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).
Suitability and internal resistance of Nickel-Iron (Ni-Fe) batteries for chassis use and starter motor operation.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 1\7\ B001_X15 20 46 50 59-page271 | |
| Date | 16th November 1922 | |
| To ROY.{Sir Henry Royce} from EFC. X 50 EFC1/T16.11.22. X.3717 - NI-FE BATTERIES X. 50 Answering your ROY{Sir Henry Royce}12/MG14.11.22 we received on 6.8.20, after some preliminary correspondence, a Ni-Fe 12 volt 10 cell battery type X6010, and during the period from that time onwards until about the end of last year we made a number of tests on this, including tests on one of EP{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer}'s chassis, and issued various reports on its operation, copy of one of which, namely EFC3/T19.3.21 I attach. You will see that this battery is not considered suitable in its present condition for chassis use. You may remember a little while ago you sent me particulars of the Alklum batteries to which I replied to you in my EFC3/T30.5.22 and EFC4/T30.6.22. The difficulty with these batteries is getting down the internal resistance to a sufficiently low figure to make the battery entirely suitable for starter motor operation. Mr. Minchin of the Peto & Radford Company has one of these alkaline batteries on his car and that firm are seriously thinking of taking up the manufacture of the particular make which this one represents. When they do this they are going to let us know all about it, but until that time I do not feel that we can hope for an alkaline battery with anything like a low enough internal resistance for our purpose. These alkaline batteries, beginning with the Edison and including the Alklum and Ni-Fe, are all very similar in | ||