PF e Rechargeable Battery(1.2 volt) ?

[Kroes]

Hello to all. I wanted to ask you something about the PF.

Can I use inside the battery box, rechargeable battery (1.2 volts) instead of normal ones from 1.5Volt?

The engines have less power? Either there are no problems? you do too and always use the 1.5 volt non-rechargeable batteries?

thank you very much

[dirty bob 456]

Yes you can use them, but slightly less power.

[Fissl]

i tried rechargeable batteries in the small battery box (AAA) and it didn't even turned on...

[Blakbird]

Hello to all. I wanted to ask you something about the PF.

Can I use inside the battery box, rechargeable battery (1.2 volts) instead of normal ones from 1.5Volt?

The engines have less power? Either there are no problems? you do too and always use the 1.5 volt non-rechargeable batteries?

Yes, it works fine. You will end up with a lower voltage, but NiMH batteries also have higher current capacity so you will have just as power in high torque applications.

i tried rechargeable batteries in the small battery box (AAA) and it didn't even turned on...

Must have had one in backwards.....

[Fissl]

Must have had one in backwards.....

that cam to my mind, too and i double-checked it 1000 times. when i put in 2 normal and 4 rechargeable ones it works.

[Kelkschiz]

There is a way to overcome the lower voltage if you don't mind adapting your LEGO and if you are handy with soldering machine.

And yes, it will work. Also yes, lower voltage will mean less powerful e-motors.

I only use rechargeable batteries in my battery-boxes.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Kelkschiz

[Milan]

Kroes, it works just fine. Lots of people (myself included) use 1.2V rechargeable batteries, as they are more practical, efficient and cheaper on long run.

[EV3Noob]

Kroes, it works just fine. Lots of people (myself included) use 1.2V rechargeable batteries, as they are more practical, efficient and cheaper on long run.

and more environment-friendly, too

I use them in big and small BB - that works just fine for me.

Edited May 9, 2014 by EV3Noob

[Philo]

Even the advantage of initial higher voltage doesn't last long - NiMH discharge curve is flatter. Have a look at this 250mA discharge curve:

At higher current, another factor is internal resistance of the battery, the voltage of alkaline battery is below the one of NiMH from start of discharge...

Mode details and comments here.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Philo

[Captain Golden Hook]

I soldered an extra 2 spaces for AA rechargeable on one of my battery boxes just for that reason. however all i do now is use it to amp up my creations with normal batteries.

[garethjellis]

Instead of hacking a Lego battery box, you can create your own Li-Ion packs for not much money. I do this for my train builds, Normally less that $20 for the batteries, controller and charger, solder lego PF plugs and your good to go. Make sure the battery pack has voltage controllers on them so you Li-Ion does not fully discharge. Most of the voltage controllers also have charge controllers built in.

Here are some options

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190911430355?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271000608354?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

This last one I built is linked below, I split the pack as there is 3 flat 3.7v Li-Ions with individual voltage controllers. Using just 2 makes the voltage 7.2 which is the average Lego PF battery box output, You can see in my MOC that the slim battery works very very well and it is 1800mah so is better than the Lego Li-Ion. Has enough power to run 2 L PF motors and 3 sets of LED's

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12V-1800mAh-Super-Lithium-ion-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery-Energy-Storage-Pack-/380724928309?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item58a4f95f35

The last one I made was for the Emerald Night Tender conversion. I converted the EN to a 7 wide. put a regular PF train motor underneath with two single bogies, IR in the tender and the below battery pack inside, this one is a very power full pack with 6400mah and pretty much the same size at the Lego train battery box.(just a teeny bit bigger)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durable-CREE-XML-T6-LED-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery-Pack-Head-Lamp-SK-CAilko7102-/380846760436?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item58ac3c61f4

If there is enough interest I may create tutorials on how to make them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12V-1800mAh-Super-Lithium-ion-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery-Energy-Storage-Pack-/380724928309pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item58a4f95f35

[BondemandClausen]

Hello Guys. for my Massey Ferguson Combiner, and the Ropa euroTiger i prefer using Energizer Ultimate Lithium L91 AA batteries. They are not rechargeable, but they start out with 1,7-1,8 volt, and simply last 5-6 times longer, than the usual alkaline batteries. I admit that i haven't tried rechargeable, But the lithium ones i use, last at least 8-10 hours powering 2 M and one XL non-stop. Maybe Philo could test one to see if my experiences are right.

Edited May 10, 2014 by BondemandClausen

[Kroes]

Wow.A lot of interesting answers and very helpful!

Thanks to all

[Philo]

Maybe Philo could test one to see if my experiences are right.

Your are probably right, these batteries have a huge capacity - problem is that they are also VERY expensive ;)

[Technix]

lipo is our best option. days of ni-cd and ni-mh are long gone.

[BondemandClausen]

Your are probably right, these batteries have a huge capacity - problem is that they are also VERY expensive ;)

They cost more, even if you buy them big stock, no doubt about that. But it is all about how you calculate. Here in DK you can get a Energizer Ultimate Lithium for about, 1,76 euro, while a Duracell Ultra Power cost 1 euro. So even if the duration of the EUL is only 4 times longer than the DUP, then i will claim, it is still cheaper.

[Philo]

That's also why I don't use alkaline either... A NiMH costs about the price of your lithium cell, and can be recharged many, many times ;)

[ddimkin]

Hi All,

for my 9398 crawler I decided to go with 8 x AA Sanyo Eneloops as shown at the very end of this thread:

http://www.doktor-brick.de/board7-bauen/board20-lego-tipps-und-tricks/490-batterien/

The question is which Eneloops to order - 1900mAh or 2550mAh? 8 x 2550s = 20400mAh are appr. 24 Pounds and 16 x 1900s = 30400mAh are appr. 30 Pounds. What would be best?

Thanks a lot!!

[ddimkin]

I just found following:

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/9373

Seems that Eneloops have higher voltage right after charging.. around 1,45V. This probably means 8 of them can damage the receiver in long term so maybe use just 6 in the standard BB??