Battery for Novatac 120 P

dpharmd07

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Sep 12, 2007
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30
I just purchased a 120P and love it. This is the best light I have owned to date. What is the best battery option? In the manual they list several different rechargable cells. What are the advantages of rechargables other than replacement costs? Thanks.
 

Steve L

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Jan 22, 2007
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SE Michigan
I don't see any other than the ever expanding landfills:sick2:. Tests have shown the light has the same lux reading using a CR123 or a RCR123. A CR123 has at least 1.5 times the stored energy(mah) so you will get a longer runtime with a CR123. That being said I use a RCR123, guilt free lumens.
 
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Oddjob

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Mar 24, 2006
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London, Ontario, Canada
The biggest advantages for me have been the cost savings and the reduction in waste. Buying CR123's online can be fairly cheap but buying a charger and a couple of RCR123's has still been way cheaper than buying primaries for me. The good thing about RCR123's in a light like the Novatac is once the light senses the battery is getting low and steps down you can just put in a fresh rechargeable and you will always have access to the brightest level. With a primary CR123's I always feel once the light steps down I want to replace the battery so I can still have the brightest setting but then I am left with a battery that still has some juice in it and I do not want to just throw it away. Another thing you will read about is "guilt free lumens". If I have a primary in a light I tend to be a bit more conservative with using the higher settings whereas with rechargeables I feel much more liberal with the higher settings. The shorter runtimes with rechargeables does not bother me since I am already accustomed to charging batteries in my ipod, phone etc. This has been my experience but others have their opinions and many CPF'ers are very ardent proponents of one side vs the other.

Check out AW's batteries and chargers in the CPF marketplace:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=166496 (3rd post)
 
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jcompton

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Aug 28, 2007
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Location
CT
+1 for Guilt Free Lumens!!!
and +1 for AW's Batteries :thumbsup: You'll love them, and will not think twice about flashing your light against a wall just to "make sure it's still working" ever again. Just drop the cell into the charger to top it off and you're good to go.
 

yaesumofo

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Jul 21, 2003
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Eastern Pacific, LAX DM03 sw actual
I agree that rechargeable cells are the way to go.
The cost of a primary both to the Eco system and the pocketbook is just too high.
The most recent rcr123's cost less than $4.00 and hold a good amount of power. No they do not last as long but you can recharge them 100 times vs throwing away a $1.00 battery. So for the amount of energy you get from a rcr123a it really is a no brainier.
BTW None of this precludes you from having a box of 12 cr123 primaries sitting on the shelf for times when you ma not be able to use a charger (read emergency).
While I use rechargeable batteries in virtually every cr123a based flashlight I own. I also have 2 12x boxes of surefire cr123a cells. You never know when you will need them.
Yaesumofo
 

Derek Dean

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Nov 14, 2006
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Monterey, CA
Howdy dpharmd07, and welcome to CPF,
Gee, your first post is about buying a NovaTac 120P. Cooool. Yep, I carry mine every day.... so I will give a big +1 to what everybody has said so far..... guilt free lumens is the way to go..... I just change out my rechargeable once a week or so, pop in a fresh one, and I'm ready to go.

BTW, I prefer to use protected cells.... and since the NovaTac seems to handle them ok (it goes thru the complete step down cycle without the battery's protection circuit kicking in, so it won't just go off and leave you in the dark), there is no reason to use the unprotected kind.

You should spend a bit of time in the 'Batteries included' section of CPF to get a better understanding of what cells perform best, and what kind of charger to buy (one with individual charging channels)

And like yaesumofo, I keep 6-8 CR123 primary cells around 'just in case'. Enjoy your new light.
 

Casual Flashlight User

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Jun 26, 2006
Messages
1,263
Location
England
Rechargables all the way, I use MP700mAh RCR123's for my HDS's & Novatac.

(a nice little stash of primaries is good for emergencies/blackouts or even if you are doing a bit of traveling). :thumbsup:


CFU
 

BSCOTT1504

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
668
Location
Springfield, MO.
+1 for Guilt Free Lumens!!!
and +1 for AW's Batteries :thumbsup: You'll love them, and will not think twice about flashing your light against a wall just to "make sure it's still working" ever again. Just drop the cell into the charger to top it off and you're good to go.

I agree with jcompton. Get a few AW brand cells and a charger and you will be set!
 
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