Posted by Sherman in Idaho [98.225.32.22] on Saturday, March 09, 2013 at 12:26:00 :
In Reply to: anyone looking for an antique battery charger? not mine posted by Allen in Ct [71.80.123.3] on Thursday, March 07, 2013 at 19:37:59 :
The good thing about that one is it still has the "Tungar" rectifier tube. They are getting scarce and most old Tungar battery chargers you see are missing the tube(s). The tubes have mercury in them which coats the inside of the glass and makes them a haz-mat deal to anyone tries to follow the rules if they break. I have one old Signal Corps 2-tube version that somebody gave me that I use all the time, but the first thing I did with it was put a silicon rectifiers in it. The thing's so heavy that it once kept my car from rolling down the driveway (honda car and not very steep driveway).
It would be a neat addition to car show display or an old-time garage setup. Unfortunately they don't do anything any better than modern battery chargers. The mercury tubes do have a nice blue glow while they're in operation.