Vintage Battery Chargers

[4Wheelgreg]

Hi Guys ,
I just picked up this old battery charger out of a building in Philadelphia , PA . I have not been able to find any details on this charger .
I was told by a old guy that came out of the Fox car company 1921 to 1923 that was built in Philadelphia and went bankrupt .
Before building cars Ansley Fox made really nice shotguns ... maybe should have stuck to guns .
Here is a few pic's of this charger , its really cool piece of Automotive Memorabilia .

 

[larry4406]

Pretty cool.

Have you plugged it in yet or has the magic smoke already left?

 

[Sevenhills1952]

Imagine what it cost then? I bet a collector would pay right much for it now. (Send pictures to Jay Leno). [emoji3]

 

[WagonHo!]

Work of auto art. Art Deco styling probably Bakelite knobs and gauges, with the herringbone pattern background, crystal green and red bezel lights, on hard rubber wheels. Very cool score. Would like to see what the Fox autos looked like.

 

[6PTsocket]

I have identical looking panel meters in a project I built in the 60's. They were probably made by Surite. From the panel,meters and knobs, I would place it more like the 40 to the 60s. It might not be the same Fox. It would seem strange for a car company to sell battery chargers, especially one that was not around for very long.

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[6PTsocket]

I just did a quick check. www.foxelectronics.com is still in business. Just google vintage Fox battery charger and you will get tons of hits and images of old battery chargers. Apparantly, not the car company unless they changed businesses when the car company folded. LOL!! Fox is a pretty common name. They might be a source for restoration information. Art deco styling would not be reason for me to keep a big dust collector around without plans to restore it.

I have identical looking panel meters in a project I built in the 60's. They were probably made by Surite. From the panel,meters and knobs, I would place it more like the 40 to the 60s. It might not be the same Fox. It would seem strange for a car company to sell battery chargers, especially one that was not around for very long.

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[4Wheelgreg]

I did send a picture to Jay I have met a Jay a few times his brother has a Bar in NY and my in-laws know him so I am going to reach out to him a see what he thinks .
I was offered 2k for this charger from a guy who sells antique gas pumps , this is way more rare than a old gas pump .
Everyone I who see's the charger says it really belongs in a museum.

 

[OldNeons]

Nice charger there! I have a collection of vintage battery chargers and other garage equipment. I do like the one you have pictured and don't think I have one - although I do have some very similar. I will say if it were mine and I could get someone to pay anywhere near that $2000 figure I would take the money and run - honestly I'd think I hit the lotto if I got 1/3 of that? I've seen a lot of this type of stuff and never seen one sell for over $400 that wasn't restored. Not taking anything away from a great vintage piece -just providing some perspective from someone with quite a bit of experience buying this stuff around the country for quite a while.

 

[4Wheelgreg]

My understanding some one purchased Fox name around 1946 and that became Fox Electronics .
This charger manufacturing plate does not say Fox Electronics .
If the charger is as the guy I got the charger out of Fox Car company in 1920's it is worth way more than $400 bucks .
I also have sold a lot of vintage automotive related items and have never seen one of these ... Will keep you posted .

 

[6PTsocket]

A closer look at the panel meters and they are defininitely Emico 2 1/4" iron vane style meters with a metal bezel. They are all over ebay, some in originsl packaging. Look for yourself. I was able to get a patent number off one of the boxes. Pat. 2446431, issued 1945. I am a retired electronics tech. Those meters were very popular when I was a kid. As I said earlier, the components on rhe control panel were not as old as you thought. Some guy dealing on 1920 gas pumps may may think that charger is really old and be willing to pay a lot but that does not mean it really is. Check with Fox. They should be able to give you a ballpark date. Here is a picture of the same series meters, that I used to build this power supply in the late 50's or early 60's. They are house branded for a small company that was in Manhattan so ignore the imprint. That style meter is rugged inaccurate and cheap; fine for a garage.That is the only brand that I recall that looks like that.

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[Milton Shaw]

My understanding is that cars in the 20's used magneto's and gas lamps instead of batteries and it they did use batteries they were dry cells. I would think the 40's would be more like the vintage of that charger. One thing that would probably be very good for is electric cleaning of parts in electrolysis as it probably doesn't have to be hooked to a battery to turn on like most recent electronic chargers.

 

[6PTsocket]

My understanding is that cars in the 20's used magneto's and gas lamps instead of batteries and it they did use batteries they were dry cells. I would think the 40's would be more like the vintage of that charger. One thing that would probably be very good for is electric cleaning of parts in electrolysis as it probably doesn't have to be hooked to a battery to turn on like most recent electronic chargers.

Your historical info is on the money but you only need a couple of amps for electrolysis and that boat anchor is way overkill, after and assuming you get it running. It undoubtedly uses selenium rectifiers or some other obsolete parts that need replacing. The best source for an electrolysis power supply is probably a small, hand carry, manual 10 amp charger that are always on Craig's list for around 15 or 20 bucks.

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[californiaHank]

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm fascinated by the labels on the meters - 'pos cell', 'center cell' and 'neg cell'. I guess that means it was for 6V batteries - three cells at 2V each. In the 'old days', was it common that there were individual exposed connections to each cell? You can't really measure individual cells in modern (6 cell, 12V) car batteries because there are only two exposed terminals and all the connections between cells are hidden inside.

 

[6PTsocket]

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm fascinated by the labels on the meters - 'pos cell', 'center cell' and 'neg cell'. I guess that means it was for 6V batteries - three cells at 2V each. In the 'old days', was it common that there were individual exposed connections to each cell? You can't really measure individual cells in modern (6 cell, 12V) car batteries because there are only two exposed terminals and all the connections between cells are hidden inside.

There is nothing to excuse. You are 100% correct. Good observation.

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[6PTsocket]

The fact that it is a 6 volt charger puts it before 1955/1956 when the US auto industry switched to 12 volts. With the Emico panel meters, I would guess late 40's early 50's.

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[Rob338]

What was ever found out about the battery charger? I have the exact same one and this is the only place I found one like it. I've been searching the internet trying to find one and finally ran across it here. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[bb29510]

vintage battery chargers, that just a fancy word for old battery charger that havnt caught on fire yet

 

[Rob338]

 

[bonneyman]

What a beauty! That queen needs a restoration.