Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/963

 �e Amateur - Electrician

��^And Wireless Operator

��Charging Storage Batteries With Direct Current

CONNECT six no- volt, 32-candlepower, 100-watt carbon lamps parallel with each other and in series with the battery to be charged. This combination will ap- proximately give the proper charging rate of 6 amperes. If the charging rate is to be increased, add lamps. If decreased take off lamps. To fully charge* an empty battery leave it connected until each cell of battery gasses freely. Each cell should show a specific gravity ranging from 1,275 to 1,300. — Edwin Jasper.

��Simple Method of Making Storage Battery Cells

AN old type of storage cell reconstructed in an original and efficient manner is shown in the illustrations.

The battery plates are formed of strip lead and are separated by thin strips of rubber cut from a 10-cent sponge, which are held to the lead plates by small elastic bands. The plates are "formed" by the Plante process.

One of the illustrations in the next column shows very clearly how the

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� ��A detailed view showing how the lead plates are cut from one strip and separated by rubber

plates are assembled, while below it in the same picture is shown the celluloid jar or container, made from a 10-cent hair or puff box. The domed top of this box is slotted at opposite ends to permit the lugs to protrude.

��A finished cell is shown in the upper right-hand corner of the picture, encased in a light aluminum cup. This view shows the rubber filler cap, in the center of the

����The lead strips are made into a coil and set into a cir- cular box, the domed top of which is slotted to permit the ends to protrude

��celluloid cover, which is partly concealed under the ring of pitch that effectually seals the battery.

The first detailed view shows how the lead plates are cut from one strip of ma- terial about 3 by 30 in. It also gives a clear idea of how the sponge separators are attached.

The capacity of this little cell, which varies with the amount of active lead surface exposed, is very high for a given unit of weight, owing to the extreme light- ness of the case, container, and separators employed in its construction. By leaving off the aluminum case, and at the same time perforating the lead plates throughout their entire surface, a very satisfactory high capacity cell of unusual lightness will result. — R. U. Clark, 3rd.

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