Rechargeable batteries for use with Arlo cameras

[Coltsbro84]

I am looking for the best rechargeable CR123 batteries that I can find, for use with my Netgear Arlo four cam system. I bought the green stripe Tenergy that claim to have 750mah power. Six batteries with a charger run about $25. I'm not happy with these batteries, because when fully charged (only takes about an hour to charge with a 500mah charger, from what I understand, it exerts as much energy as it stores, so I'm thinking that these batteries are more like 200mah) but back to the story, when fully charged, these batteries only show the camera as being half charged, with a day's use putting it into the low battery icon, and only lasting about a week.

I have since then ordered four Nitecore batteries, rated at 3.7 volts and 650mah. Now the volts are 0.5 higher than what's to be used with the camera, I'm hoping that this does not affect the camera. 650mah is probably true from the reviews and the steep price tag they are asking of around $10 per battery. I'm hoping that they are quality batteries and worth it, and I purchased a Nitecore charger to go with it. I'll be able to test them out here in a few days and get back with everyone on performance.

I just want to know, has anyone tried the rechargeable batteries that I have mentioned? Or do you have other suggestions?


Tenergy (link here: http://www.amazon.com/Kits-RCR123A-LiFePO4-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B001EYHO9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&a...

Nitecore (link here: : http://www.amazon.com/Nitecore-RCR123A-Protected-Rechargeable-Battery-Black/dp/B00D2OCQB2/ref=pd_sim...

Nitecore charger here http://www.amazon.com/Nitecore-IntelliCharger-i4-Battery-Charger/dp/B005UAI372/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&am...

[Subbers]

Right just got my Nitecores delivered, hoping to use 3 cameras at the moment so got 4 sets of 4 batteries to keep one as a spare for changing. Are people keeping one set spare or rather 2 or 3 sets just in case? Of course don't want to be without batteries but they might never be needed? I know every camera drains differently


Main question was though, what do I do now they've arrived? I've got the D4, just charge them for a full day per set? Or use then straight away?

[TomMac]

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Subbers wrote:
Main question was though, what do I do now they've arrived? I've got the D4, just charge them for a full day per set? Or use then straight away?

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The batteries come with a standing charge, don't use them without a full charge.... So put them in the D4 till charged as indicated ( they should read about 4.2v when taken off ).

Then use.

As to sets, With 8 cameras I have two spare sets, the cameras never seem to run down at the same time so it works for me. BTW, I add the install date to the end of the camera name to keep better track.

[Subbers]

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TomMac wrote:

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Subbers wrote:
Main question was though, what do I do now they've arrived? I've got the D4, just charge them for a full day per set? Or use then straight away?

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The batteries come with a standing charge, don't use them without a full charge.... So put them in the D4 till charged as indicated ( they should read about 4.2v when taken off ).

Then use.

As to sets, With 8 cameras I have two spare sets, the cameras never seem to run down at the same time so it works for me. BTW, I add the install date to the end of the camera name to keep better track.

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Thanks for that. 

Do you charge it in low current mode? I think it's recommended for these batteries? 

[TomMac]

slow charge is always better if you have the time.....fast charge makes more heat which isn't really a good thing.

[supaflyz]

I'm late to this, but which rechargeable batteries do you guys recommend.  I use keepower batteries for my Fenix flashlight.  Should I choose rechargeable vs the surefire batteries in bulk?  The ones I'm thinking of getting is keeppower 700mAh 16340 batteries.  They go for $5.99 each.  I could use them with my nitecore charger.

[Pet1700]

Give them a try... We here are always interested in quality rechargeable options.... Keep us posted on results. I myself use eagletec with good results.

[TomMac]

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supaflyz wrote:

I'm late to this, but which rechargeable batteries do you guys recommend.  I use keepower batteries for my Fenix flashlight.  Should I choose rechargeable vs the surefire batteries in bulk?  The ones I'm thinking of getting is keeppower 700mAh 16340 batteries.  They go for $5.99 each.  I could use them with my nitecore charger.

