AAA Battery Box vs. Rechargable Battery Box?

[Paul202]

I recently undertook the building of mahjqa excellent batman Tumbler, however one of the key components that I am missing is the Rechargable battery box. Since funds are tight being Christmas time and all, I don't really have an extra $50 to spend on the Rechargable battery box. However, the AAA box is cheaper ($15 vs $50), but I was wndering if there are any downsides to it compared to the Rechargable one.

[Alasdair Ryan]

Funny you should post this today I just got the AAA box today,I have already got the rechargeable one of the main downsides about the AAA box is that you still need battery's.

The cost of this mounts up,when I can I plane on getting another rechargeable battery box.

Another down side is that with the rechargeable battery box you can adjust the speed, but you only have forward and backward on the AAA box.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Alasdair Ryan

[dr_spock]

You can get the AAA box now and save up for the rechargeable box in the future. I have the AAA box and lots of rechargeable AAA batteries (they go on sale often). With the AAA box when power runs low, I can quickly swap out with freshly charged batteries.

[DLuders]

On this webpage, Sariel did a nice review of the Pros/Cons of the Lego 8878 Power Functions Rechargeable Battery Box. I own both that one and the 88000 Lego Power Functions AAA Battery Box, and can say that the 8878 BB is REALLY LIGHT but only produces 7.4V (vs. 9V with six new AAA Alkaline batteries in the 88000). The 8878 has some nice features, but perhaps the 88000 is the "better value" if you don't mind buying Alkaline batteries often. If you put rechargeable AAA batteries in the 88000 BB, you will get only 7.2V.

In this TechnicBRICKS (TB) article (midway down the page), Conchas discussed the Lego Power Functions (LPF) elements in his interview with The Lego Group's Gaute Munch:

"TBs: The LPF Rechargeable Battery Box has a security but quite inconvenient feature for the AFOLs use at exhibition displays, which turns OFF the battery after running continuously for about two hours, regardless of the charge level still remaining in it.

Have you considered including some "hidden" override mechanism (e.g. a key sequence) for the power users? Why not?

Wasn't it a safe and added value feature for this element?

GM: You are completely right: This would be a good feature and it is on our list when we update it. This power down override was implemented in the LPF AAA Battery box after launch of the rechargeable.

When the charger is on it will not power down."

(Fernando Correia's note -- "Like with NXT brick, the last two batteries implement auto turn OFF feature, after approx. 2 hours of continuous operation.

Only with the 88000 PF AAA Battery Box, the user can override this function - If you press and hold down the green button for more than 3 seconds the green light will blink to indicate that auto turn OFF is disabled. This means that a motor will run until the batteries are empty. To enable again turn the AAA Battery Box OFF and ON again.")

Edited December 22, 2012 by DLuders

[Blakbird]

Other than the fact that they are the same size, there is really no comparison between the two. The rechargeable pack has vastly more capacity and puts out vastly more current. However, the AAA box is cheaper and will work in a pinch.

[S.I]

If the rechargable box were half the price, I would have gotten one long ago, but 70 euros for the box + 25 for the charger is alot of rechargable AA / AAAs, and I'd rather get a second flagship set for ~130 than a battery box for 95.

[jorgeopesi]

In my opinion the rechargeable battery is the answer, in my MOCs there is no room enough for the normal one and I just play for testing if they work propperly.

[DarkShadow73]

Thing I did was buy really good quality rechargeable AA's for the battery box and AAA's for remotes, and got good quality plug in chargers that have digital readouts. Not cheap at first, but cheaper I suppose in the long run. Only pitfall is when the battery boxes are 'buried' as in the 8258 Crane Truck and you have to recharge, but really they last a long, long time in that model anyway. I even put in a LED light kit for the holes in the front nose fairings, really lights up things. But, the real reason I bought the batteries and chargers were for the heavy hitter 8043 in 2010 since it burns through batteries fast. Luckily in that model the battery box is easily removable, so I just swap out out charged for dead batteries. I use the 2300mAh Energizer's, not cheap, chargers not cheap, but you buy once and that's it. Its nearly 2013 and the batteries still hold a good charge. So I figure my investment late that summer the 8043 was released and the problematic parts were sent to all who had the model was worth it. I tend to just go with straight alkalines in other models that don't draw that much like the 8052, 8294(motorized version), 8265, etc.