Hudsy Wudsy Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 (edited) I don't know if any of you will find this interesting, but I'll show you a type of direct drive battery charger that I've never seen before. It's no big deal, just a little oddity: http://wausau.craigslist.org/atq/5685502091.html Edited August 6, 2016 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 That is unusual. Have seen similar, but larger, motor/generator sets used in factories to run machinery. But not a battery charger. It must be a heavy duty unit for charging an electric car, or multiple batteries in a garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 I've seen several very old units that used a large rectifier tube to output 6 volts, but in a way this is even lower tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I think it is a commercial genset and not a battery charger. If it has jumper type cables they may have been added by someone with just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Small gensets for 50 cycle output were pretty common for machine shops that imported European tools. Seems like I remember tripping over one at the top of the stairs on nearly every mezzanine. The chargers with the big rectifier tube were pretty common up through the 1960's. We had a couple in my Grandfather's shop. Bernie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dep5 Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 The attached scans of a Roth Charging set flyer might shed some light on the subject battery charger. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 (edited) You know, Bernie, I think that you're right about this having been modified from it's original design. The center knob appears to control some sort of large rheostat which can be seen from the back side. Directly below that center knob, on the front, are holes into which taps might have passed through to the back. I think that the area around those holes might indicate that something has been removed. I shouldn't have taken the seller's description as accurate. Dep5, thanks for the detailed information. It all makes more sense now. James Sheehan Minneapolis Edited August 7, 2016 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lawson Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I have seen similar to them in Australia, however they were engine driven not by electricity Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 If it were driven by a small gas engine I would take it for a home power plant made for putting electric lights in a farm house remote from the power grid. Such home power plants were common before rural electrification in the 30s and 40s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I once had a small battery charger that used a 46 Ford generator, direct drive, with a small air compressor driven by a belt. It was factory built and had wheels and a handle for pulling it around in a used car lot. I painted my first car with it in an enclosed garage with no fan. (I got as drunk as a skunk from the fumes) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Looking at it the first thing that comes to mind is a Delco Light generator that has been modified to be a battery charger. Probably wrong, but just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 (edited) Dep5 was kind enough to enlarge the pictures in the ad so we might get a closer look: Edited August 7, 2016 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 I'm glad that a few of you found this a little interesting. I was worried that I might be posting something pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 It's neat to see things like this and speculate on how it might be used. I have an old Snap-on battery charger that I inherited from my late father in law back in the 1990s. The wheels on it have wide white walls so I always call it my antique battery charger! Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Some days you come home from work and all the automotive stuff looks easy. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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