Battery for Antique Pocket Flashlight

[Brooke]

Hi:

I've been researching early flashlight patents, see:
http://www.prc68.com/I/FlashlightPat.shtml
and a number of the "Pocket Flash Lights" use a battery that is rectangular and about the size of two AA cells side by side. It has what may be brass tabs sticking out the top. One straight up and the other at an angle.

Is there a name for it or any specs? I'd like to make a battery adapter to allow the use of those old Pocket Flash Lights.

I have "Battery Engineering Data" which is a collection of National Carbon Co, aka Union Carbide, aka Eveready, aka Energizer data sheets from the 1950s and it has no information on the Pocket Flash Light battery.

Note that Flashlight is the modern term. Flash Light was the first then there was Flash-Light.

Have Fun,

Brooke Clarke

 

[labrat]

You are looking for something like this?

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=627&memberId=12500226

 

[Brooke]

Maybe. The eBay description says the Pocket Flashlight is about 3" long.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280181491560
but so far don't have enough information on either the flashlight or battery. There's no info on the Duracell web page about a 4.5 Volt battery.

 

[lctorana]

No, it's a lot smaller than that.

The 4.5v cycle lamp battery we all think of is 3 B cells side by side.
Good thought though, as pocket torches of the 1930's to 1940s did indedd use this battery.

What we are looking for here is a far older battery, that is, as the OP said, a 3V battery, that is roughly 2AA in size. It's about half the size of our familiar 4.5V cycle lamp battery.

Brooke,

Could you post dimensions of the inside of your torch?

I am thinking that one could be fabricated from 2 tabbed AA or AAA rechageables, shrinkwrapped cordless-phone-battery style.

But the terminal contact arrangement needs some thought.

 

[Kiessling]

Yepp. I had and still have a light that runs on such a 4.5V battery with two metal "arms", one longer than the other.
This battery was a common sight in my youth and might still be around somewhere.

My light was a Varta belt light. Very cool. Red and green filter. High tech to boot. I still love it.

bernie


EDIT: ooops .. tpo slow, and perhaps even wrong :sick2:. Just disregard

 

[Brooke]

I haven't received the flashlight yet. Did find the 4.5 Volt battery that's common in the UK for bicycles but it seems to be too large. There were a number of Pocket Flash Lights invented in the early 1900s, see:
http://www.prc68.com/I/FlashlightPat.shtml#Pocket

 

[bones_708]

That light is from around 1920 and most likely used a 2aa battery that can not be found. The older lights (1902-1910) used a battery called 3B which I've never been able to find a good example of. If you watch ebay you will see them (vest lights) being sold with the old batteries giving a better idea what they look like.

 

[Burgess]

I've always had a fondness for those charming "old" flashlights. :candle:


Seems to be roughly the size and shape of
"Prince Albert in the can" tobacco containers.


Anyone ever build a "modern replica" from a Prince Albert can ?


That would be a sweet light, eh ?


(just thinking out loud)

_