Customer Reviews

Kit of 4 RCR123A 3.0V 900mAh Rechargeable Li-Ion Protected Batteries with a Smart Charger

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

These batteries appear to be great at first. They work just according to instruction, rechargeble batteries that you can be used over and over. It will save you a lot of money. So far all good.

The problem was I never got close to the runtime that I was suppose to when I used them for my FenixP3D CE Premium Q5. Estimated runtime according to the manual is 4h50min for the 120-lumens mode. With the Tenergy (900mAh) batteries I get about 1h 45 min, which is actually the best of all the 3.0V rechargeble batteries I have tested. Tenergy 750mAh gives 1h30 min, while a non rechargeble battery provide more than 5 hours of lighting!

If you are buying for a flashlight and it has a regulated voltage circuit, like my Fenix, you can buy 3.7 volt 1300mAh rechargeble batteries on for example ebay and get much longer runtime. The ones I have tested gave me 2h 30 min runtime, which is half the strength of a non-rechargeble battery, which I think is accepteble.

I've had this kit for a few months now and have recharged a pair of the batteries 3 times, and a third battery once. So far everything works as expected. I use them in a Fenix P3D Premium 100 (Luxeon Rebel LED, 11 - 200 lumens), and a Fenix P1 CE (Cree 7090 XR-E LED - 90 lumens). For me the performance is very acceptable considering how inexpensive the kit was. I get maybe an hour to 1-1/2 hours total runtime depending which brightness levels I'm using. I don't use the lights for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time anyway so that's plenty of uses between charges for me.

A nice plus is you get the car charger adapter included, too. Most kits require you to buy that separately at additional cost. Probably the only thing I would have liked with the kit is some kind of pouch to keep it all together. I made a carrying case out of an old zippered memory card/battery case I had hanging around. It just happens to all fit perfectly but it took an awful lot of finagling to make that happen!


UPDATE 11-14-09

I just wanted to update this review to say I am still using these cells and they are still working great. I think the runtime has improved after a few charge/recharge cycles (which is what is supposed to happen), so these are lasting even longer in my lights now. I only recharge them maybe every 4 months with occasional use of my lights. Still highly recommended.

UPDATE 11-17-2010

I guess it's time for my now yearly update on these batteries. They are still all going strong! I still only recharge them about every 4 months but that's because they have a very good charge retention and capacity.

Another big surprise involving these batteries occurred over the summer (2010). I keep my Fenix P1 CE light on my keychain. To turn the light on and off you screw and unscrew the head slightly. If you unscrew it all the way the head comes off (that how you replace the battery). I guess the head had loosened in my pocket because one day as I was walking to my car I removed my car keys from my pocket. I stepped on something hard and happened to look down to see what it was. Well, it turned out to be one of these batteries! I had slightly deformed the top of the battery and ripped part of the plastic that makes up the case of the battery. I didn't have anything to lose so I trimmed off the plastic that was torn, and sealed the case up with some super glue. Fortunately, the battery still fit in the flashlight and it worked fine - still had a full charge! I've since charged it twice and it is still working great. STILL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I made the mistake of abandoning my normal principal of "you get what you pay for"

I was excited to find these so inexpensively and had planned to use them in my SU-800 master controller for photography. The "quality" batteries for this unit average around $16.00 each, so the idea of getting four batteries with a charger cheaper than the cost of two normal batteries was just appealing to my "green sense".

Now I'm back to the single use batteries, as these rechargeable's let me down time and again... when freshly charged, they often showed voltage ratings well above 4v and this isn't workable in my units. So, I let them run down a tad and they are usable for a blink, then run down quickly under normal use.

Also, if they are not equally discharged and charged in twos, the charger will show both charged, while they are not equal upon removal... one battery showing a voltage rating of 2.2 and the other 4.0 fresh from the charger.

I consider this to be a real problem and potentially damaging sensitive equipment if using a battery that actually has a overcharged condition. Batteries rated at 3 volts shouldn't show over 4 while in service.... and again, drain quickly.

