Mah Ratings on cr123 and 16340/rcr123?

First off I am relatively new to the forum and higher-end lights, so please be patient with me. But my question is related to getting and comparing Mah ratings for cr123 Lithiums and 16340/rcr123 Li-ion batteries. One of the things I liked about the 18650 batteries that I have purchased over the last two years (about the time I got into flashlights) was that you could compare the Mah rating and get an idea of the runtime of the battery (based on the runtime of the light you are using it in). But now that I have a couple smaller lights the run on cr123/rcr123, I can't seem to get and compare the Mah and gauge the potential runtime of different batteries. The primary cr123's don't list any Mah rating at all. The rcr123 Li-ions seem to be all over the place; from the 750 mah eagletacs I bought from goinggear, to nightcore rcr123 on amazon listed as 650 mah, to other primaries and secondary cr123's listed all the way up to 2000 mah on ebay. What am I missing here? Why don't manufacturers list the Mah rating on cr123's and rcr123's like they do with 18650 Li-ions? How can I get information on and compare the runtimes between different primary and secondary cr123? Thanks for your help!

I think a good primary cr123 battery has 1400mah and a good rcr123 has 750mah max if an rcr123 is listed as 2000mah it is not possible with current chemistry. Some rcr123 do state mah such as AW which I have states 750mah and should be accurate.

fortean101 said:

I think a good primary cr123 battery has 1400mah and a good rcr123 has 750mah max if an rcr123 is listed as 2000mah it is not possible with current chemistry. Some rcr123 do state mah such as AW which I have states 750mah and should be accurate.

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Thanks for the information. So, is it safe to assume the primaries run roughly twice as long as the average rcr123's then? Or, is their something else that is factored in?

There are other people who could give a better answer. yes primaries can give a longer run time most of the time if there is not too much current. But it comes down to budget usually it is cheaper to recharge a battery than fit a new one, even if run times is less. Primaries are excellent if needed to be ready once in a while over many years. Also rcr123's give a higher brightness in some lights (voltage difference) and can give a much higher amperage (in the case of IMR cells they can output 4amps... But not for long!) others will give betters answers.

Moved to Batteries Included - Norm

What to post in the General Flashlight Discussion Sub Fourum.

When it comes to Lithium Primary vs Li-ion you can't just go by the mAh rating to compare the two.

P = VI
Power (measured in watts) = Volts X Amps

A typical CR123 is 1400-1500 mAh (let use 1500), resulting in a theorhetical 3.0v x 1.5A = 4.5 Wh of energy
A typical 16340 of 750mAh capcity has a theorhetical 3.7v x .75A = 2.775 Wh of energy

Of couse those are theorhetical numbers, higher amp draws will result in lower Wh numbers.

I think this might be the link you are looking for ...

http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers UK.html

16340s use of "750 mah" is also a known misnomer, most are well below 700 mah. 14500 have significantly more mah capacity, due to it's greater physical volume. Here's a good summary page from CPFs resident battery reviewer, HKJ, that Archimedes linked to..

http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonSmallSummary UK.html

Thanks for everyone that replied....I love this forum! I think you have given me a basic understanding and links to get more information as well. I know I could have just stuck to the old "go with a name brand" when buying batteries, but I just wanted to understand a little more than that. I've spent a significant amount of time the last two years reading about, learning about, and researching led flashlights, and it only makes sense to understand what they run on too (at least the basics). Anyway, great responses and I thank for the information and links!lovecpf

You might also want to look at my comparison between CR123 and RCR123: http://lygte-info.dk/info/CR123A and rechargeable substitutes UK.html

HKJ said:

You might also want to look at my comparison between CR123 and RCR123: http://lygte-info.dk/info/CR123A and rechargeable substitutes UK.html

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Awesome link! Thanks!