Vintage battery charger info

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

I am hopeful that some kind soul will be able to identify this old battery charger I picked up in a defunct VW & Porsche garage last fall:

Willard is on the nameplate

other photo is the pit in the old garage

 

[WWIIjeep]

Willard was a well-known automotive battery manufacturer during the first half of the 20th century. It was taken over by Exide (Electric Storage Battery Co.) in the 1950s and no longer exists.

I'd guess your Willard battery charger dates from the 1940s or 1950s.

 

[zkling]

Maybe it is just on my end, but could you post a bigger picture please?

 

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

Thanks!

 

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

larger pic

 

[DenisG]

It might be from this patent:
http://www.google.com/patents/US2285620

 

[bonneyman]

I'm not an expert on car chargers, but I've been told that older chargers shouldn't be used on newer cars unless one either disconnects the battery first - or removes it from the car - before charging. Something about the old chargers not producing a "clean" voltage, and that can play havoc with newer, delicate electronics? Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in on this.

Your charger sure looks great though!

 

[JimDon]

Now that you mention it, I remember at the service station I worked at in the 1970s, we had a battery charger that said Willard-Exide, and I believe we sold Willard-Exide batteries too. Or was it Exide-Willard. I'm not sure, but we had stuff that combined those two names. Cheers,
Jim Don

 

[alburris]

I know this is a really old thread but that's a Heyer model 18. I have the same one!!!!! Yours is the only other one I've seen

 

[Ricky Joe]

These battery pliers are Willard

 

[d42jeep]

Here are a couple of Willard battery wrenches. alburris, we would like to see a picture of your charger. Welcome to the Garage Journal.
-Don

 

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

I know this is a really old thread but that's a Heyer model 18. I have the same one!!!!! Yours is the only other one I've seen

Thanks! The old charger now has a new old friend that came home yesterday - a test set by a firm I hadn't heard of before. Niehoff. A Niehoff T-14.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Niehoff is a German manufacturer of all kinds of electrical stuff, including apparently battery chargers!

 

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

Niehoff is a German manufacturer of all kinds of electrical stuff, including apparently battery chargers!

Thanks! The Niehoff came from the same sale as the Power Kraft box, same price too. $5 for a little garage nostalgia. Here are the pics.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice condition

 

[ArmyVW_GuyInTX]

Nice condition

I don't think it has ever been used, the test leads are still bundled like new.

 

[Ricky Joe]

Thanks! The Niehoff came from the same sale as the Power Kraft box, same price too. $5 for a little garage nostalgia. Here are the pics.

I would love to have that Neihoff if you want to flip it. I am building an alternator/generator tester. I had a 1947 Mercury come to me to get running for the owner. He recently acquired it from the estate of the previous owner. The stock six volt generator has been replaced with an alternator. It looks like a cheap General Motors single wire replacement. I have no way of determining if it is a 6, 8, or 12 volt alternator, or the polarity of the ground. The battery is 8 volt, the aftermarket electric fuel pump is six volt, as is the starter, the relay is 12 volt, I have no idea if whoever did this work was smarter than me, dumber than me, part way through a conversion; I don’t know. I would like to determine what I have before I spend the money to redo from scratch and then find that there are other problems with the car. So, I’ll put it to good use if you want to sell it!