high drain batteries vs normal protected.

[derek88]

SO are you saying I need to get the one that has the switches? I thought this one was a 3.7 but it also says it is a multi charger. How does it know if my battery is a 3.0 or a 3.7..

Mine is the Trustfire Multicharger Model #TR-001

The charger with the switch is made to charge 3 Volt batteries but as long as you have the right battery it is fine for what your using it for.

As for specs on the side of the battery it will say 16340 or RCR123 880 MAH and the voltage which should be 3.6-7V Li-ion.

If you have a RCR123A they are 3 volts and would not do well in a TR-001 charger or the Buzz since the protection will kick in so I doubt that is the problem.

 

[Bageone]

Yup I have the right ones.. guess I will just hold out for a 10,000 mah version of the Buzz

 

[Quick1]

If you have a RCR123A they are 3 volts and would not do well in a TR-001 charger or the Buzz since the protection will kick in so I doubt that is the problem.

You mean specific RCR123A's? It's the battery chemistry that determines the voltage. Li-Ion == 3.7v. If it's a 3.0v Li-Ion battery then it has circuitry inside that regulates the voltage down to 3.0v (often 3.2v). There are a couple of different methods to regulate the output voltage. A charger has to charge the battery "through" this circuitry and a different charger (or switch) may be required. For example, my tenergy charger for the tenergy 3.0v protected RCR123A's actually outputs 4.5v where all my other chargers for regular 3.7v batteries output 4.2v. I think it's probably best (unless you're really up on all this -- which I'm not) to spend the extra for the manufacturer recommended charger for anything other than the most "regular" batteries.

 

[derek88]

You mean specific RCR123A's? It's the battery chemistry that determines the voltage. Li-Ion == 3.7v. If it's a 3.0v Li-Ion battery then it has circuitry inside that regulates the voltage down to 3.0v (often 3.2v). There are a couple of different methods to regulate the output voltage. A charger has to charge the battery "through" this circuitry and a different charger (or switch) may be required. For example, my tenergy charger for the tenergy 3.0v protected RCR123A's actually outputs 4.5v where all my other chargers for regular 3.7v batteries output 4.2v. I think it's probably best (unless you're really up on all this -- which I'm not) to spend the extra for the manufacturer recommended charger for anything other than the most "regular" batteries.

Ill just leave this here and be on my way

I noticed you posted in madvapes [my favorite supplier] forum too so I copied and pasted the same info from the modders section here too.

Sounds like your are in the same boat I was in a little while ago with my RCR2/15270 3 volt batteries.

So I decided to do some battery research. It turns out that all 3 volt rechargable batteries are Li-Ion unless it says that it is a LiFePO4 battery. LiFePO4 batterys are made with a different chemistry and must be charged on chargers that are made for LiFePO4 batteries because they are true 3 volt cells with a maximum charge of 3.6 volts. While, Li-Ion batteries which are usually a LiCoO2 have a normal voltage of 3.7 volts and a maximum of 4.2 volts.

**battery terminology - Primary battery means that it is nonrechargable [an alkaline AA battery is a primary battery] and secondary battery means that it is rechargable [NiMH, NiCd, Lead acid, Li-ion are all seconday batteries].**

Li-Ion manufacturers wanted to sell a secondary battery that could be used instead of lithium primary batteries like the CR2 or the CR123 that you find in stores. The Lithium primary batteries are made of LiMnO2 and cannot be recharged and have a normal operating voltage of 3.0 volts. So manufacturers use a trick of electronics to make a 3.7 volt Li-Ion cell work at 3.0 volt by putting a diode with a specific voltage drop of 0.7 volts in series with the battery. What that means that the diode uses up 0.7 volts of the battery which means 3.7 volts minus 0.7 volts equals 3.0 volts.

So unless you bought some LiFePO4, the AG-126 or the TR-001 are perfectly fine chargers to use to recharge your RCR123a/16340 3 volt batteries. So long that they are protected. I wouldn't suggest using any unprotected Li-Ion battery, because I just don't like the possibility of an exploding battery (mainly in the face).

Fun Fact
Actually those chargers can only charge those batteries to 90%-95% full charge bacause along with the 0.7 volt diode they have to put another diode facing the other way so that the battery can be recharged.(Diodes act like a one way street for eletricity) All Diodes have a voltage drop and the recharging diode has a lower voltage drop closer to 0.2 volts. So the Li-Ion cell can only be charged to 4.0 volts. You wont find any chargers designed specifically for RCR123a Li-Ion 3 volt batteries because a regular Li-Ion chargers works perfically fine.

 

[Quick1]

Ill just leave this here and be on my way

I'd agree with all that except the very last part.

You wont find any chargers designed specifically for RCR123a Li-Ion 3 volt batteries because a regular Li-Ion chargers works perfically fine.

My Tenergy charger (sold with the Tenergy Li-Ion 3.0v protected cells) is model: PH-123A-3.0A
And the output is 4.5v which wouldn't be a good idea with regular Li-Ions (although assumably it has circuitry to shut off when sensing 4.2v from the battery). I *think* the end result of using a regular Li-Ion charger on them would be that the LED would never go green? Regular charger is outputting 4.2v and the battery would never come up to that because of the diodes and the charger would think it never reaches full charge. The charger would stay on but nothing would be happening since the effective voltages would be equal (no current flow). maybe.

 

[Hyperspace]

I just started using the AW IMR16340 and I have to admit I like them so far. They have a shorter runtime than Li-Ions but they hit more consistently. I gave them a try because I notice with Li-Ions the runtime would keep getting shorter over time and also they didn't seem like they were hitting good every time. Sometimes I would get a great hit and other times I wouldn't. It was like they weren't recycling fast enough. The high drains give me a great hit every time. I only get about 6 1/2 hours runtime out of them but I feel the better performance is worth the trade off. I also expect them to last longer because they're not getting stressed like Li-Ions do.

Here's a link to them.

AW IMR16340 550 mAh IMR CR123 size LiMN Rechargeable Lithium Battery

 

[bones25]

those batts Do pack a punch but only last about 2-3 hours max for me in my LIL CHUCK

 

[Hyperspace]

those batts Do pack a punch but only last about 2-3 hours max for me in my LIL CHUCK

Are you using LR attys?

 

[mactrekr]

Anyone tried these? Trustfire Rechargeable 16340 3.7v Protected Battery x2 | eBay

Specifically from this supplier on ebay? They say trustfire the specs are identical, but the price is much lower. I've ordered a lot of crappy batts from HK/Chinese suppliers and have had very mixed results. One thing I've clearly learned is that GTL batts SUCK! I've had reasonably good results from the cheaper trustfires, but it's time to pony up for the good stuff.

 

[Modrod.]

Anyone tried these? Trustfire Rechargeable 16340 3.7v Protected Battery x2 | eBay

Specifically from this supplier on ebay? They say trustfire the specs are identical, but the price is much lower. I've ordered a lot of crappy batts from HK/Chinese suppliers and have had very mixed results. One thing I've clearly learned is that GTL batts SUCK! I've had reasonably good results from the cheaper trustfires, but it's time to pony up for the good stuff.

I have a pair but I bought them from a reliable U.S. retailer. My main concern with those would be whether or not they are counterfeit Trusfire's at that price. There was/is a rash of counterfeit Trustfire flames coming in from China.