I should get 1000 cycles from my SU-800 by Nikon with a fresh battery... with these, it's more like 150-ish
Very disappointed.

I can't provide a review of how these batteries perform in other equipment, but if you need something that performs as "rated" with meaningful performance life, based on my experience with this group... please continue shopping for something better.

Smart Charger- charges unpredictably
3.0V batteries hold unstable charges (based on my experience with those shipped to me)
Charged life- very short, around 20% of that of a normal single use battery (based on the group I received)

If you need something quick and cheap for equipment with a broad operating range, then you may get something out of these. I just can't personally recommend them.

Sorry.

I bought some of these to try with a light using 123 A's. They work as advertised. When you check them with a meter they show over 3 volts, but under load they do not hurt the light. Have been using them for a while now. Hold a charge VERY well, and no longer have to buy throw away 123A's.

Do NOT buy these batteries and this little 'handy kit' if you want a battery you can RELY on. My experience using them in flashlights (Fenix, Sure Fire, etc) has been dismal. Full charge = one hour of 'strobe'. Contacted vendor and was told that "these cells vary" and that "replacing them wouldn't help".....so WHAT WOULD HELP?!?!

Basically, the vendor says that these cells are worthless and unreliable. Is that what you're looking for? Go elsewhere. The battery sucks and the vendor sucks.

The charger works, but it takes a solid 6 hours to completely charge the batteries. I use this in conjunction with the nuflare flashlight. I'm not getting anywhere near 15 hours of battery life. One if I'm lucky. Maybe two. It's nice for the price but if you use them in something that as a lot of draw (like the nuflare rebel 90), you should think about spending a little more one something that has more than 900mah. I would be surprised if these were 900mah even, they don't last very long at all. The nuflare is rated at 15 hours at 210 lumens or something like that. I wish I knew what batteries they used.

After just two cycles of the batteries, they stopped working in my tactical flashlight. I measured the voltage and found them to be almost 4.2 volts fully charged (when it is supposed to be 3.0!!!). I don't know if this can damage a voltage regulated light, but I'm not willing to take the chance (they don't work in two separate types of flashlights I have anyway because they immediately shut off when turned on with these batteries now). I'm returning these and buying some surefire non-rechargeable batteries. What good is a tactical flashlight if at the exact moment you need it to work, the batteries fail? And if you aren't using it for tactical purposes, then why get a light with CR123A batteries in the first place?

Even when this charger WAS working (only on the first cycle), it got way too hot for comfort while charging and took way longer than it says. Also, the light turns halfway to green but stays halfway red, and doesn't charge both batteries evenly.

These batteries will not power my CREE X-Tactical ATE0C2L007. I'm guessing that my flashlight has a protective circuit when batteries with too much voltage are inserted. They do work in my older film camera - - but now I'm thinking it might not be a good idea to continue using them.

Well, when I bought this junk I saw numerous negative reviews and some positive ones. The incredibly low price and the handful of positive reviews made me take a jump into this morass. DON'T FOLLOW ME IN BOYS AND GIRLS! This stuff is junk. My wife and I walk our two dogs in the evening and of course now, in November, in Milwaukee, it is getting dark early, so we need flashlights. I bought a high-power Remington flashlight from Batteries Plus, a regional battery store. It uses lithium ion batteries that cost an arm and a leg. (A123) We walk the dogs for a minimum of 45 minutes each night and have the flashlight on for that whole time. I got 6 batteries with this order. One set, which was a different make, recharge in 5 minutes and then last 5 minutes. The other two sets last an hour, that's it. THAT'S NOT THE MOST ANNOYING PART! The worst part of this situation is that when the batteries run out of charge they just quit, immediately! No dimming of the light gradually, no warning! In an instant you are in total darkness! If you don't have a back-up plan you are out of luck. Also, the charger is made very cheaply and one contact is already not making good contact with the battery unless I bend it.

Don't use these, I just blew 2 tactical lights that were both working fine. I saw some of the posts about these showing 4+ volts after charging, and that must be what blew my lights. It's upsetting.