Batteries CR123 vs. AA


T

TAC

New member
Just curious...

Why are so many flashlights, and some other items, using the CR123 batteries rather than the more readily available AA batteries? The CR123 batteries are more expensive and can be much harder to find while the AA batteries are available at just about every corner market and grocery store.

Are the CR123 batteries really that much better? And, if so, what is it about them that makes them so much better?

I am looking for a good flashlight and can not seem to find one with an end button switch that runs on AA batteries, they all seem to run on the CR123 batteries which, as I have already mentioned, can be hard to find and when you do find them they are almost $10.00 each (the cheapest I have seen them is $15.00 for a pack of two). I have only been able to find them at two stores in my area, one was REI and the other was Radio Shack.

So as I said, why do they seem to be replacing the AA and are they really that much better?
 

Check out the link. You can get them at half what you quoted and you will be helping a non-profit organization that provides disaster relief.
Link Removed
 
Check out the link. You can get them at half what you quoted and you will be helping a non-profit organization that provides disaster relief.
Link Removed
 
Firefighterchen,
Thanks for the link, it is a good read.

Unfortunately, it only answers half the question. A CR123A battery, being a 3 volt battery will allow for a brighter light. However, the rest of it, lasting longer, is based on an alkaline AA battery vs. a lithium CR123A battery. With the availability of lithium AA batteries (advertised as lasting up to 9 times as long as an alkaline AA battery), this just doesn't seem like a valid comparison.

Is the brightness offered by having a 3 volt battery, rather than a 1.5 volt battery, the only real advantage of the CR123A battery? If so, I might keep looking for something I like that uses AA batteries just to have the option of using readily available alkaline batteries when I can not find the lithium ones.

I just want to make sure that I get what I need and not something that I will never take advantage of.

I do want the switch positioned at the butt end of the flashlight, as a button, and I do want something that is reliable and durable. However, the standard brightness of something like the mini-mag 2 AA flashlight is fine for my purposes, I don't need multiple levels of brightness.


Anybody have any suggestions?
 
Firefighterchen and Cowbilly32,
Thanks for the links, I will look and see what they have.
 
TAC said:
Firefighterchen,
Thanks for the link, it is a good read.

Unfortunately, it only answers half the question. A CR123A battery, being a 3 volt battery will allow for a brighter light. However, the rest of it, lasting longer, is based on an alkaline AA battery vs. a lithium CR123A battery. With the availability of lithium AA batteries (advertised as lasting up to 9 times as long as an alkaline AA battery), this just doesn't seem like a valid comparison.

Is the brightness offered by having a 3 volt battery, rather than a 1.5 volt battery, the only real advantage of the CR123A battery? If so, I might keep looking for something I like that uses AA batteries just to have the option of using readily available alkaline batteries when I can not find the lithium ones.

I just want to make sure that I get what I need and not something that I will never take advantage of.

I do want the switch positioned at the butt end of the flashlight, as a button, and I do want something that is reliable and durable. However, the standard brightness of something like the mini-mag 2 AA flashlight is fine for my purposes, I don't need multiple levels of brightness.


Anybody have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

If you don't want the 500+ lumens, the cr123 isn't that big of a deal.

If you want readily available batteries, bought from the stores, then AA is the way to go. I decided to purchases nice charger, and am still on the same set of batteries since 2 years ago. In the end, it saved me money.

I still carry a AA light at work, keep my olight in my bag.

Another member, bluestringer is also a flashlight whore... I'm sure he will come in eventually with great info.

In the picture, the bottom two are cheap AA lights with around 90 lumens I abuse at work. Union Pacific is a work light they gave me that runs AAA. Top lights my $70 olight, 820 lumens 18650 rechargeable battery.

Sent from my D6616 using USA Carry mobile app
 
You can also buy them on e-bay for about 1.25 each in bulk but there are some sellers that will try to rip you off so you have to be careful. To answer your question about the differences, AA batteries are rated at 1.5 volts per cell and the CR123 batteries are 3.0 volts. The chemistry is also different, alkaline vers lithium. Lithium cells as stated earlier are 3.0 volts, have a longer shelf life (10 years), due to a low self discharge rate, work better in cold environments and are better for high current applications (higher energy density) than the typical AA alkaline battery. Energizer does make an AA lithium battery but it's not a true to form lithium but more like a hybrid since it's only 1.5 volts but that doesn't stop Energizer from charging a premium for it.

In the early days of these handheld torches, companies like surefire used incandescent bulbs running at 6, 9 or 12 volts and required a lot of current. CR123's were perfect at the time because you could get those voltages in a relative small package with enough current capacity for good running times. My first surefire was a 6p and required 2 CR123 batteries. It was rated at 60 lumens, drew 3.0 amps with a run time of about an hour. My current EDC is a Streamlight HL with 600 lumens using the same batteries but will last 2.5 hours. With modern day LED technology you can get almost four times the lumens as the old flashlights using 1.5 volt alkaline batteries. A year or two from now LED's will be twice as bright as they are today and will last three times longer on a set of batteries.
 
Many of the Olight models that take CR123s can also take one 18650 for every two CR123s the body is designed for. The 18650 will last twice as long as a 123 while keeping the voltage stable enough to drive the led circuit quite a bit below the auto-protect cutoff of the 123s. Some of my torches don't run on the highest level as well with an 18650 as they do with two 123s, but then, most of my lights' brightest setting is in excess of 450 lumens, and I almost never have any reason to use them at that level. It could be that the reason for the inefficiency of my 18650s is because all but a couple of them are at least three years old and have seen many cycles in the charger. Rechargeables are somewhat of a double-edged sword in that they are expensive to get into (especially if you're a flashaholic like me - some people call us "collectors," but flashaholic is more descriptive methinks) and they lose the ability to take a charge over time. Compared with AAs though, I believe the high start-up cost is offset by their exceedingly long useful life-cycle and their ability to drive much more powerful led's than their alkaline counterparts.

I guess for me it's a similar consideration as which caliber to carry, or whether or not to carry a compact/sub-compact vs. a full-sized pistol. I like having firepower at my disposal so I (mostly) carry a full-sized .45 ACP. Likewise, I like having more flash-power than I normally need, so I buy lights capable of at least 400 lumens, but rarely use them above their low-range capabilities.

It's a personal preference kind of thing. If a couple or three hundred lumens as the high end performance limit will suit your purposes, lots of companies are making high-quality lights that run on AAs. If you want the International Space Station to be able to see you walking your dog in your back yard at night, go with something that takes three or four (or more) 18650s and light your world! There's no right or wrong answer here. Just get what suits your fancy.

Blues

PS: Over the last seven or eight years I have bought at least 90% of my lights, batteries and chargers at Batter Junction (Chen's link). They consistently have the best prices and always have tons of stuff in stock and ready to ship.
 
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