FIG. 3.

This appliance, which is 0.01 meter in thickness and 0.02 meter in width in the back, is made very cheaply by machinery. The weight of the accumulator bears entirely upon the back of the combs, which are all placed back downward, and the number of which varies according to the size of the plates. Small combs of wood clasp the plates at their extremities, and make the entire accumulator quite compact and manageable. The entire accumulator is shut up in a wooden chest, which the outer teeth of the comb serve to insulate from the leaden chest, and to prevent any loss of electricity along the sides.

Fig. 4 shows the arrangement of the side combs. A single glance at this figure shows that it would be difficult to have more surface without having recourse to curved, undulated, or folded plates, in which the distances are variable, and consequently defective. In the Montaud accumulator, the weight is simply proportional to the intended duration. For the notion, "So much capacity and so much yield per kilo.," Montaud substitutes the notion, "So much capacity or yield per square meter, the weight not being taken into consideration." These Montaud accumulators are classified as follows: They have from 1 to 12 square meters of surface, and the number corresponding to the surface indicates its weight of useful lead, its manner of charging, its capacity, and its manner of discharge.

FIG. 4.

According to the inventor's experiments, the square meter of active surface can receive a charging current of 10 amperes, and furnish on discharging a current of the intensity of 20 amperes. For a "No. 10" accumulator we have an active surface of 10 square meters, a charging current of 100 amperes, and on discharging a current of 200 amperes. A square meter of lead of the thickness of 0.001 meter weighs about 11 kilos.

As both surfaces of the lead are utilized, their weight is reduced to 5½ kilos. A No. 10 therefore requires 55 kilos. of useful lead. It will be seen that to increase the thickness of the sheet of lead merely augments the duration of the accumulator, without affecting its capacity or its manner of charging and discharging. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 may be placed in vessels of stoneware, glass, or ebonite, or in boxes of pitch pine, painted with three coats of gum lac and lined with sheet lead. Nos. 5 to 12 are only sent out in pitch pine boxes lined with lead. The box is supported on feet of porcelain of the shape of a mushroom. If a drop of water falls upon this foot, it cannot give a communication with the earth, since, falling upon the broad part of the mushroom, it will glide off without running along the foot, which serves as the stalk of the mushroom. A slip of glass is placed under each foot; the part which supports the mushroom is covered with an insulating varnish, which prevents the formation of climbing salts and preserves the screws from rust.

A common layer of insulating varnish is applied under the head of the mushroom.

As regards the advantages of the Montaud accumulator we notice, first, its longevity. Dr. D'Arsonval points out that the accumulators of the Plante class have a great advantage over the Faure type as regards duration, and that the most striking quality of the Montaud accumulator is its longevity. The inventor has in his possession positive plates, five to six years old, completely peroxidized, though there remains in the interior a thin core of metallic lead sufficient to give passage to the current. The adhesion of the peroxide is such that to detach it, it must be beaten with a hammer upon an anvil. The next four points - i.e., the rapidity of charge; the yield, much greater than that of any other system in proportion to its surface; its small weight in comparison with its yield; and its capacity, which for an equal weight is greater than that of any other accumulator. In his experiments in September, 1885, Dr. D'Arsonval obtained with an accumulator of 2 square meters of surface:

 Useful capacity 40 ampere hours.

Total 62 " "

Surface 2 square meters

Charge 10 amp. per sq. meter.

Discharge 20 " " "

Useful weight of lead 10 kilos. 

Representing a total capacity of six ampere hours per kilo., and of a discharge of 5 amperes per kilo., or a total capacity of 81 ampere hours per square meter, and a useful capacity of 20 ampere hours per square meter. Subsequently the modification of the negative plate has greatly improved these figures, which will certainly become much more advantageous in future. The total capacity of an accumulator having exactly 1¾ meters of surface has become 87 ampere hours, which if referred to an accumulator of 2 square meters of surface, would give the following results:

 Useful weight of lead per sq. meter 5½ kilos.

Total capacity of useful lead per kilo 9.1 amp. hr.

Total capacity per sq. meter 50 "

Useful capacity of per kilo of useful lead 6.23 "

Useful capacity per square meter 34.30 "

Current of charge per square meter 10 amp.

Current of charge per kilo, of useful lead 2 "

Current of discharge per sq. meter 20 "

Current of discharge per kilo, of useful lead 4.56 " 

The next advantage of the Montaud accumulator is the ease with which it can be taken out of its box and repaired without special tools and experience. A capital defect in this respect has hitherto much interfered with the use of accumulators. In case of accidents, several kinds of which are possible, it is found very difficult to rectify the apparatus. The Montaud accumulator is much less liable to accidents, on account of the firmness and compactness of its construction, and if any accident happens, the repairs are simple and easy. Lastly, the stout framework secures the apparatus from any accident due to a disproportionate charge or discharge. The peculiarities of the combs and rods already described solve this problem. On September 8, 1885, Dr. D'Arsonval, professor at the College of France, wrote as follows: "The Montaud accumulator is of the Plante type, and is extremely well conceived from a mechanical point of view. The wooden combs prevent the plates from coming in mutual contact, and give the apparatus great solidity. The process of formation is ingenious and rapid.

To give 1 square meter a capacity of 20 ampere hours, there is required only a quarter of an hour's treatment.

"To obtain the same result by Plante's method, months are required. The entire experiments have been effected with No. 2, which has a surface of two square meters. This apparatus, if charged to saturation, gives 62 ampere hours as its total capacity, and, as in the Plante, this capacity constantly increases with use. The normal rule for the charge is 10 amperes per square meter, and for the discharge double this quantity. This apparatus has always given me on discharging 40 amperes at the E.M.F. of 1.85 volts during 60 or 65 minutes. The charge is effected in two hours up to 20 amperes, without any appreciable loss of electricity.

"The points to be aimed at in an accumulator are longevity and energy, or, rather, rapid yield per kilo. From both points of view accumulators of the Plante type (and consequently those of Montaud) are far superior to those of the Faure type. My opinion, therefore, is that the Montaud accumulator is very practical, that it is a great improvement on the Plante type, and that it can compete successfully with the other systems in use." - Revue Internationale de l'Electricite.