Iron-nickel batteries

The nickel-iron battery (NiFe battery) is a storage battery having a nickel(III) oxidehydroxide cathode and an iron anode, with an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide. The active materials are held in nickel-plated steel tubes or perforated pockets. The nominal cell voltage is 1.2V. It is a very robust battery which is tolerant of abuse, (overcharge, overdischarge, short-circuiting and thermal shock) and can have very long life even if so treated. It is often used in backup situations where it can be continuously charged and can last for more than 20 years. Its use has declined due to low specific energy, poor charge retention, and poor low-temperature performance, and its high cost of manufacture compared with the lead-acid battery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-iron_battery -nickel-iron battery "how to make" http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/12/5/16551/2063
One of the "problems" with Nickel-Iron batteries is that they last nearly forever. This means purchases - even for industrial battery banks - tend to be a one-time thing. Another is that the batteries are less efficient than other technologies (in particular: lead-acid). So efficiency-conscious engineers don't tend to design with them. As a result there isn't all that much demand for them - and thus not many (if any) manufacturers. (I hear there is at least one still alive somewhere in the former Soviet Union.)

I've quite many times tried to start here a discussion concerning ideas how to make yourself nickel-iron batteries. -There are still some suppliers in the world. In China: http://www.changhongbattery.com/english/about.htm

http://www.solar3000.com/inverter_battery.htm There might be more manufacturers in China. -In America, EaglePicher made nickel iron batteries some time ago: http://www.epcompower.com/CPS/Products/Rechargeable/RechargeableChemistries.htm --A good recent discussion, 'how it is made': http://www.uniregensburg.de/Fakultaeten/nat_Fak_IV/Organische_Chemie/Didaktik/Keusch/chembox_edison -e.htm Here comments by thunderhead: "The industrial techniques available to Edison when he was making his original cells was not much beyond what we can obtain in the modern kitchen: I'm sure that a skilled constructor could get hold of his patents and make his batteries." --by thunderhead on Wed May 11th, 2005: "The whole point is to get lots and lots of surface area. The best solution for the home constructor, as I see it, is to use wire. 0.09mm diameter wire would be about 1mMol per metre, and have a surface area per metre of 283 square mm." - Hannu

Trying to make nickel iron batteries at home is on my to-do list. I'd more or less repeat the experiment the Chembox link describes, but I'd use iron and nickel wire in sodium hydroxide solution to increase the surface area to something useful. I might buy the iron and nickel wire from someone like "wires.co.uk". http://www.wires.co.uk/acatalog/fe_bare.html

http://www.wires.co.uk/acatalog/ni_bare.html I might spot-weld them with a MiG welder, onto iron and nickel rods got from welding suppliers, using iron and nickel wire in the MiG to do the welding. Before I do that, though, I have to buy my wife the smallholding she has her eye on; sort out things like fresh water, since there is none; renewable central heating; an extension for the bigger family she wants; and of course various solar/wind/listeroid-biodiesel RE electricity sources; build invertors, battery regulators and turbine speed regulators; learn how to make fatty acid ethyl ester biodiesel for my kitcar (possibly using lime as a drying agent and to soak up free fatty acids); sort out agricultural machinery, because I am not going to dig 3 1/2 acres by hand; fix the rear propshaft on my 4WD before any more heavy weather comes through, since our road floods and is virtually impassable at the moment; and incidentally try and do some paying work. (Many of those will be documented here. This site is useful because of all the stuff people put on it, and I'm sure I can put something back, if only a terrible warning of how not to do things.) I bought my battery bank cheap off eBay. It cost me about 10 per kWh for 24kWh. One day it will need replacing, and then home-constructing nickel iron batteries will get to be a higher priority in our household. Or maybe there'll be another bargain on eBay. One day I will look at electric powered cars, too, and again, nickel iron looks like the best technology for that. This time, though, I've gone the biodiesel route, since my job was sold to some American arms manufacturer and we emigrated in a hurry. I converted my kitcar to biodiesel in three days, and drove it out of the country: it was rather too much like "scrapheap challenge" anyway -- I would never have done that with electric. In the meantime, if you have the time, I would love to hear how you get on. Really I would. And I suspect lots of other folks here would too, considering how often the subject comes up. [ Parent ]

here is one of the US suppliers: http://beutilityfree.com/ ouch! it looks like 1500 bucks to get a decent a amount. Somewhere I have another Chinese one with prices. It is not the one on the post right now. I'll keep looking as they had the best prices badmoon I just wanna have some fun, maybe learn something new every day and make some friends in the process.

