LeJay Wind Charger

[Wind Charger Mike]

Recently completed this side vane governing, LeJay wind charger. LeJay was a 1930s/40s mail order company that rebranded many of the wind electric plants they sold….similar to JC Whitney if you remember them. They also sold plans and parts for DYIers. This one was available as complete unit or as kit. I believe a company called Currier mfg the parts.
Many thanks to those them helped me pull it together. The main casting came from the boneyard of Wildman in South Dakota. Young Chris in Maryland did the brazing repair and the 6V Dodge Brothers starter/generator and prop came from Jim Stelle in California. The generator is actually one sold by LeJay equipped with the correct prop hub and grease cups. I fabricated the tower, new vanes and side vane per the LeJay catalog.

[PaulV]

Looks super, Mike! Great work.

Seems there's as much design diversity with wind generators as there are with windmills.

[mtblah]

I reconize the background pasture .....
Very nice preservation of the past !
a great addition to your musuem

[fivepicker]

It's amazing , how much nicer your's looks with the sweeping curves to the tailfeather and side vane (compared to the break angles in the ad). Hope someone at the factory , back in the day got a bonus for the idea !

[Wind Charger Mike]

Very observant…The ad is not the exact model but it’s close. Mine is identical to the one shown in detail in one of the LeJay DYI catalogs. It made reproducing the missing parts much easier. Btw, those sweeping curves in the 3/4” angle were a bitch.