OLD battery charger?

This was in some items Dad had collected that has been stored in my basement ever since we sold the farm. It consists of a field winding and a motor/generator armature with a set of brushes on each end.

This end has the remains of an old rotary switch. One of the wires goes to one brush holder and to the field wiring. The other wire goes through the switch then to the other brush and second lead going to the field.

transformer%201.jpg


transformer%202.jpg


This end shows the label plate and on the lower part of the frame toward each side is a binder post that on the inside connects to each of the brushes on the second end of the armature.

transformer%203.jpg


The rig had been painted, and the label plate required some rubbing with mineral spirits followed by buffing with a Dremel to read it all.

It reads:

Direct Current Transformer
110 Volts
To
8 volts (open cir)
No. 202
the Ives Corporation
Bridgeport, Conn

transformer%204.jpg


Considering that the first electric service by Edison was DC, not AC,and he wanted that to be the standard, though that fell through, I would say this is very old. Does anyone have an idea of it's actual intended use?
 
Have to be a charger....110 to 8 volts...Nice !!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!! Kevin
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
 
Need Some Help":2kgm931u said:
that thing is as old as you John, Do you crank it by hand to get it to work?
Since it was made somewhere between 1912 and 1930 by what I found on the Ives website, it is probably older than both of us put together. No, you do not crank it, you rub your hair with some dry wool then stick a wire in each ear. :lol:
 
Amazing... I can't imagine letting my child play with that "toy" back in the 1920's and 30's... I guess it would teach someone a healthy respect for electricity right quick...

Mike in La Crosse, WI
 
Those were high end models and toys, I suspect many were done much like the old Lionel sets are done now, gotten out once a year and set up, only run under adult supervision, and then put away. Or else run under the supervision of a nanny or butler.
 
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