Recently I came across a very interesting disposable battery : the wet or, in jargon, the "urinal" battery.
The battery itself is stored dry, airtight and only disassembled before use, immersed in water and can be used for a certain period of time afterwards. If water was not available then it was also done that if the soldier had urinated smoothly into the battery, hence the jargon called "urinal" battery.
Its structure is as follows:
- copper plate
- paper impregnated with copper chloride
- magnesium plate.
But here is the complete user guide translated from Russian to Hungarian:
1. Description:
The battery can be activated with water. The battery has a copper-chloride-magnesium chemical-electrical system.
The battery is a disposable device for DC power supply of special equipments.
There are two types 3 MXM-7y and 3 MXM-7yT. In the second of these, the letter T refers to the tropical design.
Meaning of characters:
- 3: means the maximum voltage (V)
- MXM: reference to the chemical-electrical system (abbreviation of Russian words)
- 7y: continuous operating time at 20 ± 5 degrees Celsius per hour
- T: tropical version
Operating time:
- 0 degrees Celsius: 3.5 hours
- 50 degrees Celsius: 4 hours
2. Construction:
The battery consists of two interconnected components that form two independent circuits, so that rated voltages of 1.4 and 2.8 V can be taken.
The cables connect the adjacent parts and their surface is coated with waterproof paste.
The current terminals are solved with directly connected wires with a special connector.
3. Packing:
Each battery was housed in a plastic bag. Each packaged battery is in a metal box in a hermetically sealed wooden box.
4. Commissioning preparations:
The batteries are originally uncharged, so you need to prepare them for use in the following steps:
- cut the plastic bag along the seam and remove the battery,
- keep the battery in a container filled with water at 20 ± 5 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes.
take special care that the outlets are not exposed to moisture.
- after 5 minutes, take the batteries out from the water.
shake the water 2-3 times (not holding it at its terminals!) and place the battery back in the plastic bag with its terminals facing up.
- now insert the battery into the device and connect its terminals.
- after a minimum of 30 minutes of operation, the equipment will operate normally.
- if a charged battery is not connected to a load, it must be used within 10 hours of storage.
therefore, a continuous operating time of 4 hours is expected.
after an additional one minute of charging the battery, another 3 hours of operating time is expected.
To shorten the operating time of the battery under normal operating conditions, it is recommended to use slightly warmer water (25 ± 5 Celsius) especially at lower ambient temperatures and to short-circuit the terminals for 3-5 minutes before switching on the load.
5. Storage and transport:
Storage ambient temperature range: -40- + 30 degrees Celsius, relative humidity max. 80%.
Delivery: in its original box in any way max height: 10,000 m.
