glass battery

[Guest bantam]

Hi, found an old glass car battery in a barn, does anyone have one or have any info on them? thanks

[Guest dminer]

An actual battery or a battery box? Can you throw up a picture please?

[Restorer32]

More likely a glass battery from a Delco power unit common on farms in the 1920's.

[Bhigdog]

More likely a glass battery from a Delco power unit common on farms in the 1920's.

Yup, Also western Electric units..............Bob

[Guest bantam]

It's 10 1/2 inches long and 4 1/2 wide, six inches high, three fill ports on top with philco stamped on lead connectors on the top. the base is 1/2 inch see through glass.

[hddennis]

Early house radios also used glass batteries.

Howard Dennis

[61polara]

It's an early household application, not automotive.

[checker]

Oh how I miss the good ole days. I worked for Ford Aerospace which became Loral in 1990, and then Lockheed Martin in 1996. This battery is still car related. Hear me out. Prior to 1976 Ford Areospace was Philco, which of course before that was Philco-Ford. FYI, I had no idea Philco stood for the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company until a moment ago. Wow, learn something new every day.

[Caballero2]

First do not ask me how I remember these things, heck I cannot remember my senator from the last election other than he/they are Progressives. But in about 1944, I, a first grader in rural Colorado before REA, we had a couple of lights and a radio (for "hootyowl" music) in the house powered by a wind driven charger. In the cellar were four or five glass box batteries. Within the batteries were what I know now to be hygrometers that were small colored spheres that indicated the level of charge. Pop explained all that to me throughout the many curious discussions.

Dan

Edited March 24, 2012 by Caballero2
typos (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

It's probably a single cell of a battery used for home lighting and electricity before the power grid. Many rural areas did not get electric power until the 30s or later.

Each cell was counted as 2 volts, typical home power plants were 24 or 36 volts, so you would need either 12 or 18 of those cells.They were charged by a wind generator or one driven by a gas engine. When the battery wore out after years of service they could be rebuilt by putting new plates in the glass jars.

They could also be used for a radio. The first radios were DC only and needed 90 volts to operate! The batteries were much smaller than home lighting batteries. The first radios that could be plugged in, were invented in the mid twenties.

[Guest bantam]

Thanks for all the replys. It was fun finding out about this battery. If i find out how to put up pictures from my phone can you guys help with all the other old car parts in this barn?

[trimacar]

You post it and they will come.

Get pictures of the other car parts and post them, 99% of the time you'll have a correct identification on this forum within minutes or, at most, a couple of hours (the guy that knows that particular part might be out for a ride in his antique!)

My grandparents house in rural Louisiana had a battery system, not sure it was still in use, but it was in place, when I was a kid in the 50's. Generator, batteries, and each light switch had exposed wires running down the wall to it. System had been put in in the early 1900's, as I recall being told.........

[john2dameron]

I want to add another question to the mix. About 1951 my dad purchased a Delco generator from a neighbor. It used 16 2-volt batteries which made the system a 32-volt system. With the generator he got a table top radio that I am pretty sure was a Philco. My brother put a steel rod on a fence post and ran a piece of wire of the type that was used to detonate dynamite to the radio antenna hookup. Reception on that radio was fantastic. Some of the stations we listened to were KDKA in Pittsburgh, WSB in Atlanta, some in New Orleans, Chicago, New York and other places but my favorite was WCKY in Cincinnati. They began playing country music at 7:00 every evening and we listened about every night. My question is, their theme song played every night at 7:00 was the best instrumental I have ever heard, The Steel Guitar Rag. Does anyone know who might have been the artist on the version they played?

[ply33]

... but my favorite was WCKY in Cincinnati. They began playing country music at 7:00 every evening and we listened about every night. My question is, their theme song played every night at 7:00 was the best instrumental I have ever heard, The Steel Guitar Rag. Does anyone know who might have been the artist on the version they played?

Never heard of that station or that tune until reading your post, but Google turns up this: