Fake Dry Cells?

[MochetVelo]

Some early cars without magnetos used 1.5v dry cell batteries to power the ignition. The Maxwell Tourabout, for example, used 10: 2 banks of 4 which could be used individually or together when low. I assume this car uses 7.5 volts. What power source are owners using today? I doubt they still use dry cells. I heard that some have a fake dry cell box which covers a car battery. How is that done?

Phil

[Rusty_OToole]

If it was me I would try using modern dry cells. They should last a lot longer than the old ones of 100 years ago. The ignition was designed to use the minimum of electricity, the points stay closed only a short time. The original dry cells would last for many hours and today's should last longer.

How much do you intend to drive it? Dry cells should be plenty good enough for demonstrating, testing and driving in the occasional parade.

Years ago an old time mechanic told me of driving his Indian motorcycle home, after the generator failed and the battery went dead, by buying a 6 volt dry cell at a hardware store and wiring it to his points. He called it a telephone battery but it was the square kind you use in a big flashlight.

If you really want to be sneaky use a power tool battery. An 18 volt power tool battery and a 12 volt coil should give you a good long lasting igniition and you can charge up the battery instead of replacing it.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Guest Silverghost]

Phill:

In the last decade or so Dad & I have been using a Jet-Ski , Sea-Doo,Wave Runner, or other Personal Watercraft, deep cycle marine battery for these very early ignition systems. Make sure it is a deep cycle battery ! You can run them almost flat & then re-charge them quickly without any battery cell damage. You get much more time out of a new deep cycle marine battery than the big old dry cells !

6-10 times more !

The operating voltage also stays higher until they are almost discharged also !

The modern marine battery internal plates take a lot of vibration and pounding also ! They are very tough and inexpensive. The old time tested dry cells still work well also but are a bit hard to find locally anymore~~~and they are not cheap !

To hide the new style marine battery.

Make a nice old style wooden cheese-box style battery box with a lid to hide the new marine battery. Make it look really old like it really belonged there in the first place! Put a few small vent holes on the box for the battery hydrogen fumes to escape!

We also use a big wire-wound electrical resistor to drop the higher battery operating voltage to the normal old ignition running voltage.

Get a big ceramic wire wound resistor wih a sliding ohms adjustment on it and mount it in the battery box on two metal stand-offs !

I can get you the resistor ohms value if you need it !

The resistor is not really always necessary as these systems work very well on 12 Volts and the end result is a slightly better & hotter spark at your spark-plugs.

The resistor on the other hand will burn-up some battery power and lower your overall running time~~~

Then take a small charger along on any long trips you make in your old Antiques to re-carge when needed!

Edited February 10, 2011 by Silverghost (see edit history)