Buying IncenDio V3U XM-L T5 Neutral - Need Battery/Charger Advice

OK, finally made up my mind to buy subject light. Have plenty of CR123's on hand, but no rechargables. From what I've found here, looks like AW IMR 16340 is highly recommended. These are same size as any RCR123, right? Also, need a charger recommendation. Remember, I'm an "old" newbie and have no measurement tools! Would like something that automatically does the job; preferably w/o breaking the bank!

IMHO, I trust no charger to automatically do the job. My solution was to buy a cheap Digital Multimeter from Harbour Freight and test it against a friends Fluke, It was within .01 volt, but thier accuracies vary widely so I'd recommend a similar test.

For a charger, I use an Ultra-Fire wf-139, cheap charger but if you are diligent about removing the batts when the light turns green and testing them regularly to make sure it is operating consistantly and as it's designed to, it is pretty safe......I just ordered a Pila IBC as I've invested a pretty significant amount of cash in good AW batts and want them to last as long as possible.

As far as batteries go, I use almost all AW 16340 and 18650 with the exception of 1 pr of Tenergy 18650. With The Incendio, mine was the R5 emitter and functioned flawlessly with the regular AW 16340 750mah until it died a violent death (dropped it, stumbled and accidently kicked it into a block wall!). Don't know that the IMR is the best match for the T5, someone with quite a bit more expertise should come along shortly.

Bottom line:

Good batts, cheap charger and no DMM is not an ideal combination.
Good batts, cheap charger and cheap (but accurate) DMM has worked for me for a few years.
Good batts, good charger and good DMM is ideal

coltchris. You definitely can't go wrong with any of the AW cells. Yes, 16340=CR123 and RCR123. As far as a really dependable, highly recommended charger, look at the Pila IBC. One thing to note: For charging 16340 cells, the Pila does require spacers. Most of the dealers/vendors that sell the Pila, also have the spacers. The spacers are not required for the longer cells you're bound to get into, like 17670, 18650, and the like, but you have to have them to charge the little short cells. Some guys have actually whipped up their own, and that's cool if you have the round stock in aluminum, or copper to make them. But the ready made ones are very nice quality. I picked up two when I got my Pila, so I could charge two 16340's at a time. And tpopz2908's advice for a DMM is good also. Never let your li-ion cells go above 4.2 volts fresh off the charger. My Pila actually terminates at 4.16 volts, and that's fine by me. Longer cell life that way. Anyhow, don't really try and skimp when it comes to li-ion cells and chargers. You'll be way better off in the long run. Good luck!

Thanks for the info guys. Just ordered the IncenDio & a couple Eagle batteries since they don't carry the AW's. Will be ordering AW's & Charger (Pila) from another site; if I can find someone with both in stock!

coltchris said:

Will be ordering AW's & Charger (Pila) from another site; if I can find someone with both in stock!

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http://www.lighthound.com/Batteries-carriers-testers_c_20.html

Thanks; already found it and ordered!

I wish I had seen this thread earlier. I have this light and I have both AW RCR123s as well as AW IMR16340s. I *HIGHLY* recommend using only IMRs in this light if you plan to use the light on high (....and ya do, right?!?) The current draw is far too harsh for RCRs but IMRs will handle it. Yes, it will work with AWRCRs (don't know about other brands) but you're beating the hell out of the cell in doing so. Also, you will see greater run time on high with the IMRs. The capacity of the RCRs drops greatly under the load whereas the IMRs don't.

P.S. If you didn't get the turbo head, DO. It's what makes this light truly impressive. Without it it's just a flooder....might as well get an SC600w.

this light is a great choice. i use it for running, and for that the floody beam is perfect. i've been using the trustfire (gray) 16340's for months with no problem whatsoever.

Well Colonel; don't blame yourself for not seeing my post sooner! I read alot on these forums (being completely stupid on new lights, batteries, etc.) and DID read one of your posts about using AW IMR 16340's. Only problem, I didn't understand! I thought the AW RCR123a must be a better buy because it was rated 750 mAh vs 550 MAh for the IMR 16340 at the same cost. Obviously, I don't understand batteries! LOTS I don't understand, as the last time I bought a flashlight (Surefire, Streamlight, etc.) was many years ago and at 73, I guess I'm a slow learner!!!!

Will the pila charger except the Redilast 3100 mha batteries?

henry1960 said:

Will the pila charger except the Redilast 3100 mha batteries?

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Don't want to tell you for sure. My biggest 18650's ATM are AW 2900's and they fit with room to spare. I could only imagine the 3100's would fit. Hopefully someone with both the Pila, and some 3100's can solve the mystery for you.

henry1960 said:

Will the pila charger except the Redilast 3100 mha batteries?

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Yes. They fit in mine just fine.

coltchris, mah ratings on batteries are most often a bit (and sometimes quite a bit!) optimistic. Some ratings are off more than others. And, you have to understand that even when a rating is spot on, it's at some given current draw. Take the current higher and the rating will be too high. Most batteries capacity tends to suffer when currents are elevated. Some suffer much more than others. However, to make matters more confusing, in some rare cases with some cells, capacity can actually be a little higher at one current level than at a lower one.

In general, for a given battery size, a LiCo cell's voltage and capacity sags more than it's IMR counterpart. In the case of the 16340 size, the actual capacity difference is so small between the two that the IMR starts to in fact have a capacity advantage (as well as better resistance to voltage sag) over the RCR cell as current starts to become moderate or higher.

Here a couple of real world numbers from tests that I did on fresh AW RCR123 and AW IMR16340 cells:

(Tossing in a couple for just for the heck of it.)

Here are the times in minutes for draw down to 3.7v-3.6v-3.5v-3.4v and then final capacity. These were all done at a 1a current.

AW RCR123- 5-11-17-26-559mah
AW IMR16340- 9-12-17-24-556mah
Ultrafire RCR- .5-2.5-6-11.5-357mah
Battery Station-3-5-7-10-348mah

It is interesting to note that when the AW RCR16340 was tested at .1a it produced 593mah. I don't think I tested the IMR version at this low draw but I would expect it to pick up very little capacity over it's 1a draw. In my opinion, the AW RCR123 should be rated as a 600mah cell but the IMR version is correctly rated.

If this test were done at say, 2.5a then the IMR would really start to pull ahead of the RCR cell (though it already outperforms it at only 1a since you have to consider voltage sag.)

Thanks for the education Colonel; I'm used to just throwing a couple Surefire 123's in my lights! Got alot of learning to do with my new light and accessories for it.

BTW, I ran the .1a test on the IMR cell last night and I was surprised to see that it rang in at 586mah (as noted above, the RCR only did 593mah). As you can see, the IMR cell in this size compares well to the RCR cell at any current level. I will soon have a charger that will be able to test current draw at much higher levels. I'm very curious to see what these cells do at V3U XM-L current levels (2a+).