Disposable vs. rechargeable CR123

[JM_Arlo]

What's your experience with Rechargeable cells on Arlo cams?

Disposable CR123 cells are 3V, usually 1200mAh to 1400mAh. Rechargeable cells are usually 3.7V, 650 to 2400mAh. Technically, by increasing voltage (even if you reduce capacity), you reduce the MTBF (or simply said, the expected life of the product).

Thanks.

[manfredz]

since there are not rechargeable 3.7 V that legitimately come anywhere close to 2400 mAh, with legitimates in the 650-700 mAh, wonder if the rest of your statement falls apart too.

[TomMac]

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OEM 123 cells are listed as 3 v at aprox 1400-1500mahr ( but they are really 3.2v when new )

Rechargeable cells come in 3, 3.6 , and 3.7v in a 16340 size ( which is also 123 format ).  Mind that they don't read as listed either when fully charged but generally come in .4-.5v higher when charged... 3.7v cells which should be used in Arlo off charge come in at 4.2v ( or slightly less )

As mentioned...You can NOT physically fit more chems in the 123 size cell to produce more than about 800mahr in a rechargeable cell

SO...

OEM cells last longer in a low usage type situation , while rechargeables will record MORE time in a heavy usage

Typically, OEM cells should run 3+ months and rechargeables ( from much testing ) last about 50-60 days in same usage.

A chart showing 3.7v rechargeable cells over 50 days with spec usage

As a last remark..if your thinking of using rechargeables, the kit sold under Netgears approval DO work very well and avoid many of the possible hazards of cheaply made / improperly marked cells from china

[chrisrbk]

Nitecore or olights are probably your best option.

i am currently trialing a set of each but its too early for me to comment much, other than they are both well made, and the olights are a little cheaper.

They both fit perfect, if not slightly better than the originally supplied duracells.

[manfredz]

I've used Nitecores in one of my 4 cams for the last two months, the other 3 use Tenergys.  Both work equally well, the Nitecoes are just a little bit cheaper here in Canada. Prefer the Nitecore i4 charger to the Tenergy charger