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Depends on your camera usage really....

The OEM cells shine in low usage ( < than spec ) and mine run 7 months ,while spec use is about 4 on best video.

Rechargeables shine in a situ where there is heavy usage running about 2-3x longer then the primary cells under those conditions.

Either way , with most GOOD BRAND rechargeables you get about 50 days +/- in normal use.

[MichaelRogers]

Update through 7/13/2016.

I'm really impressed with the EastShines, especially in the low use cameras. The East Shines are holding their own against EagleTac and NightCore in higher use cameras, but really differentiating themselves on low use cameras. When there's low use (less than 1 minute per day), they seem to drain by 1% per day pretty consistently, which would put them on course for 100 days in low use cameras.

[MichaelRogers]

I ran some mAh capacity tests on the following batteries today:

EagleTac (750 mAh) - tested 2 batteries

Nitecore (650 mAh) - tested 1 battery

EastShine (700 mAh) - tested 2 different batteries

PPower (2,000 mAh) - tested 1 battery

SolarForce (880 mAh) - tested 2, but only one test worked

The true mAh results (tested at a 500 discharge rate) were:

Battery / test 1/ test 2

1) EAgleTac / 664 / 702

2) NiteCore / 665

3) EastShine / 702 / 690

4) SolarForce / 597

5) PPower / 268 (these were really cheap and I knew they would stink, but they are just <15% of their stated (laughable 2,000) capacity!

I think the EastShines are at least equal to or better than EagleTacs and Nitecores based on the rating tests and performance observations (especially in terms of keeping their charge in low use cameras). They just seem to have a lower self discharge rate than the others.

Test results pictured below:

[MichaelRogers]

Edit prior post as the pictures are right, but I incorrectly typed a few mAh test figures:

Battery / test 1/ test 2

1) EastShine / 709 / 690
2) EagleTac / 664 / 702
2) NiteCore / 655
4) SolarForce / 597
5) PPower / 268

[MichaelRogers]

I did some more comprehensive mAh capacity testing today on 4 batteries* of each brand (at a 500 mA discharge rate) on my Opus BT-C3400 charger, tester and refresher. Each battery was new (within ~2 weeks) and either charged a single time or on its 2nd charge cycle. The results are as follows:

Brand: battery 1 / battery 2 / battery 3 / battery 4 (ranked high to low mAh battery for each brand):

Eastshine: 691/679/675/658
EagleTac: 662/658/649/637
NiteCore: 655/642/642/630
SolarForce: 584/581/568/506
PPower: 288/276/271/255

Brand (stated mAh): Max tested mAh / Mean tested mAh

Eastshine (700): 691/ 676
EagleTac (750): 662/ 652
NiteCore (650): 655/ 642
SolarForce (880): 584/ 560
PPower (2,000): 288/ 273

Brand: Honesty Index (stated mAh - max mAh)

Eastshine: -9 (plausibly honest as stated)
EagleTac: -88 (a bit of a fudge, but within spitting distance)
NiteCore: +5 (honestly & conservatively stated)
SolarForce: -296 (liar, liar pants on fire)
PPower: -1,727 (delusional... 694% overstated!!!)

P.S. - I bought my SolarForce from a questionable online vendor, and the mAh capacity and overall performance were all over the place. I had to "recondition" several of them (using the Opus charger) to get them to charge, which shouldn't happen with brand new quality batteries. I'm not sure if this is a quality control issue for SolarForce or just the vendor unloading cheap ($4.00) rejects from the factory (or perhaps counterfeits). In any regard, I'd be concerned about using these in an Arlo camera and will use them for cheap (single RCR123 battery) flashlights instead. That's not to say others who bought their SolarForce batteries from a better vender may not get better quality and results.

P.P.S. - I was going to test Olights too, but for some reason my Opus charger/discharger refuses to discharge them. That could just mean they have a potent protection circuit. (I couldn't even discharge them at 200 mA.)

[RobertRosal]

Good job on the testing there Michael.

