From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Proposal to increase the thickness of ebonite separators for 40/50 and 20 HP batteries to improve their lifespan.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 54\5\ Scan032 | |
| Date | 28th August 1925 | |
| To Wd. {Mr Wood / Mr Whitehead} from EFC. {E. Fowler Clarke - Electrical Engineer} X4655 EFC {E. Fowler Clarke - Electrical Engineer} 2/T28.8.25. X.4655. EBONITE SEPARATORS FOR STANDARD 40/50 and 20 HP. BATTERIES. Please find attached two copies of a letter which has been received from Messrs. Peto & Radford and concerning which I have already spoken to you. The proposals contained in this letter are an outcome of observations of the conditions of the elements of various test batteries which we have had from Messrs. P & R, and of various subsequent correspondence, and finally a conference at their headquarters in London at which I was present. The suggestion was originally put forward by myself, and at once agreed to by them, that from the results of observations on P & R test batteries which had gone through their intensive life tests, it was desirable that the thickness of the ebonite separators be increased at the expense of the wood, and I had asked for the new thickness to be not less than .6 mm. as against .4 mm. as at present. It would have been possible for them to obtain separators with the increased thickness from another firm, viz. The New Eccles Rubber Co., without much increase in price, but it was considered safer to keep to their previous suppliers, the I.R.G.P., the quality of whose products was known to be as good as any obtainable. This was particularly so in view of the fact that the faults shown by the ebonite separators on the test batteries were of the nature of the ebonite being chemically dissolved in places and rendered very thin, and at times eaten right through. Technically, from the observations, we strongly advise the modification of the increased thickness of the ebonite separators at the expense of the wood as a feature which will extend the average life of batteries possibly by a few months, and we trust that the extra cost involved will not prevent the realisation of this desirable improvement. Contd. | ||