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/12/5/16551/2063

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Electrochemistry Model - Edison Cell (Iron-Nickel-Battery)

Objectives: Dependence of Discharge Time on the Strength of Discharging Current, Capacity of the Cell Peter Keusch

Datalogging and data analysis using the Program CHEMEX and the Analog-Digital-Converter CHEMBOX IBK electronic + informatic

Chemicals : 20% potassium hydroxide solution Apparatus and glass wares:

600 mL beaker iron sheet metal 5 10 cm nickel plate 5 10 cm iron wire net nickel wire net DC voltage source ammeter voltmeter switch

rheostat 100 (variable resistor) path cords clamps

Hazards and safety precautions: Potassium hydroxide solution is corrosive! Contact with skin can cause irritation or severe burns and scarring with greater exposures. Swallowing may cause severe burns of mouth, throat, and stomach. Safety glasses and protective gloves required.

Theoretical background:
A secondary cell devised by Thomas Edison (1847-1931) having a positive plate of nickel oxide and a negative plate of iron both immersed in an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide. The reaction on discharge and charge is:

Preparation:
The iron sheet metal is enclosed by an iron wire net, firmly fastened with wires to the iron plate. In the same manner a nickel plate is enclosed by a nickel wire net. The two electrodes are hung verically into a beaker filled with 20% potassium hydroxide solution. The surface area of the electrodes immersed in the electrolyte is approx. 75 cm2. The ends of the wire net are wedged into slotted rubber plugs mounted on a stand. The metal plates allow accurate placement of the nets.

The iron net is connected to the negative terminal, the nickel net to the positive terminal of DC voltage source. The rheostat is adjusted in a manner that allows a current of 200 to 300 mA to flow (Fig. 1). The battery is charged for 30 minutes.

Fig. 1: Charging of the cell

At the two electrodes a gassing occurs. The voltage of the cell decreases within a day below a value 0.5 V (Fig. 3). Next day the cell is charged for 10 minutes (as above described). The voltage rises to 1.7 to 1.9 V.

Fig. 2: Potential gradient while battery charging (data logging with Cassy) After power-off of the voltage source, one connects the nickel electrode via the ammeter, the rheostat and a switch to the iron electrode. The rheostat is adjusted in such a way, that a current of 20 mA flows (Fig. 3). The voltage decreases within of 3 minutes to 0.2 V. After interruption of the external electric circuit the voltage rises again slowly to 1 V.

Fig. 3: Battery discharge

Experimental procedure:

Matching of the program CHEMEX The positive terminal of the voltage source is connected via the rheostat and the ammeter to the nickel electrode. The iron electrode is connected to the negative terminal. The voltmeter displays a voltage of 1.5 V. The voltage produced by the electrochemical cell is used for the calibration. The program CHEMEX is switched to 'Options / Calibration /Sensor1'. One sets the first point of reference on 0 V. Afterwards the voltmeter is replaced by the CHEMBOX: the Ni-electrode is connected to the positive terminal, the Fe-electrode to the negative terminal of the 'Input Sensor1' of the CHEMBOX. As a second point of reference is taken the voltage value of the cell. In order to check the matching of the program is switched to the analog / digital display for voltage 1. If the appropriate voltage value is not displayed, the calibration is to be repeated. Measurements: After the cell was charged with a current of 100 mA, it is discharged at 20 mA. Next the re-charged battery is discharged at 30 and 40 mA. The changes in voltage are recorded at a 2 second interval. The Edison cell exhibits a high self discharge. The voltage decreases to 1.0 V within approx. 250 seconds. Then it levels off as time goes on. Therefore the measurements are started at the time where a voltage of approximately 1.2 V has been reached.

