Antique Glass Grenet Cell Battery - For Edison Phonograph

[fran604g]

These two images really make me wish we had a "drool" emoji.

Fran

Shown here is a typical battery (four 2.6V cells wired in parallel) used during the Class M era. This is an Edison type V, able to power a Class M for up to 75 hours. It was designed for use with marine engines, slot machines and phonographs. Shown for comparison is a 10" Grenet cell and Edison cylinder record.

That's a magnificent set of V cells, and the only complete set I have heard of. The other set that was marketed for phonograph use was the set of 4 S cells. These were also sold for use with battery fans.

A battery of 4 cells, filled with caustic chemicals, is very heavy. And inconvenient. But that's what it took to run a phonograph for a decent amount of time. A Grenet cell would have had a very short operating life. I have to believe that Edison had dozens on hand when he was working on the Class M.

[phonogfp]

Here's a 3-cell Edison "Q" Battery. A little lighter than an "S", but still quite a back-breaker. If you want to read the label, click the image twice.

George P.

[Andersun]

Great pics of some cool cells with boxes! The type O was also used. Here is from the catalog:

[MTPhono]

For posterity (missing picture from my original link) - Type V Edison Battery