The Battery of the Kettenkrad

The spare parts list tells you, that the Kettenkrad should have a battery with 6V and a capacity of 75 Ah. 6V car batteries are not common anymore and especially the 75 Ah you won't find in any list. The reason is, that they have changed the rules to battery capacity in the 1950s.

Up to the 1940s, the capacity of a car battery was measured during a 10 hours discharge. Under this conditions the battery had a capacity of 75 Ah. In the 1950s they changed the standard and from then the capacity was measured during a 20 hours discharge. Now the same battery had a capacity of 84 Ah. The battery stayed the same, only the standard and the measurement changed. So today you have to look for a 6V 84Ah battery.

The dimensions of the battery are as follows: Length: 225 mm, Width: 175 mm, Hight: 215 mm (over the connectors). This size fits exactly into the original spring-mounted battery carrier, which is missing on most Kettenkrads.

The spring-mounted battery carrier keeps the vibrations from the tracks away from the battery, so the battery will live longer.

This picture from the spare parts list shows the battery and the carrier:

And here the real thing:

The upper frame is original N.O.S. The lower frame and the clamping band are reproductions.