Fig. 4: Self discharge of the Edison cell

Fig. 5: Real-time plot - discharge with a current of 20 mA

Data analysis using Excel :

The pairs of measured values logged using the CHEMBOX/CHEMEX System are analyzed using the spread sheet program Microsoft Excel.

Fig. 6: Discharging at 20 mA (1), 30 mA (2) und 40 mA (3)

The voltage of the unloaded cell is approx. 1.2 V. At the beginning of the discharge, the voltage decreases. Then it remains rather constant for some time, until it suddenly decreases within a couple of seconds. With a voltage of 0.6 V the battery is to be regarded as discharged. A linear relationship is evident between amperage and discharge time(Fig. 7).

Fig. 7: Plot of amperage versus the discharge time

In order to discharge the cell initial currents I0 are adjusted by the selection of the resistance. The results are initial voltages U0 corresponding to the currents I0. I0 [mA] Measurement 1 Measurement 2 Measurement 3 20 30 40 U0 [V] 1.162 1.137 1.107

Tab. 1: Initial currents and initial voltages when discharging

The time-dependent currents I(t) obtained during the discharge of the battery can be computed using the following relationship I(n,t,U) = U I0 / U0

The values for I (n,t,U) are determined according to the above mentioned formula (Tab. 2) and a plot of I versus t is permitted (Fig. 8).

Tab. 2: Spread sheet

Fig. 8: Plot of amperage I versus time t

"Integration" of the current I(t) over the discharge time (time when cell voltage is 0.6 V) yields the capacity C of the battery. The capacity is found by calculating the appropriate area below the curves (Tab. 3, 4).

Tab 3: Spread sheet

Tab. 4: Spread sheet

A bar graph is selected (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9: Determination of the battery capacity

I0 [mA] Measurement 1 Measurement 2 Measurement 3 20 30 40

C [mA s] 3510 3462 2359

Tab. 5: Capacity of the battery

http://www.uniregensburg.de/Fakultaeten/nat_Fak_IV/Organische_Chemie/Didaktik/Keusch/chembox_ edison-e.htm

------------------------------Lead-copper batteries Home made http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/soar/sciproj2005/KevinB.html

1.

The Storage Battery: A Practical Treatise on the Construction, ... - Google Books Result

by Augustus Treadwell - 1906 - 257 pages CHAPTER V BATTERIES IN WHICH ONE OR BOTH ELECTRODES ARE OF SOME OTHER METAL THAN LEAD II. LEAD-COPPER GENUS THE advantages peculiar to accumulators of ... books.google.com/books?id=oaA3AAAAMAAJ...

Battery Reference Book by Thomas Roy Crompton - Technology & Engineering - 2000 - 800 pages Initial efforts were directed toward Table 43.1 Nickel battery systems cost and performance summary Nickel-iron Nickel--inc ... Limited preview - About this book - Add to my library - More editions

Self-propelled Vehicles: A Practical Treatise on the Theory, Construction ... - Page 472 by James Edward Homans, Theodore Audel & Co - Automobiles - 1907 - 598 pages ... Edison Battery: Theory and Construction. The recently perfected Edison ... Among such may be mentioned the so-called lead-zinc, lead-copper and ... Full view - About this book - Add to my library - More editions

Down loaded see the page it is good.

Do you have a contact in the USA that I can order from? Need prices and amp-hour sizes available. Also, self discharge rate information and expected life time. --------------------http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/chemicals.php -----------------------------I found this online. http://home.cybertron.com/~edurand/Otherstuff/Edison.html

I believe they are made in China and somewhere in Eastern Europe. These are the only new ones I've heard about - I know they're used in industrial applications, but an industrial battery is a large thing made to order. I haven't been able to trace the Eastern European manufacturer, but the Chinese ones are sold by Shenzhen Topway Solar Company:http://www.solar3000.com/inverter_battery.htm I have also seen secondhand Eagle-Picher NiFe batteries taken from the

