Exide Drydex cycle lamp

[mackerel]

I have an old Exide Drydex bicycle lamp. It takes a special kind of battery - I think a Drydex C60 (see pictures). Does anyone know about these lamps or the batteries they use, if working batteries can still be purchased somewhere, or even know how I can make the lamp work using common batteries now available in this century?

[n4zou]

If those batteries are what I think they are they were used in antique farm radios as the C battery. The diameter should be the same as a modern C battery, which are shorter in length. The voltage should be the same at 1.5 volts DC. If I am correct all you need do is install modern C batteries and use pennies between the negative post of the battery and contact spring. There was another C battery rated at 4.5 or 9 volts DC. Nearly all these batteries were in a rectangular box with screw terminal posts but this was not always the case. A few companies custom manufactured batteries that would only work with there products. I would carefully remove the bulb and look for a voltage and current rating on the bulb. If it's using 1.5 volt batteries it should be rated at something like 2.8 volts. Personally; I would find a collector and sell this nice find.

[mackerel]

Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can get it working - if not, then eBay here it comes.

[mackerel]

For anyone out there that has an old Excide or Pifco lamp that uses discontinued dual-batteries, here is a link I found that explains the conversion of these lamps to modern "D" cell batteries:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/catfoodrob/choppers/mechanic/pifcolamp.html