The Siren Board

Hooking up one of those lantern batteries is not a good idea. Those motors draw a lot more current than that battery can provide and the battery could overheat and explode as a result. I'd recommend on getting a real 6v car battery to operate it.

I think everyone's missing the obvious answer.

Get ANOTHER 76A and hook them both in series to a 12V car battery!



...Or maybe not, since DC motors use brushes to energize the armature, and one motor's interruptions won't likely align perfectly with the other one. I haven't tried it to know if it's a legitimate concern.

So I have been looking for a fair bit, and I have been struggling to find a battery to fit my needs. Does anyone have any recommendations for me?

Chicagosiren-hunters wrote:So I have been looking for a fair bit, and I have been struggling to find a battery to fit my needs. Does anyone have any recommendations for me?

Do you know how many amps it pulls?

I've been doing some searching, and I stumbled on this. On this link below, it states that the Class 70 uses the same motor as the Class 60/ Model 28 series. In addition, they posted a photo that states the 66G and 28 both draw 75 amps:
http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/f ... hp?t=12451
Could I have verification that this is true? Also, should I get a battery with more than 75 Ah?

Lower voltage means higher current. I'd connect several 6-volt motorcycle batteries in parallel.

75 amps is probably right. Concerning DC motors, you are always going to see some ridiculous amperages. I think most mechanical fire sirens like the Q draw anywhere between 80-120 amps during operation. When you get into bigger sirens like the T-128, you are likely looking at several hundred to 1000 amps.

I have an old Model 76 missing the front grille, and I've wondered about replacing the motor with a 120 volt one. Has anyone tried this?

Sorry for yet another massive bump, but I think I have figured something out.
Previously, I mentioned that the 76 pulls 75 Amps at 12 volt, and using the equation V=IR (12=75R) the resistance of a 12 volt 76 is 0.16 Ohm. Assuming resistance is constant, I could set up the same equation (6=I 0.16) and I get 37.5 Amps. Does this sound right? As to me, it seems too small.

Just go to Napa or AutoZone and see if they can order a 6v battery. I would not recommend trying to run it off 12v unless you have a resistor to drop the voltage.