RCR123

Str8stroke

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Never buy any battery with the words "Fire" in the name. This is not a joke.
The Olight cell is a quality cell. I have several.
Also for future posts, It is not a good idea to post links to non sponsor sites.
 

Crazyeddiethefirst

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Change the name to Ultr* Fire and you can buy a 1200 mah battery for $.99
The key is that what they "claim" the Mah is and what it really is are vastly different on any brand that has "fire" in the name(except Surefire). When I was brand new to Lithium Ion batteries, I thought I was really saving money until I saw a video that showed my $.99 18650 cell was a 16340 cell and sawdust inside a spacer. HKJ has done a lot of battery comparisons-do a search and they can really help to clarify it.
 

Kestrel

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What am I missing? How is something like this http://www.batteryjunction.com/olight-16340-650mah.html double the price of this http://www.batteryjunction.com/uf16340.html but 200mah less? Both are protected.
Am wondering if you took the trouble to read the reviews on each of the two cited webpages - they might have answered some of your questions.

Specifically,

  • "indicating an actual rating closer to 500 mah [...]"
  • "but only one works in the flashlight [...]"
  • "I have purchased enough of these to know that it is a 50/50 shot that they will be unable to accept a charge after only a few uses [...]"

I can leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine which brand of cell these negative reviews correspond to. :poke:
 
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ronniepudding

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What am I missing? How is something like this ...
double the price of this ... but 200mah less?

Answer: the Trustfire 16340 is on sale... ;)

Last time I purchased an Olight 16340, it was $5.50, which is a bit more reasonable than the current BatteryJunction price. Still, we're only talking about a $1.50 in either direction. And you could pay more for an RCR123 if you wanted to... AW RCR123 batteries are ~$10.

As for capacity, the Trustfire's stated 880 mAh spec has not been borne out by independent testing:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Test-Review-of-TrustFire-16340-880mAh-(White)
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Review-of-Olight-16340-RCR123A-650mAH-(Cyan)

I purchased Olight 16340s over cheaper alternatives because I was concerned with reliability and fitment... the Olight batteries are are about the same length as CR123A primaries, nearly 2mm shorter than the Trustfires. Also, based upon past experience, I have a certain amount of trust in Olight products... a confidence that I (ironically) don't have in Trustfire.

I have not really used Olight batteries all that much, so perhaps others can comment on value and longevity. Personally, I have not had any issues with the few samples I've used.
 
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CelticCross74

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the "fire" brands are all counterfeits of something else that is why they have a bad rap here. The Olight is a far better cell as are the other name brand 16340's from Nitecore, Fenix, Keeppower, Orbtronic. You are literally playing with fire with the "fire" brands. Most of the time they are for real fire hazards.
 

7hns

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Thanks for the help. I kind of always knew those 'fire' brands were risky but thought maybe there was some credence since it was on battery junction. So what is the highest protected capacity RCR you can get? Any issue charging them with this little 'nano nbc-a001' I have?
 

HighlanderNorth

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Never buy any battery with the words "Fire" in the name. This is not a joke.
The Olight cell is a quality cell. I have several.
Also for future posts, It is not a good idea to post links to non sponsor sites.

Actually you would be perfectly fine buying lithium CR123 primary batteries with the word "fire" at the end, as long as it's only Surefire brand lithium primary(single use, non rechargeable) batteries.

But when it comes to rechargeable Li Ion batteries of ANY size or type, such as RCR123, 16340, 14500, or 18650 etc etc, then you definitely DO NOT want to buy any with the word "- fire" at the end. Such as Trustfire, Ultrafire, or any other ----fire brand.

Those batteries are almost always rated at exaggerated capacity, and aren't as safe as trustworthy brands like Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG, Orbtronic(Panasonic), Eagletac, Fenix, Nitecore, Redilast, Olight, etc. Tenergy brand batteries are cheaper but often get good ratings.

RCR123 batteries are seemingly most often referred to as "16340" size batteries. Just make sure your device is made to handle the slightly increased voltage of an RCR123/16340 Li Ion battery, which are 3.7v. Fenix makes a 700mah 16340.
 
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akhyar

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Thanks for the help. I kind of always knew those 'fire' brands were risky but thought maybe there was some credence since it was on battery junction. So what is the highest protected capacity RCR you can get? Any issue charging them with this little 'nano nbc-a001' I have?

Some of the well known RCR123 batteries from Olight, AW, EagTac, etc have capacity of around 650 mAh +/- 50, if you read the battery reviews by HKJ whch can be found in this forum or over here
http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/CommonSmallIndividualTest UK.html

Just be careful that some protected RCR123 can be longer by 2-3mm over the primary CR123, which can be an issue in some flashlights
 

7hns

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Thanks. Maybe I'll try the Eagletacs although I'm reading some mixed things on them. Any issues using that charger I mentioned in general?
 

CuriousOne

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Trustfire are quite good batteries, and remember, there are NO RCR123A cells made by Sony, Samsung, LG, etc. So when you buy Olight or any other "reliable" brand, you're still buying *fire battery, but just with different wrapper.
 

Crazyeddiethefirst

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Trustfire are quite good batteries, and remember, there are NO RCR123A cells made by Sony, Samsung, LG, etc. So when you buy Olight or any other "reliable" brand, you're still buying *fire battery, but just with different wrapper.

I respectfully disagree-when buying the "Olight" or other "brand name" cells you are getting the company's reputation behind any "protective" circuits, testing on final products, etc. as I mentioned on Ultr* fire 18650 batteries I bought before I knew better, there was actually some with sawdust and a different size cell...
 

CuriousOne

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There are no brand name 16340, 18350, etc. cells, so Olight inside has same junk, that trustfire or soshine, for example, and output, longevity, safety, will be never good as say LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic cells.
 

akhyar

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Thanks. Maybe I'll try the Eagletacs although I'm reading some mixed things on them. Any issues using that charger I mentioned in general?

I've no experienced with the nano nbc charger you mentioned, so can't comment on that charger, but I've no problem charging my RCR123 batteries from AW, Olight, Keeppower, Soshine on Nitecore i2, i4, Xtar VC4 and Opus BT C3100 chargers that I have
 

CelticCross74

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as for sureFIRE those are primaries CR123A's and are only a paltry and bare 650mah if that. Still 5 bucks for two at Lowes is a steal..
 

ChrisGarrett

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as for sureFIRE those are primaries CR123A's and are only a paltry and bare 650mah if that. Still 5 bucks for two at Lowes is a steal..

SureFire CR123A are almost certainly made by Panasonic in the USA (as are Streamlight, Duracell, Energizer, Battery Station and some Rayovac) and are closer to ~1550mAh.

Sanyo makes a good CR123A in Japan, but those are closer to 1400mAh.

http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Panasonic Lithium Power CR123 UK.html

At, or under 1A, they do pretty well.

Chris
 
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