Short review - Keeppower 3V RCR123A

I bought these Keeppower 3V RCR123As three months ago and used it everyday in my Streamlight Protac 90.
This protected rcr123a battery provides a regulated constant 3V output, it won't drop voltage like primaries and most li-ion batteries.
It also has 860mah, almost double the capacity of a LiFePO4 battery.


It can only be charged with a Micro USB cable. My Nitecore UMS2 charger doesn't work with it.



Dimension: 16.6mm diameter X 36mm long





The length of this rcr123a is 2mm longer than a primary cr123a.
This is the main flaw of this battery, it won't fit some of the compact flashlights




These are the testing of some cr123a flashlights:
- Old Surefire G2/6P can easily fit 2 rcr123a and work perfectly.
- Surefire G2X MV can tightly fit 2 rcr123a and work properly, but one of the rcr123a got a dent from the tailcap spring>>>Not recommanded
- Surefire EDCL1-t fits and work perfectly, but the tailswitch is stiffer to press because the springs are more compressed.
- Streamlight Protac 90X can fit 2 rcr123a and work perfectly.
- Streamlight Protac 90 fits and work perfectly, my favorite EDC light!
- Insight WX150 & Streamlight TLR-1 don't fit at all.

Most flashlights with head and tailcap springs have more buffer to accommodate the longer rcr123a.



Output and Runtime
The regulated circuit in the rcr123a provides a constant 3V output until it drys out.
That means it can keep the flashlight on maximum output theoretically. I tested the keeppower rcr123a with my Protac 90 and EDCL1-T.

- The advertised runtime of the Protac 90 is 105min on high(300 lumens). In my test, it worked for 70min on high. the head and the body was warm but no problem.
- The advertised runtime of the EDCL1T is 60min on high(500 lumens). My light worked for 44min on high. The head was too warm to hold after 5min so I use fan to cool down to avoid damage to the light.
They all started at max output and then dropped to 90-95% brightness in about 3 minutes and stayed constant until a sudden off.
Some may not like the battery suddenly die without any sign, but I am really happy the constant high output.


Conclusion
The Keeppower RCR123As perform very well in my opinion. The regulated output and runtime exceeded my expectation.
This is a good replacement of the expensive CR123A, especially for some expensive light won't take 3.7V Li-ion (if it fits your flashlight).

Thank you for watching and sorry for my bad english. Cheers!

Tagging along on this thread. I am interesting learning how these cells work.

Here is a copy/paste of a reply I just made in the Malkoff forum:
Just got 3pr of these Keeppower 3V R123s:
https://www.illumn.com/16340-keeppo...utton-top-2-pack-please-read-description.html
This is an unusual cell. 3.00V out of the box, and took an hour or two to charge up. 3.02V after charging, and 3.00V again a little while afterwards.
Again, there is confusion between Keeppower and Illumn's information, and also with the cells' own manual.
The linked page says: "THIS BATTERY CHARGES TO 4.2V BUT OUTPUTS 3V - YOU MUST USE THE ONBOARD CHARGER TO CHARGE THE CELL.", while the manual(which I suspect is for the 3.7V version), gives the option of charging on a regular li-ion charger, which does not work.

Curious to see how they work in practice.
Current draw for L/M/H is 40mA/230mA/1070mA on a fresh cell in the MDC HA 123.

‐-‐‐--------------------
Edit: These are interesting cells for sure!
Due to the confusion over voltage, I was not sure what to make of the 860mAh capacity, but did a runtime on high, expecting <50 minutes.

00m 3.00V 1070mA
10m 3.01V 1080mA
20m 3.01V 1060mA
30m 3.00V 1090mA
40m 3.00V 1070mA
47m 38s protection 0V

Consistent voltage and current draw throughout, and based on comparison with another light, it appears to maintain the same brightness the entire time.
A regulated battery?!?
I have no idea how it works, yet, but this is fantastic!

