On Sun, 24 May 1998 leon@LFHELLER.DEMON.CO.UK wrote:
> >Alkaloid battery's very big from Russian army does anyone know how to
> >maintain
> >them .
> >They are 5 cell's 24 volt's iron casing and have a refill plug on top
> >with a rubber valve
> >to release gas pressure.
> >How do we find out what alkaloid is used an can we refill them with
> >sterilized water
>
> It's "alkaline", not "alkaloid". *Many* years ago these were quite
> plentiful in the UK as war surplus. I think they were also called NiFe
> cells (nickel-iron) and they used either sodium or potassium hydroxide
> as the electrolyte (I forget which). They were practically
> indestructible, as I recall. You should be able to find details on how
> to use them in a good library.

I have couple of caving lamps with NiFe cells. They're great because, as
you say, they last forever. If you do somehow manage to make them stop
functioning by overcharging for weeks, all you need to do is replace the
electrolyte and they'll work perfectly again. I don't quite recall what
the electrolyte is (I think you could be right about Potassium hydroxide)
but I do know that the only reason they are not more popular than they
are is that the electrolyte is extremely nasty stuff (considerably more
dangerous than sulphuric acid). So, be careful you don't spill any when
you top them up!

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