Steripen Opti Batteries

I used Tenergy RCR123A Li-ion rechargeable batteries in mine

My problem is they didn't work very good

They'de work for a few liters, then fail. I put in a different two and it worked for a while and then failed again.

Switched to non rechargeable Energizer and so far so good but I haven't used it much

So, if that's the battery you're talking about, yeah, they work in that they don't damage the unit or anything

Take extra in case they fail

"So, if that's the battery you're talking about…" Nope, thanks for the input anyhow Jerry. It's also good to know about the Li-ion rechargeables before I go buying them. Anyone else report problems with the Tenergy Li-ion rechargeables?

what I have is Tenergy LiFePO4 RCR123A rechargeables. They are a different chemistry than Li-ion. The advantage of LiFePO4 is the increased charge cycle life and high rate drain capability. For high drain devices like the Steripen, camera flashes, etc, they would be ideal, I just don't know if they are harmfull to the device.

Hi Daniel,

Do these differ from the RCR123s Steripen sells with their solar charging kit? If they have internal protection I'd think they'd be okay, but you'll probably want to contact them directly. Historically they've been pretty responsive to technical queries.

http://www.steripen.com/-adventurer-opti-solar-charger

Cheers,

Rick

"Do these differ from the RCR123s Steripen sells with their solar charging kit? "

Rick,
I didn't get that kit and that link does not describe the battery chemistry in their included rechargeable.

I looked all over their site this week and saw no refernece to recommended battery types. The user guide mentions rechargeable CR123’s multiple times but mentions no specifics.

Though on a funny note this helpful tip is in the guide: "Do not insert into bodily orifices." huhu. Sorry sterilizing the inside of your bunghole is not recommended. This also means you can't run it inside your mouth instead of brushing your teeth on the trail.

Anyhow, hopefully I get a reply to my inquery with the manyfacturer. If I do, I'll post it.

Hi Daniel,

The Steripen site leaves something to be desired, detailed infowise. Roger C. has tons of Steripen experience and knows battery tech, so he might be able to chime in. I believe he tested the charger and battery combo at some point. Hopefully they'll get back to you.

As to the orifice question, I'm almost positive they mean noses.

Cheers,

Rick

I asked Steripen a year ago whether my Adventurer (not opti) could take 3.6/3.7v CR123 rechargables. The response was:

"With the lamp pointed at the ceiling, look at the yellow stripe.

If you see:
Push once for 1L
Push twice for 0.5L

Then please use which either.

If you see:
Push twice for 0.5L
Push once for 1L

Then please use only 3.0 volt cells."

So older ones cannot use 3.6/3.7v rechargables, newer ones can. Happily mine is a newer one.

GREAT post. Thanks very much!

Mark,
That's great info. So just to clarify:

Push once for 1L
Push twice for 0.5L

Models are a "GO" for 3.7v RCR123A batteries?

This is the one I have! Good news for me, I have at least 5 sets of those batteries already. Now If I can confirm the voltage regulator on the Zebralight all my electronics will be compatible with the same power cells.

Steripen has not replied to me yet but I will post when they do.

Thanks Mark.

SteriPen: I use the light-blue Tenergy 900 mAh 3.0V Li-Ion batteries, which are about 3.4V off the charger, IIRC.

Zebralight (H30): I use black-and-silver AW 750 mAh 3.7V Li-Ion batteries, which are about 4.2V off the charger, IIRC.

Off the charger voltage drops with use, but the device must be able to handle the higher voltage.

I've never had any trouble with these battery-device combinations, but I never mix and match the two types in these devices, nor in the chargers.

> Does anyone know if the Steripen will operate … on Tenergy RCR123A LiFePO4 batteries?

Basically, NO.

These batteries seem to be rated at <550 mA discharge. I can confirm that this is NOT enough to drive a Steripen, as it normally pulls of the order of 1000 mA, especially at start-up.

The output voltage at no-load does not matter (I think) as it will immediately fall well below 7.4 V. But I might be wrong there.

You may get a couple of litres out of a cell, then it will die.
It's another case of You Get What You Pay For.

Cheers

Thanks Roger, that's good to know. So what Brand/chemistry do you recommend? Protected/unprotected? You are right the LiFePO4 chemistry gives a discharge rate of 550ma at best.

UltraFire has a Li-ion I see at lighthound.com for $5.99 a cell and the AW is $6.99.

The Manufacturer replied to me and suggested a Li-ion made by AW. I wonder if those work in my LiFePO4 charger.

I'm not sure what you mean by "You Get What You Pay For" in this context. Are you referring to LiFePO4 verses Li-ion? They are about the same price give or take a dollar.

I went with the LiFePO4 because of the 1000 charge cycles verses half that for Li-ion. I cycle through 3 sets a day on another device, so it made sense to get the longer life batteries.

Half as much capacity with rechargeable vs non-rechargeable – you need to carry twice as many spare batteries.

Hi Daniel

We do have thorough reviews of both the Steripen Adventurer and the Steripen Adventurer Opti here at BPL. I present an extensive study of the batteries which do work and do not work in the first review, along with WHY.

But to summarise: the BLUE Tenergy RCR123A rechargables do work. They are listed on the Tenergy website at http://www.tenergybattery.com as “Tenergy Li-Ion RCR123A 3.0V 900mAh (Item Number: 30201)”. Other rechargeable RCR123 batteries do not have the current capacity and do not work, even if they are cheaper. YGWYPF.

There are also many non-rechargeable CR123 batteries available. By and large, the cheaper ones available over the web do not have the current capacity either, and they fail. YGWYPF once again. The good (=expensive) brand name batteries like Panasonic, Kodak (photo) etc do have the current capacity and do work very well. I have been using two Panasonic batteries for over a year now. OK, I don’t treat all that much water in practice, but the cost is negligible when amortised over that length of time.

I have tested some LiFePO4 batteries in a Steripen – the Tenergy Li-Ion RCR123A 3.0V 750mAh LiFePO4 Rechargeable Battery (Item Number: 30200). They do NOT work. Note however they are designed to have an output of 3.0 V, not 3.7 V. For other brands you would need to check with the company. But since you can get the right batteries fairly easily, I suggest that using the right ones is smarter.

Cheers

OK Roger,
Thanks for the sage wise input. I'll be getting some good Li-ion rechargeables, likely the AW brand that the manufactuer recommended. I just dislike the "you get what you pay for" euphemism because it's not always true. Sometimes you pay for what you don't get. It seems you have straightened me out on this particular issue and I appreciate your input.

Still, I will post the conversation I am having with the vendor, when I get it, so everyone reading the thread has the whole story.