I also don't know much about the MDC 123's circuitry, beyond using PWM for the lower modes. I remember a past comment from Gene that it "tracks voltage", so assume it's voltage, rather than current, regulated.
Here is INFRNL's runtime graph with a CR123A primary:

Maintaining battery voltage would mean maintaining consistent output, though...

I am VERY happy with this. My wish was for a MDC R123 that supported a 3.7V li-ion. That would have allowed using rechargeables, but presumably still suffered the dwindling output as voltage dropped. This is much better than I had even hoped for.

My understanding is that there is 3.7V LI-ion cell inside that is regulated to 3V constant Voltage output (much like the Li-ion AA cells that put out a constant 1.5V). These should be good for CR123A lights that can't handle the higher Voltage of Li-ions, as long as they can take the extra length of these cells.

Glad you mentioned the AAs. I'd like that same steady output from the AA version of the light I just used the R123 in, even at the expense of capacity.

Hi Owen! Thanks for sharing the test result of the 3V RCR123A.
I also have the Keeppower 1.5V Li-ion AA(2260mah) and it works just like the RCR123A. I tried it with the Olight i5T but it stepped down after ~3min, maybe the temperature protection of the i5T kicked in.

pancakeayaka said:

Hi Owen! Thanks for sharing the test result of the 3V RCR123A.
I also have the Keeppower 1.5V Li-ion AA(2260mah) and it works just like the RCR123A.

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Ah, 2260mAh, so that's at 1.5V.
Not really understanding how they work, I was not clear on whether these R123s meant a 860mAh 3.7V then outputting 3V, or 860mAh AT 3V. Apparently it is the latter. My runtime test with the 3V at 1.07A yielded 847mAh, or 98.4% of the rated 860mAh. Given the actual capacities(vs. rating) of pretty much every li-ion I've ever seen tested, that is fantastic.

xxo said:

My understanding is that there is 3.7V LI-ion cell inside that is regulated to 3V constant Voltage output (much like the Li-ion AA cells that put out a constant 1.5V). These should be good for CR123A lights that can't handle the higher Voltage of Li-ions, as long as they can take the extra length of these cells.

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What is the performance difference in the battery chemistries of Eneloop AA vs Keeppower P1450U2?
If KP's website is accurate they are the length of the Eneloop AA that I have. ~50.25 - 50.3
My Keeppower 14500 1000mAh is 52.0

Looks like ebl has a similar battery offering on the Brazilian website. Have tried the ebl lithium rechargeable 1.5v aa batteries and they are okay if you need/want the constant 1.5 v over eneloops 1.2, though their mah claims may be high. Looks like a lot of these offerings are geared to cameras and security devices. If their run times are anywhere close to 75% of primaries, I think they're a great option.

kerneldrop said:

What is the performance difference in the battery chemistries of Eneloop AA vs Keeppower P1450U2?
If KP's website is accurate they are the length of the Eneloop AA that I have. ~50.25 - 50.3
My Keeppower 14500 1000mAh is 52.0

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Don't know about the keep powers, never used them. The ones I have are tenavolts – they work pretty well, especially in lights that dim as Voltage drops. Run times/Watt hrs. seem to fall in between standard and high cap eneloops. Down sides are that battery gages won't work with them and that they die without warning. They are also limited to under 2 Amps of current and put off some RF noise that may interfere with radio signals. Tenavolts charge on their own 5V USB charger, but I found that they will also charge on a xtar VP2 set to 4.35V. Also, self discharge seems to be higher than eneloops.

xxo said:

Don't know about the keep powers, never used them. The ones I have are tenavolts – they work pretty well, especially in lights that dim as Voltage drops. Run times/Watt hrs. seem to fall in between standard and high cap eneloops. Down sides are that battery gages won't work with them and that they die without warning. They are also limited to under 2 Amps of current and put off some RF noise that may interfere with radio signals. Tenavolts charge on their own 5V USB charger, but I found that they will also charge on a xtar VP2 set to 4.35V. Also, self discharge seems to be higher than eneloops.

