Fenix P2D on RCR123

I was one of the first to pre-order the Fenix P2D, and I've had it now for about a week and a half.

After pre-ordering the light, I went looking for 3.0v RCR123s. On kaidomain I found these batteries:

http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=1260

and this charger:

http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=998

I ordered them on 4/5/07 and received them today. I figured for $10.02 shipped, it was worth taking a chance.

I was a little anxious after seeing posts where RCR123s were really tight or didn't fit in the P2D. These... slid right in! They're as near as I can tell exactly the width of a standard 123, and about 1mm shorter. :shrug: No complaints.

The other thing I was worried about was retaining the different modes. I got those particular batteries since they're advertised as 3.0v, but I'd heard they come off the charger at more than that. I put the battery in the charger and fired it up and waited for the light to turn from red to green. When it did, I threw the battery in the P2D.



In "general" mode, it came on at about "high". Half-press and went to about "high", another and it went to "high", then s.o.s. Tightening the head for Turbo was brighter, but there was no lo or medium. Bummer. :sigh:

So I decided to experiment. I turned it on in Turbo, and left it on for 10 minutes, and tried again. After sitting on a desk that long in Turbo it was pretty warm, but far from too hot to hold. At the 10 minute mark, in General mode, it came on at about medium, half-presses and it went to high, then went to high, then s.o.s. oo:

So I turned it back on in Turbo for another 5 minutes. I went to General mode, and Eureka!, it came on in low! (or at least pretty close to it). It might be a little brighter, but there are definitely 3 distinct levels and low is pretty close to where it's supposed to be.

So after using it for 15 minutes in Turbo, the voltage was down enough for it to drop back into regulation, and I've got all modes! :rock:

Unfortunately, I don't have any means to measure voltage so I don't know what voltage it came off the charger at, or what it had to drop down to for it to be back in regulation. I don't have any clue how the RCRs are going to do with runtime either, but they are advertised as 1000mah, so they should last a while.

:candle:

The end result is I'm very happy. :rock: I've got rechargeable batteries that will run my P2D, which = guilt free lumens. I use it on Turbo mostly anyways, and as long as I don't need low for the first 15 minutes of use, everything is great.

I got about the same results using AW's LifePO4 500mah RCR123.

Thanks for the tip - I just ordered some of those batteries and a charger to go with my P2D when it arrives

Once you dip below 4.0v, you start to see the difference in modes.

The Tenergy, protected 3.0v fit as well.

I have ordered a couple of 3.6V... I might be asking for trouble because I think they come off charge at about 4.2V

Be nice to know just how long the RCR123's last, on Turbo, or any other mode.

Thinking of getting some RCRs for mine too but which ones? They come in 3.0, 3.6 and 3.7V. I guess the higher volt ones will be only on turbo?

My cells:.....


CR123...fit ok

3.6v RCR123...fit ok

3.7v RCR123...too large

3.0v RCR123...two out of four fit ok

My results with 3.6v RCR123 are different.

Off charge a week ago, as before, the P2D only gave Turbo output all modes.

However, for 50 mins it did this, checked every now and then, but wouldn't switch to lower output.

Then, at 50 mins, all output were lowish, higher than low, but lower than medium.

Terminated then, I'm now doing RT's on Strobe & SOS using 3v RCR123.

BTW, runtime, with all modes ok, using 3v RCR123 was 25 mins on Turbo, about right for 650mah RCR123 ?

It was 120 mins on High, similar to CR123 duration.....

Using 3.0v RCR123, 650mah.

SOS mode lasted 2.5 hours.

Strobe mode lasted 45 mins.

So, with CR123, probably at least twice, more likely 3-4 times RT.

(I just had to know!)

abvidledUK said:

Be nice to know just how long the RCR123's last, on Turbo, or any other mode.

Click to expand...

Not long. At least not the ones I got.

I did a test on Friday, but wasn't sure it was accurate and couldn't test again until today. Two more tests today and the same results:

In Turbo, about 20 minutes fairly steady output, then steep drop-off to somewhere lower than low at about 25 minutes. :scowl:

After it got significantly below low, I terminated the test because I didn't want to over-discharge my batteries. None of the lights made it to 30 minutes, and (again) after 20 minutes output was dropping significantly.

