2 CR2016 = 1 CR2032?

My Photon 3 keeps turning on in my pocket and burning out the batteries. I want to keep it working, but batteries are expensive. Can I save some money and buy one CR2032 instead of two CR2016? Will it affect the Photon?
thanks,
Overload in Colorado

no, these are both 3V cells, the CR2032 having a bigger capacity and a bigger size.
the red/amber/orange photons use the CR2032 since the Vin of those LEDs is lower than the white/green/blue/turquoise LEDs which are overdriven by 2xCR2016 (=6V) in the Photons.
so ... you'll have to stick with the batteries in your lights as is as long as you want to keep the brightness of the lights ...
bernhard

btw ... let me be the first to say
WELCOME TO CPF!
enjoy one last look at your wallet while it is still full of cash ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Those CR2016's are only a buck at the BatteryStation.com (Sponsor). They are Maxcells.

Actually I think they're much less than a buck each from batterystation if you buy in quantity. But maybe you should look into a different flashlight, like an Arc AAA.

I have an ARC AAA allready, but it IS bigger than the Photon. I'm going to try it tonight to see how big.

Oh, and thanks for the welcome. I was a member before the latest crash, but just dont post much/ at all. Collection includes (off the top of head):
MagLite AA (aren't they issued at birth now?)
Inova X8 in Camo
Infinity Military/Ultra
Arc AAA
Arc LS H
Tigerlight (shorty)
Mr Bulk LGI
Tec Rage
Tec Altitude
Tec Surge (love this light)
Surefire 6P
Brinkmann Legend LX
Brinkmann Rebel
Photon 3
Tec Pulsar II
plus a few more I can't think of

Overload in Colorado

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, sorry, hadn't noticed your reg date butonly your newbie status. time to go to bed now ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
bernhard

Note that Countycomm has $1 keychain lights available again. The white and blue ones each have two CR2016's inside. You can open them up and transplant the batteries to your Photon. That's actually cheaper than buying batteries all by themselves, unless you buy a lot of batteries.

Think about getting a Photon II?

Paulr,
What's the advantage of the Photon 2 (or 1) vs 3?
Overload in Colorado

It's easy to swap the LEDs out with new ones, no soldering required. They also might be less likely to turn on in your pocket. Cheaper.

Overload--I think the Photon I didn't have the constant on, whereas the Photon II has a switch for constant on (slide switch). The Photon 3 has a bunch of different settings if you push the rear button (strobe, etc.). I think it's just a matter of what you are looking for. I prefer the Photon II over the other two. My III always went off as well. One of those modes is for an auto-shutoff, but I would never remember to leave it on that setting. Never had the II turn on in my pocket. Lasted a long while before the batts finally went.

Oh, the other thing is that the II uses screws to keep the case closed--the I and III allow you to pop the cover off with something pointy. Whether that's a good thing or not is really up to you.

Interestingly, I bought a Microlight 1 in yellow today. It uses a CR2032. Double checking, yes, my white photon 3 uses two CR2016. Investigating more I went to Photon's Web Site, and it seems that the battery requirements are based on the LED color.
Red, Orange, Yellow, Infrared use a CR2032
Green, Turquoise, Blue, Purple, White, UV use x2 CR2016.

Now, does this mean that the CR2032 lights are less powerful aka less bright than the x2 CR2016 lights?
The yellow I bought doesn't seem as bright as I remember the white unit being.

Comments? Ideas?

Overload in Colorado

Red, orange, and yellow take a lower Vf (Different chemicals - they take just under 3 volts). With the other colors, you need a higher Vf to light them at full power (around 3.3 V) so two CR2016 batts are used. CR2032 and CR2016 differ only in their capacity and size. With two CR2016's in a cool color, the batt voltage is about 2.7 volts above Vf, and with a CR2032 in a hot color, the batt voltage is only about .5 volts above Vf. Higher voltage means more current, so the cool colors are brighter.

While what you say is true, it is somewhat misleading. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy per photo. So a red photon carries less energy then a Blue Photon. That energy has to come from somewhere, and the process of producing them from an LED is not all that efficient. Very bluntly, you need a higher voltage across the junction to produce higher energy photons. So while a single CR2032 will work fine for Red or IR, the voltage across the junction is not high enough to generate very many higher energy photons (Blue, violet, or white [which is a phosphor coated blue]), so have a higher Vf

The photons in visible light are around 1 electron volt in energy.