Difference in PF battery boxes?

[Terrasher]

Hello, Technic, Mindstorms & Model Team people.

I asked this question over at the Town forum (I'm trying to motorize some Fairground sets), but I think it might be better suited for his forum.

Is there a difference between the technic-styled battery box (the one with the two sliding DBG panels for the battries) and the system-styled one? I only own technic-styled battery boxes, and I don't know if the system boxes give the motors different speeds or what. I already know there's an expensive system battery box that lets you regulate the speed, but I'd rather regulate the speed by using different cog sizes than shell out around 70CAD for a battery box.

[dr_spock]

In the coaster video it looks like they just connect the M-motor directly to the AAA battery box. There is no speed adjustment.  You should be able to substitute the bigger AA battery box for the AAA one.

You can also use an IR receiver and IR speed remote to control the speed.   The IR receiver connect between the battery box and motor. 

 

[ColletArrow]

  On 4/26/2018 at 9:50 PM, Terrasher said:

Is there a difference between the technic-styled battery box (the one with the two sliding DBG panels for the battries) and the system-styled one?

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The two main differences are:
1) Size and shape (obviously)
2) Battery type. The technic-style one takes 6xAA batteries, whilst the system-style one takes 6xAAA batteries.
Also, the technic one is easier to reverse, as the on switch also controls direction, whilst the system one has a second (less convenient) switch for that. As far as I know there is no difference in current output between the two.

And yes, the Rechargable 'box (same size as the system one) lets you control speed as well, and will save you from constantly buying batteries, but costs a lot upfront.

[Terrasher]

  On 4/26/2018 at 10:06 PM, dr_spock said:

In the coaster video it looks like they just connect the M-motor directly to the AAA battery box. There is no speed adjustment.  You should be able to substitute the bigger AA battery box for the AAA one.

You can also use an IR receiver and IR speed remote to control the speed.   The IR receiver connect between the battery box and motor. 

 

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  On 4/26/2018 at 10:29 PM, ColletArrow said:

The two main differences are:
1) Size and shape (obviously)
2) Battery type. The technic-style one takes 6xAA batteries, whilst the system-style one takes 6xAAA batteries.
Also, the technic one is easier to reverse, as the on switch also controls direction, whilst the system one has a second (less convenient) switch for that. As far as I know there is no difference in current output between the two.

And yes, the Rechargable 'box (same size as the system one) lets you control speed as well, and will save you from constantly buying batteries, but costs a lot upfront.

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Thank you! Glad to know I won't need to buy a new battery box for the fairground sets to function properly.

[MattL600]

  On 4/26/2018 at 9:50 PM, Terrasher said:

Is there a difference between the technic-styled battery box (the one with the two sliding DBG panels for the battries) and the system-styled one?

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1

There are AA and AAA battery boxes that have similar performance, however there is a rechargeable variant of the AAA battery box. 

The rechargeable by far is the best official battery box in my opinion :)

[Superkoala]

  On 4/27/2018 at 6:52 AM, MattL600 said:

There are AA and AAA battery boxes that have similar performance, however there is a rechargeable variant of the AAA battery box. 

The rechargeable by far is the best official battery box in my opinion :)

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The lego's website states that rechargeable battery 8878 has an output voltage of 7,8V. The non-rechargeable are supposed to be 9V (6 x 1.5V) . I did not verified by myself the performance of each battery, but so far I did not saw any real diffrenece when using them.

The rechargeable battery is my favourite too.

[MattL600]

  On 4/27/2018 at 7:47 AM, Superkoala said:

The lego's website states that rechargeable battery 8878 has an output voltage of 7,8V. The non-rechargeable are supposed to be 9V (6 x 1.5V) . I did not verified by myself the performance of each battery, but so far I did not saw any real diffrenece when using them.

The rechargeable battery is my favourite too.

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Yeah based on my personal experience the Rechargable battery has the same performance, I guess the difference is to little to tell in real use :)

[Philo]

Yes, the alkaline batteries voltage drops quickly as you use it, while rechargeable one has a much more stable voltage. So performance is similar. For more details, see http://www.philohome.com/batteries/bat.htm

[kbalage]

  On 4/27/2018 at 7:47 AM, Superkoala said:

The rechargeable battery is my favourite too.

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I recently did a (strictly non-scientific) test to see the real-life difference between the battery boxes and the alkaline batteries versus the rechargeable ones. Based on that I would not recommend Lego's rechargeable battery box, you can get 6 rechargeable AAA's and the AAA battery box for a fraction of the cost and you get the same performance.

There's also not much difference between the AA and the AAA battery box, you should not worry about the weight difference. Whichever fits better in the model should be fine.

Here's my comparison if you're interested: