Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Ideas & Inspiration => Engineering Dept. => Topic started by: Daryl J. on July 17, 2014, 11:46:37 PM
-
How heavy would the NiCad batteries for that weather station the Germans installed in Canada be?
And, is there a problem with them being in a tropical climate?
-
Less than lead-acid batteries of the same output. ;D
Yes, NiCd batteries are temperature sensitive in regards to charging cycle, with
problems coming over 40° C. So precautions would need to be taken in the tropics,
but they were used all over the world, except in the US, during the pre-war period.
-
Given what jcf has said then the tropics, generally, would not be too big an issue. Tropical environments rarely get over 35°C because the moisture in the air absorbs heat (as humidity). It’s when you get into tropical & sub-tropical deserts that you’d have issues because in the summer/dry months, & sometimes even in the winter/wet months temperatures are regularly 45°C & higher, some regions regularly reaching 50/55°C.
However, that being said, the humid tropics are not a good place for metals generally, especially dissimilar metals, because electrolysis is accelerated by the humidity. In coastal regions, where salt laden air is also a factor, the tropics are down-right cruel to dissimilar metals. Just imagine one of the early steel-block/aluminium-head motors running salt water through its cooling system, instead of inhibitor-laden coolant.
-
How heavy would the NiCad batteries for that weather station the Germans installed in Canada be? And, is there a problem with them being in a tropical climate?
Daryl,
Some details regarding size and weight for the batteries are provided in the Wikipedia article on Weather Station Kurt (Wetter-Funkgerät Land-26):
[The WFL (Wetter-Funkgerät Land-26) was] designed by Dr. Ernest Ploetze and Edwin Stoebe. Twenty-six were manufactured by Siemens. The WFL had an array of measuring instruments, a telemetry system and a 150 watt, Lorenz 150 FK-type transmitter. It had 10 cylindrical canisters, each 1 metre (3.3 ft) by c.47 cm diameter (1.5 metres (4.9 ft) circumference) and weighing around 100 kilograms (220 lb). One canister contained the instruments; it was attached to a 10-metre (33 ft) antenna mast. A second, shorter mast carried an anemometer and wind vane. The other canisters contained nickel-cadmium batteries that powered the system. The WFL would broadcast weather readings every three hours during a two minute transmission on 3940 kHz. The system could work for up to six months, depending on the number of battery canisters.