Great quality battery, doesn't include necessities
Posted:March 31, 2016
MariusPhoenix
From: Kitchener
From: Canada
Age: 19-24
Gender: Male
Customer Type: LEGO Fan
Building Experience: Expert LEGO builder
Purchased For: Self
Play Experience:
5/5
Value for Money:
4/5
Level of Difficulty:
Very Easy
"I've already purchased three of the non-rechargeable battery packs (88000, and they work great!), but I wanted something that would be more convenient to recharge (So I don't have to remove it from my model each time to replace the batteries).
Pros: - It did seem to come pre-charged, though I don't know how much - Definitely more powerful than the 88000 - The 7 phase power dial is really useful - It may be more expensive than the 88000, but in the long run it will be worth it as you won't need to purchase more AAA batteries
Cons: - The LED's are in different spots from the 88000 (See pics), which make it annoying to see it's current status on sets - NO CHARGER (Continued below... )
I design custom trains for my collection and I'm always looking for ways to improve them, and this battery is a must for anyone who needs just that.
(Continued:) I'd love to give the battery itself a full 10/10 as it stands tall with Lego's stamp of quality, but then a 0/10 for how poorly it was listed on this site, from the sheer lack of information, to the missing but simple necessity: a power supply.
The description for the 8878 Battery made it sound like the power supply wasn't needed (Either included or was a common voltage), so I figured I'd have one at home or would be able to buy one locally and save money on shipping: that didn't work. The battery requires an odd voltage wall charger of 10v 700ma, which wasn't listed on this site... I didn't have one, no store locally had one, and the final annoyance with this whole ordeal, was on the instructions: as it ACTUALLY STATES "Only use an original LEGO transformer to recharge the battery"...
I have never been more disappointed with a purchase from the Lego site in my entire life, I should have read the reviews... I would have still bought this item if it was $20 more and included the charger, now it will be twice that and more to order it...
The entire product (8878) is essentially useless until you buy the wall charger for it, which is ALREADY overpriced for a wall charger. It's going to be a long while before I can order the wall charger, and all that time I won't even be able to use this expensive battery...
I don't like writing negative reviews, believe me, I am writing this because I want Lego to improve, to do even better. I've been a builder my entire life and will continue to promote Lego as the best toy builder in the world!"
Images for this Review
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The 88000, with the position of the LED, you can see if the battery is on or not. Most Lego sets have been designed to do this.
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The standard 88000 installed.
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The 8878 recharchable battery installed, sadly, it no longer has the LED in the same spot, so it is no longer possible to tell it's current status...
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The 88000 (Right) and the 8878 (Left) compared.
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For those of you who find that their train cars come uncoupled, place a connector between the magnets. It really helps for pulling multiple coaches!
The transformer link should be in bold across the top and offered as a "people also bought" or "you may need this too" since I just spent two weeks waiting to finally receive my battery just to not be able to plug it in.
The battery and transformer ultimately add up to ~$80. I can see it being less expensive if you have more batteries to charge, and only need one charge cord to share. I decided to go this route instead of buying rechargeable AAAs and replacing them all the time. I hope I made the right choice."
I would recommend this to a friend!
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1of1found this review helpful.
Overall:
3/5
Great item, but expensive and no extras
Posted:November 30, 2015
Petefish
From: United Kingdom
Age: 35-44
Gender: Male
Customer Type: LEGO Fan
Building Experience: Expert LEGO builder
Purchased For: Self
Play Experience:
3/5
Value for Money:
3/5
Level of Difficulty:
Very Easy
"The box is compact, lightweight, and robust. It is easy to build into most larger models and works perfectly. On the down side, it is expensive and does not come with a transformer. Nor does it come with a 'pin' to rotate the speed dial!"
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from LEGO:By Lauren - Technical Product Specialist, LEGO® Consumer Services, January 7, 2016
It's great to hear you're enjoying the rechargeable battery box! We're sorry you're unhappy with the price and that there's no axle to help you with spinning the speed dial. This is great feedback that we'll definitely forward onto our designers. We hope you have hours of fun using this box and enjoy the fact that you now don't have to change the batteries!
"I bought my 3th rechargeable battery box for one of my Lego trains. I prefer the rechargeable one above the AAA-battery box because the power is higher which is good for a long train. Otherwise you don't have to take out the battery box of the train each time to change the AAA-batteries. You have only leave a hole where can connect the DC-adapter.
The price is high but it gives a lot of power and the train can run a long time."
