the additional voltage and the LED is decently heatsunk, the life of the LED won't be a problem as by the time you notice any dimming, a newer generation of LEDs will be out and you'll snatch up those lights (maybe a Amilite T7 by then) just as quickly as this one.

Originally Posted by jrs: Many mfrs don't recommend the use of Li-Ions and put the statement "it may damage it" because they don't want to be liable if something happens when used in a setup outside of what their development and testing involved. It doesn't actually mean anything will happen, it's just a liability issue. I've run tons of lights on rechargeables that aren't recommended, but as long as the driver can take the additional voltage and the LED is decently heatsunk, the life of the LED won't be a problem as by the time you notice any dimming, a newer generation of LEDs will be out and you'll snatch up those lights (maybe a Amilite T7 by then) just as quickly as this one.

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So, this seems to imply that if you intend to hang onto your led flashlight for a few years, or more, then you do have to worry about damaging the led with li-ion batteries. I don't view these lights as disposable in a year or so.

Overdriven led's gradually lose their brightness.

ALL LEDs gradually lose their brightness. Even when driven at spec, they will degrade. How quickly they degrade is determined by how much heat is produced (how hard you drive them) and how easily that heat is pulled from the die. Think about how often you use your light. Most casual use, especially if you have several lights, will likely only be 10-30 minutes per week. Then consider that when driven nominally at spec and 25C (which doesn't happen in the real world), the half-life (time to half brightness) is around 50k hours. Even when mildly overdriven, the half-life will be in the 5k-20k hours range. Take 5k hours (you're driving it pretty hard) at 30 minutes per week, that's 192 weeks! Quite a few years, and that's taking an extreme of the half-life. In real world use, and considering how well the Amilites are made, I'd say close to 10k-20k hours...so, many many years.

Ah ok. I just wanted to make sure, if using the RCR123a mainly would degrade the LED much faster say like bringing down the brightness by half in like 4 years or something. I wish they would say the MIN and MAX of voltage for this light on the site.

Screw it! I'm getting one or maybe two? It's a freakin disease as Atom_Chicken said!

Now we just need to beg Chevyfreak to Run time this lil guy

So Amilite says its OK, yet some of the LEDs are turning brown?

Perhaps they are saying OK for 3.0V rechargeables. I don't know much about the types of available RCR123s, but I do recall posters mentioning 3.0V and 3.6/3.7 cells. I think someone should ask them a more detailed question.

SQ40 said:

So Amilite says its OK, yet some of the LEDs are turning brown?

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Yes! Don't worry, be happy.

The 3.0 rechargeable would be better most of the time. The heat is going to shutdown the 3.7 cell much sooner, don't you think so?

This is the reply I received...

"We didn't test enough time about RCR123A(3.7 V).
From our experience, if you use 3.7 V RCR123A, it shortens the life of LED.

In the case of Luxeon 3 W, we have several data about it. After 1 year of using 3.7 V on Neo T3, LED lost its brightness gradually. I think that same things possibly happen to SSC LED also.

So, we don't recommend 3.7 V RCR123A. But, I believe that many users in Korea also
are using 3.7 V RCR123A on Neo T5, because of its economical efficiency.

I also think that its economical benefits will offset the cost of replacing LED.
and it's customers choice.

Someone in my company is also using AW 3.7 V on Neo T5 for testing purpose.
Until now, it seems ok, but not sure for long time use of over-driven status.

We are going to sell SSC U-Rank LED and U-Rank LED with Neo T5's heatsink for customers who want to replace LEDs in our website. Maybe it will help customers who need those."

I'm assuming shorter life is only a few thousand hours less than normal. Looks like the brown emitters are from a bad batch. I'd still like to know what kind of current it's drawing on high...

Well.. Alteast they are thinking offering replacement LEDs for cheap...

Gannz said:

We are going to sell SSC U-Rank LED and U-Rank LED with Neo T5's heatsink for customers who want to replace LEDs in our website. Maybe it will help customers who need those."

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OOOOO so now I'm wondering......Will this replacements fit the T3?

pilou said:

Perhaps they are saying OK for 3.0V rechargeables. I don't know much about the types of available RCR123s, but I do recall posters mentioning 3.0V and 3.6/3.7 cells. I think someone should ask them a more detailed question.

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Good point. I have been confused myself about the RCR123 cells. I think there are two different voltages, 3.0 and 3.7, and I would think that the 3.7 volt would have a charge over 4 volts fresh off the charger, where as the 3.0 would be lower, how much, I am not sure.

I just got mine as I was writing this. Awsome light. I also got the Kydex sheath with the GID dots and It is super. 4 days from Korea to my door all told. The EMS tracking system is great too. The most thorough updates I have seen. Well worth the few extra dollars.

I'm a little confused here....

FASTCAR...

Q: Can we use rcr 123 in T5. Will it be more lumens like D-mini?


A:Hello David
You can use RCR123 and you will get some more brightness.

Thanks

Yoo

Amilite

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Do you work for Amilite? Are you representing them with your post?