Read all about the restoration of this lovely old hand lamp & Edison NH10A (NiFe) battery

 

By Dorian Stonehouse

With grateful thanks to Barrie Jones of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada for donating the hand lamp to us for restoration; and for shipping it all the way here to Carmarthenshire.

 

The restoration project begins

 

The NIFE battery was covered in crystals of potassium hydroxide
Before restoration, KOH crystals cover the battery like snow

 

Remember to take special care when handling these NiFe batteries, as they may contain potassium hydroxide,  which will burn the skin.

Removing the NIFE battery involved pulling carefully on that eyed steel plate with a pair of pliers
The battery removed

Read all about the restoration of this lovely old hand lamp & Edison NH10A (NiFe) battery 

A voltage test across the battery terminal can show up any snags at an early stage.

These batteries, despite being left for dead decades ago, can often still retain a charge. 

This ancient voltage can sometimes give us a good clue as to battery condition.

So, before dumping an old Edison NiFe battery on the scrap heap because it looks tatty,  check out the battery condition first with a high resistance multimeter. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

The picture shows the extend of corrosion inside the lamp case before restoration
Inside the hand lamp case before restoration

 

Evaluating if battery renovation is worth it – the method

Using safety glasses, first chip off some of the crystals with a screw driver.

Then give the top a bit of cleanup with a toothbrush and wire brush, open the two vents screws and pour some potassium hydroxide solution into each cell and swish the solution round for a few seconds.

 

Now check those terminal voltages

Even before charging this hand lamp, the voltage across each block jumped up to around 0.57V and 0.9V respectively. 

This showed that although one cell was slightly deficient, none of the cells were shorted.

With this in mind, I immediately set out to charge the battery.

Bubbling but not boiling

When charging the Edison nickel iron (NiFe) battery, do not let the electrolyte boil over, as this means you are over – charging it.

 

Charging and cleaning information

For charging information, here are a couple of links which will take you to other parts of this website, where you will learn all about charging techniques:

NH10 EDISON NICKEL IRON (NiFe) CLEANING AND CHARGING

NH5 EDISON NICKEL IRON (NiFe) BATTERY HANDLAMP

 

The handlamp case has now been cleaned and oiled and looks really good
Inside the hand lamp case after restoration

Read all about the restoration of this lovely old hand lamp & Edison NH10A (NiFe) battery

 

A clean battery, with an old (not allowed) copper washer spacer on one battery terminal.
A copper washer spacer had previously been used on the negative NiFe battery terminal

 

 

view of old terminal contact, which is beyond cleaning
Replace any corroded contacts to avoid lighting problems later on

 

Read all about the restoration of this lovely old hand lamp & Edison NH10A (NiFe) battery

 

The battery is now back in the case and is all shiny and beautiful
Compare this picture with the one above and see how the NH10A Edison battery is transformed

 

 

The lamp is complete and is on, giving a pleasant soothing light
The completed NH10A hand lamp, showing a lovely patina and lighting up a 2.5 volt cycle bulb

 

Read all about the restoration of this lovely old hand lamp & Edison NH10A (NiFe) battery

Donations of scientific items and lamps most welcome

If readers would like to make a donation to us of any unwanted lamps or scientific apparatus (the more unusual the item – the better), then please contact me by email: 

doriansto@aol.com

Best wishes to all

Dorian.