old, old battery charger

[littledog]

this is a Constant Potential System 12 0r 24 volt battery charger made by the Eager Electric co. it was said to have charged the batteries for the electric and gas auto in the early decades of the 1900's (not sure of the exact time it was first in use, there is little to none info online). the cast iron platform (49" x 17") hold a 2 hp, 3ph repulsion/induction motor (on the left) with double generator in the middle and a exciter motor (on the right). the control board is made of a 1" thick piece of slate. supposedly it worked up until the day it was unplugged. i'm guessing it weighs around 300 lbs.

 

[CTyankee]

300 lbs.....Holy ****! Looks like something out of a Frankenstein movie..

May I ask how you came to acquire it?

 

[littledog]

found it at a garage sale. i am sure it would have gone to scrappers had i not saved it. the elderly gentlemen i bought it from had closed up his auto repair shop decades ago and brought it home where it sat collecting dust under a work bench in his very nice home shop. he said he bought the shop just after WW2 and the original owner had started operations in the late 1800's as a livery stable/carriages and wagon sales/etc. that evolved with the arrival of the automobile. people with battery power autos would drive into town from the country side and would drop their cars off to recharge the batteries while they took care of business in town. must have been interesting times.

 

[CTyankee]

Pretty amazing that it survived. Can't be too many of those things floating around today. JMO...but I would think something like this should belong in a museum. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Fretters]

That's just downright ****.

 

[Super Mech]

That is really cool! That's a once in a lifetime find. I agree that it while it is very cool to own and show people it is best to be preserved in a museum. I personally have never seen anything quite like that.
About 30 some odd years ago I built a motor driven alternator battery charger, but it was no way as cool as that thing!

 

[404]

That is life before diodes/rectifiers.

 

[69supercj]

I would contact the Henry Ford Museum or Petersons Museum and see if they would be interested in it. There is also an awesome museum just outside of Madison Wisconsin called "House on the Rock" and they have 5 or 6 very large buildings full of ALL different kinds of stuff.

 

[vekster]

that is super cool.
thanks for sharing

 

[The Cobbler]

awsome piece . scrappers would have loved that for the weight. nice find/save

 

[7th Kahuna]

Very cool. Might be worth reaching out to the Petersen Museum just to see if they had more info. (http://www.petersen.org/) My other thought is Jay Leno. I don't know if he has staff that are available to respond to such inquires. Seems to me he has an early electric car or two in his collection. Might be related.

 

[Shiftless]

Very cool. Might be worth reaching out to the Petersen Museum just to see if they had more info. (http://www.petersen.org/) My other thought is Jay Leno. I don't know if he has staff that are available to respond to such inquires. Seems to me he has an early electric car or two in his collection. Might be related.

Great idea! Of course he has an electric car or two. Here is a pic of him in one of his

 

[littledog]

thanks for all the feedback on the battery charger. i also thought it belonged in a museum when i first saw it sitting under the bench at the garage sale. i will have to research that possibility when i get some free time.

 

[woody 73]

Sir/Madam if you could just park it in the corner I will have my man and the dog team drag out the battery charger and charge your battery will you want me to put some carbide in your head lights and adjust your windscreen...

Way cool I am sure a Museum would love that!

 

[bonneyman]

That is a unique piece.

 

[Outlawmws]

VERY cool!

 

[Plombob]

That's way cool! I'm glad you saved it from the scrappers. You'll never see another in your lifetime.

You might also contact the Nethercutt Museum. Not only do they have old electric cars, they have the ability to rebuild most anything car-related.

 

[ndnchf]

Wow - that is cool. I love old electrical stuff like that. It would look great in my man-cave!

 

[bonneyman]

I wish there was some sort of schematic. I'd like to try and recreate such a beast.

 

[Plombob]

I have a Chilton's from 1929. It has three advertisements about battery chargers, but not yours. Interesting to read that they start at $45 and go to $135. They claim you can earn $150-300 monthly charging batteries for 8 hours a day.

 

[Rock Hound]

Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio would probably love to have that. They would be another to check out.

That thing is really neat. I'm glad you saved it.