Dodge TEVan and advertised for sale:http://www.thesustainablevillage.com/servlet/display/product/detail/24154 Lastly, I've seen them on sale as Russian Army surplus stock:http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/home.php?cat=87 If anyone buys one of these, or even gets prices, I'd love to know how they get on. [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#6) by kernow on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 10:00:13 PM MST (User Info) I picked up a load of 1.2V 45Ah NiFe cells made by 'Alcad' (ex-hospital UPS). They measure 45 x 45 x 250 (mm) with M10 terminals. We have them set up as 4 banks of 10, they soak up ('spare') power from the genny (when we're welding or using power tools) and are also fed by a 150W Rutland Windgen and a 40W polycrystaline PV, which helps account for their (~.33% per hr / ~5% overnight) discharge. They serve their purpose well - the duty cycle of the big genny has been slashed as there is now enough in the bank to run computers/lights/band rehearsal in the evening. ...but best of all, it doesn't matter if they are run dead every evening or someone leaves a light on! (that's the sort of abuse that killed 200 of leadacids last year...) Cheers for the link, BTW - they even look like mine :) [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#7) by kernow on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 01:04:43 PM MST (User Info) A couple more comments that may be of use to anyone lucky enough to get their hands on NiFe cells:

To reach full charge, they need around 1.65V per cell (16.5V on a 12V battery). When 'flat', a 12V battery sits at around 10.5V The only problem we have is that occasionally if the bank is at full charge and holding at or above 15.5V, the inverter says 'Uh-oh! Over voltage!' and fails to start - easily remedied by flicking on a halogen (introducing a small load) which makes the voltage dip to a point where the inverter is happy. And finally, but most important - buy yourself a new hydrometer and mark it clearly for use only with the NiFe cells. The electrolyte is potassium chloride - you really don't want to mix even a tiny bit with sulphuric acid from a lead-acid cell (or vice versa). My main reason for getting them in the first place is that nickle and iron are more environmentally benign than lead, cadmium etc. [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#8) by thunderhead (mail me from my homepage!) on Mon Jul 4th, 2005 at 08:37:01 AM MST (User Info) http://www.simon.richardson.net/mailme.htm The electrolyte is not potassium chloride, it is potassium hydroxide. But you certainly don't want to pollute it with sulphuric acid. [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#9) by newtman on Mon Jul 11th, 2005 at 10:51:27 PM MST (User Info) i have 2 sets of 20 1.2v nife nicads. really old 10 years and i need to replace the electrolyte in it. were can i get dry KOH potassium hydroxide electrolyte. i found a place but its in europe. it was a caving supplies store. i called all the places in the phone book they dont have any or know anything about nicads. [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#10) by thunderhead (mail me from my homepage!) on Tue Jul 12th, 2005 at 01:06:30 AM MST

(User Info) http://www.simon.richardson.net/mailme.htm Some people make soap as a hobby. Some of their hobby supply shops sell potassium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. Since it is to be used on people it might be more pure than other sources. [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#11) by Caradoc ([email protected]) on Thu Feb 9th, 2006 at 03:45:36 AM MST (User Info) The Chinese-manufactured NiFe batteries are now imported by Beutilityfree.com Evidently, prices are a bit lower than in the lower right corner of this link: http://www.beutilityfree.com/batteryNiFe/battery_flyer.pdf Caradoc [ Parent ]

Re: Edison Battery Manual (3.00 / 0) (#12) by Caradoc ([email protected]) on Sat Apr 22nd, 2006 at 06:09:05 PM MST (User Info) Just found better/cheaper source. Details to follow. -Caradoc

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2005/6/24/8395/43617 ---------------------------------

