Air Electric Restoration

[Wind Charger Mike]

Here's a 4 blade, 2500W Air Electric I picked up last month. I displayed it yesterday at the Early Day Engine & Tractor show, Temple Texas.

[Wind Charger Mike]

show pics

[windybob]

That's awesome. Thanks Mike.

[PaulV]

Too cool Mike! You do awesome work.

[Ron Stauffer]

Impressive weight of that machine compared to the newer Chinese and Indian units. Maybe that is why they dont last... Can I assume most of the older units were for 32VDC nminal systems? Newer off grid systems went from 24V nominal to 48V so I am guessing the 32 V wind chargers wouldnt have high enough VOC for a 48 V system?

Ron Stauffer
Montrose CO

[Wind Charger Mike]

They certainly were well built compared to the ones made today. They also didn’t have to deal with the rectifier and inverter power conversions. Unfortunately their weight made them targets for scraping which is why so few exist today. Yes, this one is 32V, 110V dc was also available. With enough wind you could tweak the governor to let it over speed to get 48V if the winding insulation is still in good condition. Some have them rewound. I know some that run 32V wind-solar hybrid systems,

[rockingjl]

Cool! Thanks for sharing pictures.

[WisJim]

Lots of people using old 32 volt Jacobs use them at 48 volts with no problem. I'm not sure about other brands.

[kansascity11]

Fantastic. I have been looking for photos like this for years! I will include a brief history of Air-Electric and a letter written to my grandfather, James W. Ryan, on the Air-Electric letterhead.

[Wind Charger Mike]

Thanks for sharing the letter to your grandfather. Did your grandfather work at AE when it was located in Jewel? And do you have any other correspondence? I have more info on the company if your interested, I can send you a link.