Blown Bulb / Upgrade Streamlight Scorpion?

Hi Y'all,

I have a Streamlight Scorpion I've had for several years, for which I recently purchased six of THESE rechargeable batteries (2300mAh CR123A 16340 3.7V Rechargeable Li-ion Battery). After charging the the new batteries in my NiteCore Intelli-Charger, I replaced the standard CR123A's in my Scorpion and hit the switch. There was a brief flash and that was it. After switching back to the standard batteries, still nothing. I'm not sure, obviously, but I am guessing the bulb blew. There's no difference between the regular and rechargeable CR123A's in terms of output, is there? Am I missing something?

Assuming my bulb is blown and I at least need a new bulb, should I consider an upgrade? In THIS THREAD, a Strion bulb and 17650 rechargeable battery are suggested. I have another light with which I can use the new RCR123A's, assuming there's nothing wrong with them. I suppose I should get a voltmeter and check their output...

Any thoughts / suggestions, greatly appreciated!

First, yes there is a difference. A standard CR123 cell is rated at 3 volts. An RCR123 is rated at 3.7 volts nominal, and comes off the charger at 4.2 volts. With two cells, that is a voltage difference of 2.4 volts, enough to an incandescent bulb.

Second, I did a scan of some of the other threads on this topic, and yes, you should be able to use a Strion bulb and a 17650/16650 single cell.

Third, 'Welcome to CPF'!

Timothybil said:

First, yes there is a difference. A standard CR123 cell is rated at 3 volts. An RCR123 is rated at 3.7 volts nominal, and comes off the charger at 4.2 volts. With two cells, that is a voltage difference of 2.4 volts, enough to an incandescent bulb.

Second, I did a scan of some of the other threads on this topic, and yes, you should be able to use a Strion bulb and a 17650/16650 single cell.

Third, 'Welcome to CPF'!

Click to expand...

Thanks Timothybil,

I'm thinking I will go the Strion/17650 - 16650 upgrade route. Not sure what the differences are between those batteries, but I will do some research, unless you can easily tell me.

I have another LED light that uses CR123A's I hope to use the new rechargeable batteries in. Are LED lights more "flexible" in what input voltage they will handle? Also, it doesn't seem right that the voltages between a CR123A and a RCR123A would be so different. What happened to me must happen to many

Li-Ion battery numbers tell the size of the battery. The first two digits are the diameter in mm, the last three are the height of the cell in the format nn.n mm. So a 17650 is nominally 17mm x 65.0mm. I say nominally because very few cells are right on the money, especially the ones with larger capacities. Since the chemistry of the cell has a fixed energy density, the only way to get more capacity is to make the cell slightly larger, usually in the length.

The reason I mentioned both 17650 and 16650 is that the normal CR123 cell is a 16340. Some lights allow enough room for a 17650 to be used to replace two CR123 cells, others only have room for a 16650. You can use the smaller cell in either size light. If it rattles a couple turns with masking tape will usually take care of it.

The reason for the difference in voltage between a CR123 and an RCR123 is that they use similar but different chemistries. Each chemistry has a characteristic voltage, resulting in the different voltages for the two cells.

As far as using rechargeables with LED lights, it depends on the driver. I have some LED lights that will accept anything between 3-13 volts, and one that will only accept 3-4.5 volts. Sometimes the lamp assembly with have the voltage on it. Some manufacturer documentation will tell you the acceptable range. If neither, you have a couple of choices - stay with primary cells, look around and see if any else has tried your combination and what the results were, or try it yourself. The last option can get expensive if you don't hit the right combination, because you run the risk of making the lamp assembly go , just like when overdriving an incandescent.