Revolutionary battery will make electric cars practical by Kimberly Chapple The call came in and the voice at the other end said, "You really ought to think about designing a new battery, Al. They've already developed pretty good motors and controllers to make the electric car practical, but they need a better battery." Click. So began inventor Alvin Snaper's thinking of ways to achieve The Practical: Make a light battery with a quick recharge rate that is economical to produce and environmentally-

friendly. And it looks like he and his crack design team--septuagenarians and octogenarians plucked from retirement in the sands of Las Vegas--have done it. Inventor Alvin Snaper with batteries Snaper, a Designfax reader whose first patent was used to make TANG and whose second was the IBM Selectric ball, is a self-described interdisciplinary type who struck out on his own after getting pats-on-the-back and "attaboys" for his inventions from his first two employers. Since then, he's received more than 600 patents on devices ranging from an aircraft collision avoidance system to an implantable pedia-cardia heart pump. Three-quarters of Snaper's hand-selected Power Technology, Inc., Las Vegas, NV, team are retired engineers, chemists and scientists in their 70s or 80s who once worked at the nearby Nevada Test Site or for other area engineering concerns like Hughes Aircraft. "There was a tremendous amount of experience just sitting around in rocking chairs," says Snaper. "My chief mechanical engineer, just to keep himself busy, was working as a security guard. I told him to 'come on back and do what you like to do,'" he laughs. And now the teammates may be laughing themselves to the bank. Their creation is a foam structure that Snaper believes will take a standard lead-acid battery, reduce the lead content by 90%, and make it twice as powerful, half the size, environmentally-friendly and cost-effective...quite practical for the electric car market. And they came up with this application by accident, as they weren't even working on lead-acid batteries. (Yes, he's still laughing.) About two years ago, Snaper and his crew set out to update Thomas Edison's original nickel-iron alkaline battery used to power the first electric vehicles 100 years ago. While the invention of the electric starter and subsequent production of the internal combustion engine for the Model T doomed the electric car to obscurity, Edison's battery continued to be used in trains and electric buses. Meantime, the lead-acid battery as we know it today was produced along side of Edison's. And it's been used ever since. The Power Technology Battery Design "When Edison did it, he made extremely good batteries, with extremely long lives," explains Snaper, adding that there are 70-year-old Edison batteries that are still as good as new. When asked why no one's tried to enhance this quality design before, Snaper remarks that like the "gems in the dust" that make up his design team, he believes there are a lot of "little technological kernels and gems that have been left in the dust," overlooked as we race through technology's advances. By applying advances in materials science and electrochemical engineering, he was able to revisit the Edison battery design that had been produced commercially at the turn of the century.

To update the nickel-iron battery, the team divided the job into two tasks: 1) develop the structure, and 2) develop the chemistry. "It so happened that we finished the structure first, and we got that patent issued," explains Snaper, "and we suddenly realized that 'Hey, this structure is applicable to any battery chemistry,'" including the industry standard lead-acid battery. Comparison of Existing Electric Vehicle Battery Types with the Power Technology Battery (click image for enlargement) Snaper's target immediately shifted. The team halted work on developing nickel-iron chemistry in order to devote itself to getting foam structure into the much larger lead-acid chemistry market where the structure can be manufactured as a drop-in replacement for today's car battery. Snaper expects to hand manufacturing and marketing of the team's design to an OEM, so that the team can go on to finish the nickel-iron battery they started and "three or four other projects we're working on," he explains. (giggle, giggle, kaching, ka-ching) For more information: Circle 521 - Power Technology, Inc. or connect directly to their website via the Online Reader Service Program at http://www.OneRS.net/104df-521 http://www.designfax.net/archives/0401/0401yr.asp -----------------------------

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The Book of Radio: A Complete, Simple Explanation of Radio Reception and ...

by Charles William Taussig - Radio - 1922 - 447 pages Page 143 The electrolyte of an Edison battery is made from a 20% solution of potassium hydroxide in distilled water, with a small percentage of lithium hydroxide ...

Railway Age - Page 13 Railroads - 1935 Outstanding reliable performance is the chief characteristic of the Edison Battery. No other battery made in this country can compare with it because none ...

Gas Review - Page 9 Gas - 1914 Poles, etc., of the Edison Battery are made of high-grade steel heavily nickelplated. The electrolyte or solution is alkaline no acid. ...

Edison resumed manufacture of the nickel-iron alkaline battery early in 1909, ... In 1924 the Edison Storage Battery Company asserted that the Edison ...

