Since I wished to construct a battery to power an inverter, I was very much drawn to the NIFE Edison battery (the “immortal” battery). However, as the price of these units are prohibitively high, I decided to build an Edison single cell first, before embarking on making an entire battery. I made two "pillows": one containing Iron Oxide in low carbon steel can, and the other of Nickel Hydroxide in a Nickel- plated can (both perforated). The electrolyte was Potassium Hydroxide (Caustic Potash) of a specific gravity of around 1: 2. Result: a cell which has excellent charge retention; but very little capacity to drive a current of say 200ma for more than a half hour or so! My question to my fellow technical boffins is: what improvements can I make to my homemade Edison cell so as to extend its capacity - to drive said current for a longer period? Your answers would be most appreciated. Mr Dorian Stonehouse, Carmarthenshire, Wales).
doriansto@aol.com
