1908 Car Battery Charger with Mercury Arc Rectifier

Baker Electric Car Charger from 1908. The huge device consisting of a glass rectifier and transformer act as a power supply to charge the original Edison Batteries. Steve Normandin discovers how the charger worked and puts together the pieces while telling us how it worked. The glass bulb of the mercury arc rectifier glows pink, blue and white as the mercury vaporizes. and it converts AC power from the grid to DC power for the car batteries. The long chord is made with braded cloth, and plug with asbestos insulation. The Baker Electric Car was one of the earliest commercially sold electric cars. The charger and car DC motor was made by General Electric in Schenectady.