Principles and Practice of Electrical Engineering: 6th ed. rev. by G.A. Wallace - Page 158 by Alexander Gray - Electric engineering - 1917 - 431 pages Construction of an Edison Battery. A number of like plates are connected in parallel to form a group, there being one more plate in the negative than in ... Full view - About this book - Add to my library - More editions

http://books.google.com/books?id=9zMPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA158&dq=edison+bat tery+construction&lr=&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1

Automobile Starting, Lighting and Ignition: Elementary Principles, Practical ... - Page 277 by Victor Wilfred Pag - Automobiles - 1916 - 519 pages A 50-ampere-hour lead battery of three cells will weigh about 45 pounds, compared to about 37 pounds for a four-cell Edison battery of the same capacity.

-------------------------------

Cyclopedia of Automobile Engineering: A General Reference Work on the ... - Page 16 1910 The Edison battery was designed to run the car of the builder's claims this ... a little information concerning its construction will be of interest. ... Full view - About this book - Add to my library - More editions

Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers - Page 1633 edited by Frank Fuller Fowle, Archer Eben Knowlton, R. M. Shoop - Electric engineering 1915 In the present type of Edison battery, flake nickel replaces the graphite of the

earlier ... Positive-plate construction. The positive plate consists of a ... Full view - About this book - Add to my library - More editions

------------------

See page 46 of : http://books.google.com/books?id=FghJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA205&dq=%22edison+ battery%22+manufacture+and+repair&lr=&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA46,M1

Storage Batteries Simplified, Operating Principles--care and Industrial ... - Page 205 by Victor Wilfred Pag - Storage batteries - 1917 53 Exide Batteries, Repair of... 68 Exide Double Seal 69 Exide Single Seal 69 ... 140 Jar of Edison Battery 50 Joining Dry Cells 16 Lamp-Bank Resistance 109

coins as source of nickel

As of December 14, 2006, the value of the metal in a United States nickel coin reached USD$0.055759, an 11.5% premium over its face value.[4] This was due to the rising costs of copper and nickel[5] and the U.S. Dollar losing its value. In an attempt to avoid losing large quantities of circulating nickels to melting, the United States Mint introduced new interim rules on December 14, 2006 criminalizing the melting and export of cents and nickels. Violators of these rules can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000, five years imprisonment, or both.[6] Both the US pre-1982 cents and all US nickels have a metal content at market worth more than face value of the coins. As of June 13, 2008, the US nickel has $0.06013 in metal content; all circulating US nickels carry a 20.3% premium over face value in metal content metal at market prices. The intrinsic value of pre-1982 US cents, weighing 3.11 grams, are worth $0.02414, 141.4% above face value in metal content at market prices. However, post-1982 US cents, which weigh 2.5 grams, are 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper (coated over the zinc) by weight. These have an intrinsic value of $0.00508 as of June 13, 2008, or 49.2% less than face value. According to the US Mint, the costs of producing and shipping one-cent (penny) and 5cent (nickel) coins during fiscal year 2007 were $0.0167 per cent and $0.0953 per nickel. Canada switched to making plated steel coins in the year 2000, where the face value of some older coins is below the metal content of those coins. In a similar move on February 8, 2008, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow for changing the metal components in U.S. coins due to the rising cost of commodities and the declining U.S. Dollar.[7] No such bill has yet been signed into law.

Nickels minted from 1942-1945 during World War II contain 1.75 grams (0.05626 oz) silver. The silver content of these "war nickels" as of October 25, 2008 is worth USD $0.51. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westward_Journey_Nickel_Series#Westward_Journey_Nick el_Series --------------------

Like today's version, the first nickel coin contained only 25-percent nickel; .... They display three known control marks and have nickelcopper contents ... -----------------1. Elementary Treatise on Electric Batteries - Google Books Result by Alfred Niaudet, L. M. Fishback - 1882 - Electric batteries - 266 pages IRON-COPPER BATTERY. In Volta's battery it is the zinc which is continuously dissolved ; it is therefore logical to search for something which may replace ... books.google.com/books?id=xfcJAAAAIAAJ...