LegoMavrick Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 Good Morning chaps, Looking at starting into Lego trains and I am currently looking at buying both the newish train sets from Lego the Cargo and Passenger train. I just had two querys to you chaps out there. I have noticed on the two Lego train sets available now some of the reviews, albeit very few in number, listing concerns about the battery box. Problems getting Duracell or other make AAA batteries to fit. Train not working dueto no power etc. Some mention only to use Kodak batteries. Is this really an issue or just some numpties who are clueless when installing batteries and or building lego fullstop? I find it difficult to believe Lego would make a dud battery box. Secondly, despite its price, Im very tempted in buying the rechargable Lego battery box for both trains. The one thing Im not sure about is that I dont see the recommended Lego transformer on the Lego shop website here in the UK. Is this included with the battery? I have sent an email to Lego direct to inquire but I thought I would ask you chaps here as well. Is this a good buy and whats your experience with this Lego product? Greatly appreciate any feed back before clicking the buy button. Quote
spongebrickpl Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 From my experience I would say the best idea is to use regular LEGO battery box with good quality reachargable batteries like sanyo eneloop. Ofcourse then You will need good intelligent charger. Quote
MajorAlvega Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) The 8887 "LEGO® Power Functions Transformer/Charger 10VDC" is also the "LEGO® Power Functions Transformer/Charger 10VDC". It seems not available at UK site now but for my Country (Portugal) it is available (€24.95) so it's probably a momentary situation. You may also use any AC/DC adapter with output between 10V to 12V and at least 700 mA. There are some "universal" adapters with several inter-changeable plugs, I've been using one of those (1A, 12V) after I found that it has the right plug, like the one at the bottom in this image: Edited March 9, 2015 by MajorAlvega Quote
cgarison Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 I find it difficult to believe Lego would make a dud battery box. I have one "dud" 88000 battery box in my collection of 8 battery boxes. So yes, they are out there. I need to report it to Lego, but I have not due to my fact that I had 4 complaints in 4 months last year and I did not want to hit one of their black lists. Quote
detjensrobert Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 The problem with some battery boxes is that the holes in the plastic for the positive terminals on the battery (the side with the bump) are not big enough for the bumps on the battery. . Quote
dr_spock Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 Sometimes you may have to roll the batteries in the holders a bit to get good contact. The recessed positive terminals can be problematic. Quote
v6TransAM Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 ..................... Here we go again. Lego is completely capable of making a bum product(battery boxes are proof), just like anyone else. 100% fix every time for the battery box is to simply take the top of and get a hobby knife, a 3/8 drill bit and a 5/16 drill bit. Ream the holes out slightly with the 3/8 drill bit, finish them up with the 5/16 drill bit then clean up any excess with the hobby/utility knife. Done! No "black lists", no "garbage Lego product", no worrying about what batteries to use or who manufactured your favorite batteries this week. I have 6 battery boxes now and I think one worked as is, all the others I simply reamed slightly with drill bits by hand and cleaned them up and good to go forever more, no more messing around or worrying which batteries to buy. I have had issues with Eneloop, Duracell, Eveready and Energizer, so do yourself the favor and ream the openings out and be done with it. Why there is so much resistance to a one time cure all fix and people trying stupid stuff like tin foil is beyond me Quote
TF Twitch Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 I have two AAA battery boxes and have had no problems with either of them for the few years that I have owned them. Quote
pirzyk Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 I use the LEGO rechargeable battery box for all my trains (I have 8 of them) and one recharger. At a show we had this weekend, one of our members was able to run the 60051 high speed passenger train for 6+ hours on a single charge. I get anywhere from 3 - 4 hours on a charge, though I run much longer trains. The recharger does *not* come with the battery. Here in the states it has been back ordered since Christmas and is not due until August 23rd, which seems strange. No one that I know has heard any reason why. I probably will break down and get an aftermarket one. http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-Power-Functions-Transformer-Charger-10VDC-8887 Quote
jtlan Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 The recharger does *not* come with the battery. Here in the states it has been back ordered since Christmas and is not due until August 23rd, which seems strange. No one that I know has heard any reason why. I probably will break down and get an aftermarket one. As mentioned previously, any aftermarket charger with a voltage in the appropriate range will work just as well; it will also cost much less. See this thread for more details. Quote
LegoMavrick Posted March 19, 2015 Author Posted March 19, 2015 Many thanks for all your advice chaps. Greatly appreciated. Im convinced and have started my venture into Lego trains. The New Cargo train and Train station arrived just yesterday. I actually got a message on my phone from Lego themselves in connection with my query about the transformer. The recharge battery seems the logical way to go. Thanks again chaps. Quote
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