The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here are a couple quick shots. I've had one inquiry but he was under the impression it was a much older style of battery.

Thanks for sharing these pictures—I cannot say that I’ve seen one of these before, and while I’m not interested in purchasing it from you, it is interesting to see it.

How much does one of these weight, and what’s its voltage/amperage?

— MordEth

It weighs about 30 pounds. I have no idea of the technical specs (nothing marked on it) but the way I heard it Edison batteries aren't strong enough to start a car which put them out of the auto starter market. They could be used in groups to run electric vehicles and were the battery of choice for the little electric vehicles which were used for transport inside factories and warehouses. What they were VERY good at was holding a charge for a long time and delivering it when needed and because of this a lot of them were used for emergency backup in railroad signal lights. I knew an old guy who said you could pick up piles of the Edison Battery Oil bottles next to railroad signals. I know the batteries were still being made into the 1940's- it was one of Edison Inc's more profitable products at the end.

http://www.lindsaybks.com/gallery/eauto/edisonbat.html

The battery has gone to a local museum.