CR123A battery rechargable

[wendellt]

hi people

got a nikon SU800

it uses the cr123 batteries

prob is it eats through the battery like crazy so im thinking of buying a rechargable version

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-X-CR123A-3-6V-800mAh-HIGH-QUALITY-RECHARGABLE-BATTERY_W0QQitemZ190132203263QQihZ009QQcategoryZ43447QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

only prob there is the rechargable battery is rated at 3.6 volts
whereas the standard cr123A lithium is 3V not sure if using the 3.6 volt battery will screw up the unit i havnt got the instruction manual for the su800 si i cant research

also the unit takes DL123A batteries does anyone know the difference between that and the cr123a

thanks in advance

[sirhc55]

Wendell - do not use 3.6V CR123a batteries

I bought my charger and batteries from the US - Tenergy (google)

To be honest it amazes me and at the same time pisses me off that a battery with the same code can come in two different flavours

[johnd]

You can get CR123A rechargeables in Aus, but they're very difficult to find. I bought the last 2 in stock from Battery World Hobart and have more on order. I have been told they will be months arriving. I might need to buy direct from the US as per Chris's link.

And if you think they eat thru the standard batteries, wait until you start using the rechagables. I only get 40 - 50 shots out of a set of rechargeables with my R1C1 kit before they need recharging.


Cheers
John

[Biggzie]

Im a heavy user of CR123A batteries, but not in photography equipment.
I have some rechargable batteries, Ive stopped using and have gone back to standard non rechargable.

Firstly, different brands call their batteries different names, Duracell call theirs DL123A, Surefire call theirs SF123A, Panansonic and Sanyo call theirs CR123A etc. All these batteries are the same battery.

Secondly be very wary of cheap brands. 1 of my friends had a battery explode while in a device in his kitchen cupboard. It blew the door open and sent shrapnell around the kitchen. You wouldnt beleive the explosive power in these batteries. Cheap batteries can have faulty presure valves in their design and act like bombs.
Ive had a couple fatten up and jam inside while Ive been using them, so cheap batteries are off my list. Also they dont seem to last as long, so there is a false economy. (dont trust Chinese brand name imports either)

Thirdly, my rechargables arent marked 3.6 volt only CR123A, so I used them without checking. 45 secounds later I had a $30 repair bill for parts needed. Then it took me about $70 of modifications to use my rechargables. Then about 4 months later I found the rechargables performance fell off very quickly. when I looked into it I found that there is different make up of rechargable Lithium batteries. The ones Ive ended up with are designed for slow current drain use which are no good to me.

The only way to buy these batteries are in bulk. I generally pay about $45 -$60 for a box of 12 depending on brand and source.
Ive had a very good run out of Surefire and Sanyo brands, and a reasonable run out of Panasonic and Duracell. Im about to try Energizer now that Ive found a bulk buy for them.

If you've got contacts in the U.S. see if you can get them to send you some boxes of Surefire SF123A's for a good price. PS if you want my 2 rechargables for the price of the freight, there yours, but I wont promise they are worth the cost of the freight charges.

[wendellt]

nuts

i bought the su800 in the US from B&H and since then i have gone through 3 of those bateries at $15 each over a period of a month and i havnt even used it that much talk about power drainign does IR somehow use alot of power

[Glen]

Wendell, call me. I have CR123 Energizer for $3 each and have rechargeable RCR123 as well. I can probably work out the best solution for you

[wendellt]

hi glen

excellent

your always bailing me out