I was hoping for much better, but was reminded of the old axiom regarding flashlight output:

small size; long runtime; very bright... pick two and ONLY two.

:sigh:

well AW's RCR123 can last about 39 minutes in a P1D-CE

abvidledUK said:

Be nice to know just how long the RCR123's last, on Turbo, or any other mode.

Click to expand...

I did my own tests, results post #9.

Basically:

3.6v RCR123 800mah= 50 mins Turbo, all settings
3.0v RCR123 650mah= 25 mins Turbo, switchable
3.0v RCR123 650mah= 120 mins High, switchable

But the 3.0v RCR123's were a tight fit.

One thing I don't understand. The P2D is quoted as 2 hrs on high with primary CR123s (so 1300-1500 mah).

How were you able to get the same runtime with 650mah RCR123s? How about other lower settings?

gunga said:

One thing I don't understand. The P2D is quoted as 2 hrs on high with primary CR123s (so 1300-1500 mah).

How were you able to get the same runtime with 650mah RCR123s? How about other lower settings?

Click to expand...

Quoted and achieved are two different things..


Must be down to excellent circuitry, and "extractable" energy from 3.0v RCR123. Soshine from DX (5th) BTW.

What was just as impressive, was the absolutely totally constant output for the first 105 mins, on high.

Possibly explained by slightly lower output on 3vRCR123, cf 3v CR123, nearly half a f stop, EV 0.4

And yes, there is a difference between High and Medium measured output, using 3v RCR123.

The measured 3v RCR123 on High is just slightly above the 3v CR123 output on Medium, which may explain it somewhat.

Other lows, that's today's and the next few days project !!!

P2D Preliminary results EV's:

3v CR123 Primary cells
15.0 Turbo
14.0 High
13.0 Medium
11.0 Low

3v RCR123 Rechargeable cells
14.9 Turbo
13.4 High
13.1 Medium
10.9 Low

Basically:

3.6v RCR123 800mah= 50 mins Turbo, all settings
3.0v RCR123 650mah= 25 mins Turbo, switchable
3.0v RCR123 650mah= 110 mins High, switchable
3.0v RCR123 650mah= 125 mins Medium, switchable
3.0v RCR123 650mah= 7.5 hours mins Low, switchable

Note the High & Medium RT's using 3v RCR123's were about the same, as in fact were the EV ouput readings, so some similarity there.


But the 3.0v RCR123's were a tight fit.

Having done all this, for my own benefit, I shall be sticking with 3v CR123 primary cells for the P2D.

Just more convenient all round, along with great RT's and regulation.

I have the P2D-CE which I am currently running with primaries - I tried running AW's 3.7v, 750mAh RCR123 but noticed that there wasn't much difference in the output. Ideally, I would like to run the light off a 3.0v rechargeable RCR123.

So abvidledUK... sorry for my newbie question but, after reading your test results, are you saying that you need to run the 3.0v RCR123 650mah for 25 mins on Turbo before the voltage drops enough for it to be switchable? :thinking:

RGB_LED said:

So abvidledUK... sorry for my newbie question but, after reading your test results, are you saying that you need to run the 3.0v RCR123 650mah for 25 mins on Turbo before the voltage drops enough for it to be switchable? :thinking:

Click to expand...

NO

It runs for 25 mins in Turbo mode, and during the 25 mins, is switchable to other levels.

My 3.0v LiIs and charger arrived from DX last night - but I'm reading now how dangerous LiIs are to charge? I know better than to leave some Hu Flung Poo brand charger plugged in when I'm not home, but I really don't want this thing kB-ing in my house, period. Is this el-cheapo rig safe?

CDI said:

My 3.0v LiIs and charger arrived from DX last night - but I'm reading now how dangerous LiIs are to charge? I know better than to leave some Hu Flung Poo brand charger plugged in when I'm not home, but I really don't want this thing kB-ing in my house, period. Is this el-cheapo rig safe?

Click to expand...

Could you please ask your questions without racial slurs? I'm not Asian but I still find this offensive.

SoundMix said:

Could you please ask your questions without racial slurs? I'm not Asian but I still find this offensive.

Click to expand...

Jeez, I don't know...my sister is from Taiwan, and I got that particular expression from her.

Can you contribute something useful, or are you just a self-appointed political-incorrectness forum cop? If so, your job is done.