Click to expand...

Nice little summary there!

xxo said:

Don't know about the keep powers, never used them. The ones I have are tenavolts – they work pretty well, especially in lights that dim as Voltage drops. Run times/Watt hrs. seem to fall in between standard and high cap eneloops. Down sides are that battery gages won't work with them and that they die without warning. They are also limited to under 2 Amps of current and put off some RF noise that may interfere with radio signals. Tenavolts charge on their own 5V USB charger, but I found that they will also charge on a xtar VP2 set to 4.35V. Also, self discharge seems to be higher than eneloops.

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BTW - Not to get too lazy here, but you / someone might know this offhand. I've never messed with these types of cells (stepped down Li ion cells). Since RFI was mentioned, I'm wondering if this regulation involves a switching function, or if it's some non-switching linear regulation function. In either case, is the nominal 1.5 V / 3 V output always present, or does it sense a load to enable it? I'm wondering what I'd see w/ a scope, and whether there would be any output overshoot at turn-on / connection of load.

If no one knows offhand, I'll try to look into it when there's time, and (of course) report anything I find out.

Cheers -

Don't know, I just read some reviews that mentioned it.

xxo said:

Don't know, I just read some reviews that mentioned it.

Click to expand...

Thanks xxo. I found just a few minutes to briefly look around for some info on cells similar to the KP in this thread, and have tentatively concluded from reading between the lines a bit that:

The preliminary answer to my primary question regarding potential output overshoot is that it is unlikely to be an issue of concern.

As a secondary matter, potential concerns related to RFI could possibly be an issue, but would be application dependent, and unlikely to be of concern in flashlight apps - at least not with the types of flashlights that I use.

The bottom line is that at this point, I probably wouldn't hesitate to try one or two of these in a flashlight application, with other applications being TBD at this point.

I bookmarked some stuff to revisit later when I have time, primarily just to satisfy my curiosity further. I'll update if I find anything relevant to using such cells in flashlights.

Does anyone know about the amp draw capabilities of these cells? I figure the real limiting factor is going to be the integrated circuits ability to put out 1.5/3.0 Volts at a given amp rate.

InvisibleFrodo said:

Does anyone know about the amp draw capabilities of these cells? I figure the real limiting factor is going to be the integrated circuits ability to put out 1.5/3.0 Volts at a given amp rate.

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According to KP's website, the maximum continuous discharging current of the 3V RCR123A and 1.5V 14500 are both 1.5A.

Oh wow that's not a very high current.

I also have been enjoying these cells. They have revitalized my interest in the classic 6v incandescent surefire p60 dropin. I have a decent amount of the 6v incan p60s, as I bought surplus stock on ebay for about $5 each.

What I really like is that the color temperature while using these cells is a nice bright white, like with a fresh pair of primaries, and there is no yellowing of the beam over time. I think the p60 might be overdriven a little bit actually, as the beam color seems slightly whiter than with primaries, but it could be my imagination. It seems almost similar to the A2 Aviator in color temperature, sort of a white - yellow. It is also similar to the A2 in the sense that it is regulated, just from the cells instead of the light!

I have many high-CRI LEDs including 3500k Nichia 219bs and 3000k SST-20s, but sometimes nothing can beat the 100 CRI beam of a nice whitish slightly overdriven incan! With these cells I can use the p60's guilt free without the overly yellow underdriven beam from a single cell such as a 16650 / 18650. These Keeppowers have been great!

InvisibleFrodo said:

Oh wow that's not a very high current.

Click to expand...

Without looking it up (famous last words), ain't that about the same as the nominal max continuous current rating for most of the CR123As it's replacing? I recall that being ~'1500 mA'........

JonM said:

These Keeppowers have been great!

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That's cool! It's great when a newer product / bit of technology application comes along that sort of gives a new lease on life to, or otherwise enhances usefulness of an older piece of gear. I always like those stories - perhaps because I'm an 'older piece of gear' myself