Need Some Vintage Battery Charger Help Please!

[namzlot]

Garage team.

I had no idea that there was people that collect vintage and antique battery charges. That's ironic because I have a couple I need expert advice about.

Need to know if anyone here has insights on the three charges that I have attached pictures of below. Two are mid century 1950s I think and the third is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Should be in a museum. It's a Valley charger. How old is it and any idea what they are worth?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help!

Black one is Shauer MA-2 from 1955 what's it worth?

Silver is ATR? Not sure of date



And Valley is SO COOL. Comes with box and hand drawn schematics.

All are in great shape haven't plugged them in yet though. Should I plug them in?

 

[RPH]

Interesting items. I would like to see more photos of the innards and connections.
Nice set!

 

[namzlot]

Any idea of value on each of them?

Thanks.

 

[RTM]

No clue on value, way too niche an item for me.

 

[Roberts210]

I like the ATR charger. I'd pay $25 for it.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I have an old Marquette charger. It is like a vertical cylinder. I will post pics later.

 

[namzlot]

Thanks

 

[Shiftless]

“All are in great shape haven't plugged them in yet though. Should I plug them in?”

That is risky
I am no expert, but one test to minimize the chance of big damage is to check the resistance of the transformer. Just put your ohm meter probes on the blades of the plug and see if you get the right number of ohms. If you get zero or close to it, you have a short circuit somewhere.

edit: I just checked the resistance on one of my old, transformer based 12 volt battery chargers; I got about 4 ohms.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

This thing is taking up space in my garage but it's cool as hell.

 

[RTM]

I usually test any unknown powered device, in the driveway, with a GFI connected extension cord. Device is a long way away from where I stand when I connect to power. Trigger tools next get the trigger taped down next.

 

[Farmer J.]

I usually test any unknown powered device, in the driveway, with a GFI connected extension cord. Device is a long way away from where I stand when I connect to power. Trigger tools next get the trigger taped down next.

Good advice..... I will spare you the full story of when an old battery charger caught alight... Luckily no other damage, but it did scare me in the wooden barn,

 

[namzlot]

Just picked this up at an auction. Appears to be in great shape. Any idea what it's worth? Haven't plugged it in yet.




Thanks for the help.

 

[seber]

Can't tell you what it is worth but it looks like the ones we used in Vietnam. They were super reliable. No such thing as taper charge back then. We had to monitor the charge cycle. It would make a great variable voltage source. Perfect for plating.

 

[Brazen Bull]

The ATR charger, 1960s vintage charger. Very nicely built stuff.
Those battery leads ARE 100% original. Cost a pretty penny, all of their stuff in the day.

The ATR company, which stands for American Television & Radio, also made ******** type 6v and 12v inverters that they probably encouraged buying with those inverters. I have a 12v 150w one.
ATR's stuff is built like tanks.
Beware of aging selenium rectifiers, they age and their output voltage goes down and it won't charge the battery right.

Id power it up on a dim bulb for starters.
It's possible it's not just a dumb type charger with just transformer and rectifier. ATR might have put other goodies in there that might short.