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).
Battery issues, over-charging, and capacity for the 40/50 chassis.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 38\5\ Scan325 | |
| Date | 28th September 1923 | |
| x3398 R.{Sir Henry Royce} EFC. BY11-P28.9.23. X.4288. X.3398. BATTERIES - 40/50 CHASSIS. X.664. Referring to R10/M20923 and EFC1/T24923, it would appear that R.{Sir Henry Royce} considers that the call for a larger battery is based upon its liability to run down. Both Mr. Minchin and the Exide Engineer, Mr. McKinnon, are of the opinion that the greater source of trouble is the over-charging which takes place quite continuously on the road in the hands of the average driver. The faults in both the C.A.V.Willard type and the Exide being the displacement of the material in the positive grid. The fault in question is considerably greater in the C.A.V. than the Exide or the P & R.{Sir Henry Royce} In the case of the P & R they have attempted to meet this trouble by firstly cramming as much capacity into the dimensions allocated to them and subsequently by increasing the hardness of the paste, making up the paste with unacted upon lead in a fairly large percentage, but Mr. Minchin was quite positive in stating that a 55 ampere hour battery, which is the actual figure for the Exide, was too small in his opinion for use on a car of the type of the 40/50, and as a result of these views he would not attempt to give us a battery of this capacity, but crammed into the space put at his disposal all he possibly could in the way of capacity, by making his box a part of the battery equipment itself, thereby enabling his Company | ||