Be Careful with the Tenergy LiFePO4 3.0V cr123a from Prodigy

[markarich159]

For all those 6V SB vapers out there:

Just a warning to those who may own both the SB and the Prodigy V1 (like Me). You may be contemplating using the Batteries that came stock with the Prodigy (the 2 Tenergy LiFePO4 cr123a 3.0V) for your SB 6.0V vaping pleasure. I tried using them and was taken aback by the harshness of the vape I was getting. I pulled out my trusty multimeter and got a reading of about 3.32V on both the Tenergy LiFePO4. So not really 6.0 V vaping, more like 6.6V vaping(way too much for me - and most likely most atty's). The reason: although the LiFePO4 are chemically more stable and safer(less prone to fire and explosion), they are chemically regulated(have no onboard PCB), thus they charge well above their 3.0V rating(all the way to 3.6V). This may be OK in the resistored switch Prodigy(which lowers the voltage to 5V), but not if you want to 6.0V Vape in the SB. I can see these batteries blowing alot of atty's at full charge in the SB 6V configuration.
My suggestion would be to purchase these:

Tenergy RCR123A 3.0V 900mAh Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery (as low as) $3.99 ea!

If you notice in the spec(these do have onboard PCB's), although these charge to 3.6V, they almost immediately(within 12microseconds) of use are regulated down to their 3.0V working voltage(ignore the spec that says 3.0-3.2 working voltage, that's a misprint - I have these myself and they immediately drop to 3.0V working voltage). You can also get the whole kit:
4 Pack RCR123A 3V 900mAh Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery with Smart Charger

Warning: As it clearly staes on the website: do not charge these 900mAh Li ion batteries in the 750maH LiFePO4 charger and vice versa.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

markarich159 -- check the lifepo batteries under load ... you won't see more than 5.6/5.7v max ... you aren't even coming close to pumping out 6v to the atomizer ...

 

[youngunner]

FRIGGEN GREAT, I bought that 750mAh kit. I spent 4 days for hours searching for batteries and ended up buying that (6) Tenergy 3v 750mAh LiFePO4 and charger kit- money is tight and I went with that kit. I am a pretty indecisive person and went back and forth on the LiIon 900mAh and the LiFePO4 750 probably for 2 hours- thanks alot

 

[youngunner]

Heya CaShMeRe- are you the owner of puresmoke? If so, I want to ask you a question about one of your products.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Heya CaShMeRe- are you the owner of puresmoke? If so, I want to ask you a question about one of your products.

Yes ... But don't ask here ... Shoot me a PM or ask in my subforum ...

Back to the original OP... Mark ...

Putting a multimeter to the end of a battery holder means nothing bud. You need to check that certain atomizer under load. The RCR123a Lifepo batts you currently have from Tenergy, will show roughly 6.5 - 6.7v when put inline ... This does NOT mean you are getting that type of voltage at the atomizer ... You are pretty much testing an incomplete circuit.

You need to make a tool like I did to be able to test the circuit once complete to check and see what the actual atomizer is getting once the circuit is complete/under load.

When an unregulated switch was tested on a 901 atomizer (mind you, a 901 carries one of the smallest resistance factors) I was looking at 5.64v on a fully charged set of lifepo 750 batteries you speak of ...

6v vaping really isn't 6v vaping ... atleast when using CR2/RCR123a batteries. You are closer to actually being in the 5.5v range.

 

[markarich159]

markarich159 -- check the lifepo batteries under load ... you won't see more than 5.6/5.7v max ... you aren't even coming close to pumping out 6v to the atomizer ...

You may be right Cash, but in the SB without a resistor, it was WAY too much for me whatever the atty voltage was. I love those LiFePO4 in the prodigy. But in the SB the vape was awful(for me, some people may like it that way). It was devoid of any true flavor, and the throat hit was almost chokingly(is that a word?) unpleasant. I know some people even go with 2 3.7V cr123a's(technically 7.4V or wait actually , they charge to 4.2V, 8.4V without load) I can't even imagine what that must be like.

My point was to people who own both devices thinking the vape is going to be similar with similar batteries, just 1 V more, it isn't. It's a totally different experience. I would prefer to use the Lithiumferrousphosphates because they're technically safer. I've found the Li-Ion running at 3.0V are more along the lines of what I was expecting out of a 6V vape.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

lol ...

you are only getting 4.75 - 5.0v with the Prodigy bud ... quite a large leep to 5.7v ... Although I do enjoy the 5.5+v once in a great while!

SB is quite a piece of art bud!!! enjoy

 

[LaterSkater]

I use the batteries that came with my Prodigy on my SB and have no problems at all. Both are killer!

