Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

Anyone that has stood next to a 6V Wincharger in high wind has most likely had second thoughts about standing in the plane of rotation, especially if it's an original 80 yr old prop. They can get up over a 1000 rpm before the air brake governor kicks in. I started making 6' props about 5 years ago when I couldn't find anyone making them and needed a few to complete some projects. Wincharger had a mill that could crank these props out in minutes. There's just not much of a demand so its hard to justify spending the money on a custom tool. I know several guys that have whittled their own that turned out great. Unfortunately, I don't have those kind of woodworking skills or know any Amish folks. I use a 3D CNC router to profile them. About 1940, most of the wind gen companies started using a more efficient air foil shape called Gottingen 222 which is what I use. A few years ago I had access to the CNC equipment through a community workshop called Techshop...since gone out of business. Now I pay someone $75/hr to run my programs on their machine. I use a tight, clear, vertical grain Douglas Fir which by the way is very difficult to find at least in Texas. Its the same wood used early on by Wincharger. After milling and hand sanding I give them 3 coats of a high quality spar varnish (Epifanes gloss), rough balance if needed, put on 8 mil copper leading edges with monel T50 staples and then trim balance. I'd love someone to go into production so I don't have to make them anymore. They're a pain in the ass and labor intensive the way I make them. Occasionally I come across NOS props but that's pretty rare and they're generally too nice to put out in the elements.

Mike, I sent you a PM

Wow nice job! Those are really nice.

Those look nice, we always made them out of Spruce? In my dozen or so I have picked up I have only found one 6 ft Wincharger, those would be a lot nicer inside! Good job!

Thx, I’m always looking for any size props or ones from lesser known wind charger companies. Right now I’m short on 8 ft props. Also on the lookout for a Hebco prop. I’ll be at trade fair if you have props or other parts you want to sell or trade. Send me pics ahead of time and I’ll let you know if I’m interested.

I was lucky found a new 6' wincharger prop in the box and a new 6' parris dunn in army green? I put up a 35' wincharger tower with a 32v mill just for show then I stuck on the ten foot blade and governor just to see what it would do. It was kinda neat. Then later the wind really got up and... Uh oh! I panicked! Now what? This things just going! So I quickly phoned windcharger Mike. He told me just listen.. you should be able to hear the sound when the governor kicks in, and sure enough, it really works, it just slows it for a second and kicks it out of the wind for a bit. I've since taken it down. It needs some work and is out of balance. I dont think the tower is supposed to shake?

Hey Mike, those are great finds,... treasures in my book. You may want to pull that prop down and balance it. It is possible to balance with it mounted if there’s ever a windless day up there. Lift brushes to reduce as much rotational drag as you can. The large governors can need balancing too. Might work well enough to get the shake out of your tower. Here is a link to a video I posted on YouTube a while back showing the Wincharger governor in action.

Thanks Mike. Still trying to get mine up and spinning. Wayne