HWade Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Well I picked up a small generator today that i bought, its a delco Light, I am not to sure what it was used for or as to the age I am yet to find this out. Well it had been stored away in a barn for 10 years or so according to the owner. After cleaning the fuel tank and the plug and turning the engine over by hand with some oil put down the bore, i decicded to try starting it. well to my amazement it fired up almost straight away kicking out 30 volts on the generator. As you will see it even has the bank of batteries that it had to charge, not to sure what it had to run could it have been a search light of some sort. I f anyone has any ideas please feel free to say. here are some pics. Thanks for looking Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Well I picked up a small generator today that i bought, its a delco Light, I am not to sure what it was used for or as to the age I am yet to find this out. Well it had been stored away in a barn for 10 years or so according to the owner. After cleaning the fuel tank and the plug and turning the engine over by hand with some oil put down the bore, i decicded to try starting it. well to my amazement it fired up almost straight away kicking out 30 volts on the generator. As you will see it even has the bank of batteries that it had to charge, not to sure what it had to run could it have been a search light of some sort. I f anyone has any ideas please feel free to say. here are some pics. Howard, These were used as lighting plants for homes and farms before mains electric. Possibly pre-war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 Hello Richard Yes thanks for that Ive managed to find out alot more about the Delco light it my model was made in the 1920s so its an early engine, i would imagine that the batteries have been changed over the years, but these particular batteries are bullet proof you cant over charge and even run flat they cannot be damaged they are a 1.2 volt cell and there is 30 cells making it 36 volts. If I get any more info i will post it up. Thanks Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Wow! Nice find. How old are the batteries then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted February 18, 2010 Author Share Posted February 18, 2010 Hello Tony I am not to sure how old the batteries are but i have been told that this particular type of Batterie can go on and on. I did put some batt fluid in a coupleof the cells today and sure enough they burst in to life. But i intend to clean them all up and top them all up with Batt fluid and try charging them up. Regards Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Couldn't spare a few? They sound a lot better than the modern ones. :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 (edited) Surely at 1.2 Volt per cell these are not Lead Acid batteries (1.5 Volt per cell) They look like NiFe cells. I don't know whether my assumption is right but if they are then adding acid to them will destroy them. NiFe or NiCad batteries need differnt fluid to Lead Acid but I am sure you realise that. Most of the info says these sets are 32 Volt. Edited February 18, 2010 by antarmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Hello Mike your right the batteries are not the lead acid type, I topped them all up today with water and had them on charge for about 3 hours or so, they did take some charge but they were not getting the full 32 volts they should get. Yet if you put the volt meter on the wires from the brushes you get just over the voltage. Some times on the amp gauge on the unit it would read a charge then a discharge so I plan to investigate more. A friend of mine has said he may be able to get me some more 1.2 volt cells so this may also be a factor.well Thats about it. Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
listerdiesel Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 (edited) Potassium Hydroxide solution, with a bit of Lithium added. NiFe (Nickel-Ferrous) use the same electrolyte as NiCad (Nickel-Cadmium) NIFE the company was in Sweden, then taken over by SAFT. Delco Don in the USA is the guy to contact for info, here are some shots of lighting plants on his trailer at Portland (Indiana) http://www.stationary-engine.co.uk/Portland08/Portland08389.htm http://www.stationary-engine.co.uk/Portland08/Portland08390.htm http://www.stationary-engine.co.uk/Portland08/Portland08391.htm http://www.stationary-engine.co.uk/Portland08/Portland08392.htm http://www.stationary-engine.co.uk/Portland08/Portland08393.htm http://www.stationary-engine.co.uk/Portland08/Portland08394.htm We'll likely see him this year when we go over, I'll try and find an email address for him. If you got this url, you'll find a LOT of Delco Light information on MickDeMaria's section of Oldengine.org: http://www.oldengine.org/members/demaria/Delco/index.htm Peter Edited February 19, 2010 by listerdiesel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Hello Peter Thanks for the information i managed to download some info which should be a help, i may well have another look at it over the week end if not I will give it a run up on Monday. Thanks Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I managed to get the connections off all of the batterys and give them a good clean, I have managed to find out the formular for the Electrolyte, so as soon as i make some up I shall flush out the old batterys and refill with fresh Electrolyte. I will keep you posted as to how I get on. Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 (edited) Well I managed to get around to changing all of the electrolyte in the battery cells and after having them on charge they are just about back to how they should be. Amasing bearing in mind the batteries are donkeys years old.Well thats about it. Howard Edited March 5, 2010 by HWade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 It is a nice piece of kit! Hope you find plenty of work for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWade Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 Hello Tony Yes i thought i might get some 32 volt bulbs to run just for show purposes, I may well get a large invertor, but theres plenty of time to decide. I have not decided as to repaint or leave in its works clothes. Howard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 If you leave for now, you can always tart up later. Once done, the history is gone. The age old problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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