Impossible battery. Eveready specialities

[Mike C]

This torch on the left of the pic I bought at an antiques fair today and the battery it uses is real strange battery. The torch is Eveready, all one word and has specialities on. I think its a British one and dates 1930s as back then you could get many strange sized batteries. I have had a go making up a battery but I have failed

On the right of the pic is a Franco make torch which came with its original battery. I presume my other torch uses the same shape battery but smaller. I built a holder for two AAAS which I had to modify and all is well with this but my new torch is smaller and more of a challenge. An AAA holder will not fit so I tried joining together two AAA cells in series and used some brass strips for the terminals which I think the original battery had but try getting the size right and the fit, frustrated is how I feel now but may try size N cells but there to short. The problem is the terminals and getting these right, its to fiddly so may not bother. Not a great loss at two quid as the torch is mint condition. With a holder it would have been better but it wont fit.

The problem is this torch is smaller than my Franco one and space is very tight, the switch presses against a strip terminal of the battery, that's the hard part. I tried two AA cells but no room for those strip terminals.

[Michael Watterson]

UK was Ever Ready from 1906.
Eveready all one word is never used in UK till 1990s as the UK didn't use Eveready all one word and US used "Ever Ready" till 1917

In 1898 a Russian immigrant [renamed] Conrad Hubert founded the "American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company" (AENMC) to market battery powered novelties in one of his several businesses. He had been a successful businessman in Russia. He made batteries using the "Ever Ready" brand name.

In 1901 The British company was formed as a private company by AENMC to import and became BEREC (British Ever Ready Electrical Company) in 1906, with probably no connection to Hubert's AENMC "Ever Ready" products by 1904 or 1905.

AENMC became the American Ever Ready Company in 1905 then became part of the National Carbon Company in 1914. The National Carbon Company merged with Union Carbide Company in 1917 and battery brand became Eveready (one "r" and no space).

The New British Ever Ready Company Limited was registered as a public company in 1913. In 1920 Ever Ready became a public company.

In 1925 Ever Ready purchased Efandem Co in Wolverhampton who made torches, torch batteries, searchlights. The works went on to employ nearly 3,000 people and produced large numbers of dry batteries and from 1943 radio receivers.

So search US Sites?

I remember seeing something...

Meanwhile, until I remember
http://highfields-arc.co.uk/beginner/gl ... equiv1.htm

Also go
http://data.energizer.com
enter in search
Battery

Other

Zinc Carbon

[Mike C]

Thanks for that info as I have bookmarked those sites . The only other specialities lamps I have seen are those wooden ones. My Franco torch is American though and it sounds as though my new one I bought today is. The logo is stamped on the bottom and is so tiny I can hardly make it out but the seller let me use a jewellers magnifier.

Here is a close up of the logo, sadly its a bit worn. I used my vintage ultra lens magnifier for this. Not sure of the exact age of this torch but it predates the Ever Ready logo for sure, possibly late 20s at a guess. I have seen a few of the wooden lamps on Ebay with this logo but not one of these.

The battery is the same principle as the 1289 in shape but indeed smaller, the bulb is 3.5 so that makes the battery possibly four volt but the problem is early Ever Ready batteries have no voltage stated on them as my other does not. Its pre second world war that's for sure.

This is a close match but can it be 1915 as mine seems good condition if it is

http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/British ... -2AAA-1915

[Michael Watterson]

Says electric?

torch_logo.jpg (18.34 KiB) Viewed 3353 times

(Enhanced with Unsharp Mask and rotate 90 left)

[Herald1360]

Zinc carbon batteries have always been 1.5V nominal, so number of cells is simple guide to voltage.

3.5V is a reasonable voltage for a bulb on a small 4.5V nominal battery since the voltage will drop quite a bit on load, though mostly ISTR 3.8V was typical of most 3-cell torches.

[Mike C]

The battery must have been four half volt containing three small cells. It says electric on it and Eveready. It looks an early torch but can not be 1915 but it said that on the flashlite museum. Early Ever Ready gear did not have a logo on just the words and there batteries had Britannia on.

[Michael Watterson]

How well do 3 x AAAA out of an alkaline PP3 fit?

Not sure when AAAA first made or if there was Zinc Carbon version. But AA is from 1906. I'm surprised 3 x AAA don't fit.

[Mike C]

I may try the AAAA method but a holder would be better as soldering terminals to batteries is hard and can wreck them. These AAAA are not cheap unless I hack an alkaline pp3. I will see if I can get some cheap battery holders and try again another time. Two AA cells fit but no room for terminals though. I have a bigger version of this torch from the 1960s and no modification was needed as an AA holder touched the terminals inside it perfect but that lamp had brass terminals built in which made it easy but this old thing the switch has to press against a battery terminal while the other touches the bulb bottom.

It must have had three cells in to start with as the original mushroom bulb is rated at 3.5V and for some reason Ever Ready in those days did not state a voltage on there cells. I will give it another go another time as its very fiddly work.

I did this one a while back and I also have the later version of this restored and working.

[Michael Watterson]

The Alkaline PP3 use AAAA or very like AAAA. Many have welded on metal strips so you will get two sets of easy to wire batteries if you lever open the case carefully. Some have spring like clips and use the case to hold them together so might be customised to be a holder.

[Mike C]

Thanks Michael I will give this a go when I get hold of a cheap Alkaline PP3 as normal zinc carbon types only have layer cells in which are no good for this. The larger lamps are easy to do but fiddly smaller stuff is harder. At least with your radio batteries there easy to make up. In the early days they had every obscure size battery as they made lamps to go with these and a while back I saw another lamp like this on Ebay but it was round in shape and it had a triangle shape battery with it from Ever Ready, it wa sa real strange item from a bygone age. In those days they made batteries to fit one type of item only which was false economy and as the years went on they reduced there range.