Rechargeable CR123 Batteries
 

So, I bought a set of rechargeable CR 123 batteries for my lights. To my utmost disappointment, these batteries have voltage higher than what they are suppose to have, and I ended up ruining a couple of Surefire P60 lamps and an M4 Devastator lamp. These then sat in storage for a couple of months and I had no clue as to what to do with them.
Today, I decided to try to use these batteries with my laser pointer without any problem. In fact, the laser dot created with these batteries is a nice, solid one.
Heck, I guess I have use for these batteries after all. Any thoughts?

Good for you that you found a use for them then?

There are 3 voltages I came across when it come to cr123's; 3.6v, 3.2v and the more widely used 3v. I've recently bought some 3.2v rechargeables, which I tried in my Luxeon LED light. They work really great! But I would never try the 3.6v's in there, for fear they'd burn it out. Maybe you bought 3.6v batts without knowing.

P.S.; Bought mine on Dealextreme.com with a charger, They work great!

I've killed a couple Xenon bulbs the same way, when I first bought some Chinese rechargeable CR123s, which is why I now use a CREE LED. It's just a cheap one I picked up from an online Chinese place, but I've had zero problems using it with the rechargeables.

I use rechargeable 3.7v CR123A on a LED lamp....Should I be worried about burning out the lamp with the additional power of the battery?

(sorry the thread jack...kinda)

Greenpunk_182, this LED light you have, does it use two batteries, or just one? If it uses two and you've not had a problem with it so far, I might try that with my LED lamps.

U lucky....the ones i got, Ultrafire brand,were supposed to be better then the free cheap china ones i got with my flashlight, but when i got them, 3 out of 8 didnt want to charge, and 1 is dead... :@.... So out of 8....i can only use 4.....and they dont even hold their charge that long... :@

5.56,

yea, the torch I have uses two CR123A's and I really havent had a problem so far but I am curious about the long-term effects it will have on the LED light.

A friend on this forum has also been using the same batteries in a different model LED torch and also experience no problems so far but like I said, I'm not entirely sure if I'm shortening the lifespan of the LED.

If anyone with any knowledge or experience on this topic could throw in some advice, it would be appreciated.

AFAIK/IIRC, proper LEDs are regulated, which is why they don't burn out when running off overcharged batteries.

Okay, I just installed two of these batteries, which turned out to be 3.7v when I took a closer look, in my Surefire GZ LED light with a P60L assembly. It has been running for two continueous minutes and so far no signs of problems!
It's great to be able to share this information to everyone. Thanks!

I'm using a pair of "Trust-fire" rechargeable cr123a batteries in my EA M6 Light (LED)/Laser and it works fine.
I didn't notice I bought the "cr123a" size. It's slightly bigger, and I had to mod my battery slot a bit. But it was definitely worth it.

Got the batteries from www.dealextreme.com

To save people from wasting their LED lights, my Pentagon L3 LED flashlight had a premature failure because of these 3.7 v batteries.
So, LED lights do fail under higher voltages!

If they use a single battery, it is probable that there is no regulator as a typical white LED will run off 2.8 to 3.4v. A sign that the LED is overpowered is that the light color will start to turn purple... and turn red a fraction of second before burning... learned one day I had nothing to do but plugging LEDs on a variable PSU...

For 2 batteries ones, the voltage HAS to be regulated down whatever it is, usually by a switching regulator. If you use theses 3.7v batteries and notice the flashlight becomes hot, it is probably because it uses a linear regulator... discontinue use, it will burn.

There is a battery shop in the plaza at warden/steel, north of steel, one block west of warden. They have CR123A rechargable battery pack( 2 CR123A batteries, one charger ) is around $30.