[MichaelRogers]

Robert,

FYI - I know you have some SolarForce batteries, and I did a second test with 4 different SolarForce batteries (note: I have 12 total) and they came out better at the following:

SolarForce: 634/ 622/ 622/ 609 for an average of 622.

I tested the last 4 after that, and I think 2 were duds (or wouldn't discharge so they failed to be tested) and the other two were 532/508 mAh.  As previously stated, I ordered from a dealer in China, so I have no idea if they're legit SolarForce or even if they're new.  Some had a little wear and tear in addition, so I'm skeptical about whether my mAh numbers mean much.

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RobertRosal wrote:

Good job on the testing there Michael.

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[RobertRosal]

So far my SolarForce, running as spec use, are performing similar to my Nitecores, Olights and  Eagletacs.

From an earlier post of mine, the SolarForce were purchased directly from SolarForce.

Never had any issues charging the SolarForce, I assume I have a good batch.  I hope they stay that way.

Looks like those Eastshines you are testing are another good choice..

[nXt]

Hey guys, so I bought 16 Olights, I've opened 8 of them and charged them up, never used. 8 are still new and in box.

I've decided to return the Arlos. So I can't really return these batteries so anyone want to buy them from me? Msg me.

[Pet1700]

Would you take $25 for them?

[nXt]

No. I paid over $100 for these on Amazon.

[Vallorie]

Hey guys - this is the response I got back from Edison

All 16340 rechargeable batteries are 3.7volts. Non rechargeable CR123A batteries are 3 volts. However so many Arlo camera users use rechargeable batteries of various brands. They all are 3.7 volts. They do work. But we do not want to say they are exactly same as non-rechargeable batteries. This question may be better answered by Alo veterans at the board. Nitecore, Olight, Eastshine etc all are same as our battery in this sense.

Vallorie

[TomMac]

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Vallorie wrote:

All 16340 rechargeable batteries are 3.7volts. Non rechargeable CR123A batteries are 3 volts. However so many Arlo camera users use rechargeable batteries of various brands. They all are 3.7 volts. They do work. But we do not want to say they are exactly same as non-rechargeable batteries. This question may be better answered by Alo veterans at the board. Nitecore, Olight, Eastshine etc all are same as our battery in this sense.

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1) OEM primary cells are 3v as listed , but in real world they read 3.2v when new

2) Rechargeable 123/16340 cells come in 3v and 3.6 and 3.7 v as listed.  The ones listed here as common use are 3.7v cells that read 4.2v off charge

The 3v rechargeables have been used but don't works as well as the 3.7v... matter of fact a while back (2015), the battery algorithm was optimized for the OEM primary cells and 3.7v li-ion rechargeables

Also be aware that some rechargeables also limit their current output as another safety factor..these special type cells don't run well in the Arlo ... nor do for some reason the LiFePo4 cells.

[MESMERIZE]

Good setup same batteries and charger I have bought batteries on light junction nightcore charger on amazon 

[Schorschi]

You have mesmerized me with your frugal use of punctuation marks. Two commas and two periods are now orphaned and have no home.

[MESMERIZE]

I'm glad that I was able to mesmerized you, and the information in my previous statement is useful and just for the person it was intended for. I hope this meets your standards.

[Schorschi]

The Obssessive Compulsive Association of Your country (OCAY) in cooperation with the Syntax and Punctuation Police applaud you for your compliance.

[MESMERIZE]

It's an honor to be applauded OCAY and the Syntax and Punctuation Police, therefore, there will be always compliance on my behalf.

[engin33r]

First off I'd like to thank Michael Rogers, jguerdat, and TomMac for all their excellent work.  I'm thinking of taking the plunge into rechargeables. Do you happen to have an updated excel sheet showing how your various types of batteries are working out.

From reading the data, my current thought is to get EagleTac batteries for my high use camera's and Eastshine batteries for my low use cameras.  I'm also thinking of getting the nitecore i4 charger to charge everything.

I'm just looking for confirmation or comments on my setup before i spend $150 on batteries.  Thanks again for all your hard work.