Lego Powered Up - 9V block battery upgrade

[@jossdeiboss]

This is great also if I want to create a connection to a mini-diode bridge and the old 9V motors! Thank you for the idea!

[@yslee7512]

Good! Thank you for sharing!

[@mDaro]

If I wasn't concerned about the size could I just solder (when I learn to) the 9v connector to the leads and just sit the rechargeable battery inside the Lego Powered Up hub and make it easy for myself. I have zero electronic knowledge. Thank you.

[@donbot5000]

also check out the keybrick one usbc recharge pack for the city hub

[@lewisclark2987]

Hi, your video shows the 3d printer box and top cover which you throw away, can you share where you bought these?

[@BrickBuiltBench]

@@lewisclark2987 hi, unfortunately I didn't buy these. I downloaded a file from thingiverse and printed them with my 3D printer.

[@maartenp.9136]

How much mAh is the 9V replacement? Normal operation take ruffly 30 min for 6 AAA batteries. How long will this operate? Thanks for the "hack" .

[@BrickBuiltBench]

I think the Znter ones I'm using are 600mah. They run for about 2 hours before needing to be changed

[@MinifigJez]

What a GREAT MOD, thank you so much for sharing. Do you have any links for where you got your: 1) 9V rechargeable batteries 2) 3D printed boxes Let me know if you do, as I;d love to have a go at this myself.

[@BrickBuiltBench]

I bought the Zentr batteries on eBay. I think they're also available on AliExpress. For the 3D printed boxes, I print those myself

[@eugenepictures6950]

Was looking for a solution to connect a 9 volt battery to the hub and than I found this video super cool :) Where do you get the file for the 3D printed bottom part?

[@BrickBuiltBench]

I found this one recently that works really well. www.thingiverse.com/thing:6262436

[@thattrainkid]

Hi is there a way i can get the 3d file to print it myself?

[@BrickBuiltBench]

@@thattrainkid available on thingiverse www.thingiverse.com/thing:6262436

[@CasperInkyMagoo]

You did lose significant capacity though, right?

[@BrickBuiltBench]

It really depends on the battery choice. With a LiPo type battery like the znter I could run for a couple of hours. Recently I've been using a parallel lead to run two batteries together and with this setup I ran locos on and off at shows all day.

[@boostermcblast2197]

@@BrickBuiltBench Running two "intelligent" 9V batteries in parallel seems a bit problematic to me. Maybe you should save them with diods.

[@sneezyferret6482]

This makes no sense at all. A typical non rechargeable AAA good quality Duracell battery has a capacity of about 1000-1200mah. AA sizes are in the 2000-3000mah range. They are in series so you're getting 1200mah @ 9v. But you're replacing it with a lithium supposedly 9v at 600mah. You're basically halving the capacity here and therefore runtime. So yes it will run and it's rechargeable but it doesn't really solve the problem, especially when you're halving the capacity. Single Li cells are @ 3.7v so I guess they are using 3 cells so that would be 11.1v when fully charged, Charging off 5v USB I guess each cell is being charged individually because you always need more volts than the battery you are charging. Batteries on trains will **always** suck. The best option is to power the rails using the 9v system and motor from the mains and use a pick up through the wheels to power the train. Then you can run them day in, day out, week in week out :)

[@BrickBuiltBench]

@@sneezyferret6482 there is definitely a compromise on capacity in this system, however it does have 2 main advantages : voltage regulation prevents poor performance at the lower end of the battery and no recurring cost from buying batteries. Rechargeable AAA batteries are useless at 1.2v and 700mah. The voltage sags very quickly leaving locos barely able to pull a load. The great thing about this mod is that it's not restricted to a 9v battery, you could easily swap in a 2s LiPo with 2000mha+, I chose these batteries for their form factor and ease of use. Personally I don't like powered rail solutions. There's too much faff in preventing short circuits and It's terribly expensive to get hold of. For me, this has been working perfectly and everything loco I have now runs with this mod.

[@sneezyferret6482]

@@BrickBuiltBench I was curious about the 9v, so I've got two reportedly @ 1450mah, but I have a battery monitor so I'll know what the true capacity is. Would like to take one apart and have a look. Lithium are tricky once you have more than one cell together since you must balance charge them else you'll potentially have a fire. I have several 1500 mah Lipos in my garage I could also use, - I never leave the place when I charge them just in case. Powering the rails isn't as expensive as it may seem. You can buy a used 9v set for cheaper than a new powered up one, plus you can copper tape the plastic rails. I got 2 rolls for $6

[@neilrusling-je6zo]

You are just far too good, I just bent them out a smidge and crocodile clipped my 9volt battery to them. I likes your way more, but mine took about 20 seconds as I am lazy and stupid and I wanted to be able to go back to six 1.5volt if it became necessary for some reason. Love those red carriages, that is something I would like to get around to doing once I have finished my 6wide versions of Orient Express that are proving to be just like the real 8wide versions, ie Frightfully Expensive! Turns out building Lego trains can become a bit on the expensive side...who knew. As someone who clearly knows his onions, do you have any knowledge of a design of the classic Mark 1 British Rail carriage in 6 wide? I have found a couple in 7wide and 8wide, but 7 wide use so many parts they cost too much when you want at least 4, and 8wide although they use a lot fewer parts than 7wide just become too heavy. So as I am on a budget I thought I would try 6wide, but my 6wide Mark 1 search has proved fruitless, has no one done one, or is there a reason it cant be done? I know the curved bottom of the carriage may prove an issue with the bogeys on R40 curves as my rudimentary experiments have shown, but I am a very poor designer. Is there a 6 wide design that you have heard of?.

[@BrickBuiltBench]

@@neilrusling-je6zo honestly I don't think think the width of the carriage will increase the cost that much. The expenses really comes from the number of parts needed to make a longer base that's still sturdy. I agree, it's definitely not cheap. My upcoming GWR composite suburbans are roughly £120 each.