 

[markarich159]

FRIGGEN GREAT, I bought that 750mAh kit. I spent 4 days for hours searching for batteries and ended up buying that (6) Tenergy 3v 750mAh LiFePO4 and charger kit- money is tight and I went with that kit. I am a pretty indecisive person and went back and forth on the LiIon 900mAh and the LiFePO4 750 probably for 2 hours- thanks alot

You can use either in the SB, just be aware that the 750mAh LiFePO4 will charge up to 3.6V and work at that voltage(*with whatever load adjustment is applicable with the SB). The 900mAh Li-ion will work, pretty much,at 3.0V at full charge because of the onboard PCB. Again, for me, the 750mAh operating above 3.0V was much harsher then I was expecting.

 

[Sorrid]

Rechargeable Batteries & Battery Chargers - 6 RCR123A 3.0V 750mAh LiFePO4 Rechargeable Batteries with a Smart Charger -Specials

Here is a link to the all-battery page showing the tenergy cr123a LifePo 3.0v cells.
If you look at the stats for the batteries it does say that the working voltage is 3.2v for these cells.
Now I doubt we would see that kind voltage under load but these batteries may have a higher working voltage than other batteries.

I know this an old thread but I thought I'd post this information here as it may be helpful to someone in the future.

 

[Quick1]

If you look at the stats for the batteries it does say that the working voltage is 3.2v for these cells.
Now I doubt we would see that kind voltage under load but these batteries may have a higher working voltage than other batteries.

I know this an old thread but I thought I'd post this information here as it may be helpful to someone in the future.

If anything they would have a lower working voltage. Less efficient.
I much prefer the protected Li-Ions.

 

[Sorrid]

They very well could be lower Quick. I just thought I'd throw up that data sheet on them. I have some on order and I'll put them through the ringer when they get here.

 

[Quick1]

Right. The part of the data sheet to note is:

* Maximum discharging rate:< 550 mA

The Tenergy protected Li-Ion have a max discharge rate of 3 ~ 3.5 Amps

Typically, 6v vapers are using 3Ω to 3.5Ω atty/cartos.
Let's say they actually manage 3.2v under load.
(2 x 3.2v) @ 3.2Ω == 2Amps

So while they may be safe to be overdriven you are definitely way overdriving them. At the least I would expect them to have a greatly reduced # of cycles (total life) and more than likely they won't be able to deliver that rated working voltage at that rate.

 

[Sorrid]

Thanks for that Quick.

Which do you prefer when stacking batteries in your SB/BB/Omega if you were using standard 3-3.5 ohm atties or cartos?

These cr123a LifePo batteries I have coming are the first 3v I will be trying in my Omega so I would love to hear what you've found to work best for you.

 

[mwa102464]

A wise choice would be to use the AW orange IMR Batts then wouldn't it ? this is what I use because they aren't getting overstressed as much and are designed more for this application.

 

[Quick1]

I use(d) the Tenergy 3.0v protected Li-Ions. With 3.1-3.2Ω cartomizers (occassional direct dripping with 901 atomizers). Right around 12-13 watts -- maybe a bit on the hot side for many people's taste. I vape 100% VG and very strong flavors. Primarily DK-TAB, Caramel, and 555.

Lately I've switched to the Joye 510 cartomizers at 3.7v. Only thing I've found that's equivalent/approaches the above vape.

 

[Quick1]

A wise choice would be to use the AW orange IMR Batts then wouldn't it ? this is what I use because they aren't getting overstressed as much and are designed more for this application.

I forgot, are those protected? Those the ones that will deliver 6C? (or are those the red ones). I really wouldn't want to deal with those in case of a short. While they might not explode I suspect they might be able to turn your PV into a puddle of molten aluminum in a few seconds?

 

[Quick1]

A wise choice would be to use the AW orange IMR Batts then wouldn't it ? this is what I use because they aren't getting overstressed as much and are designed more for this application.

I forgot, are those protected? Are those the "red" ones capable of delivering a 6C max discharge rate? I really wouldn't want to deal with those in case of a short. With that kind of amperage you should be able to turn your PV into a puddle of molten aluminum in a few seconds. At the very least it's going to make your pocket uncomfortably warm. Best case is that your spring melts and acts like a fuse.

Besides, they're actually not really suited for our application in that they don't have the comparable capacity (mAh). You're going to be recharging them more often. The Tenergy's fit the bill operating within their rated discharge rate. Doesn't AW make a "regular" protected RCR123A? ...sort of seem to remember that I looked for those and the problem was that they were unregulated (voltage) full 3.7v batteries. 7.4v isn't really practical since you're limited to using HV atomizers (and I don't think anyone even makes HV cartomizers)