Roof mounted 32 volt winchargers?

[Elektro]

Hello all,

I have heard a couple times about the existence of a 300w 32 volt Wincharger plant (model 65?). I would imagine they are pretty much identical to the early Heavy Duty 6 and 12 volt plants with the 10 foot four leg roof mounted tower. I have never seen any photos or advertisement pages (maybe windchargermike can help with that?).

So do they really exist? or are they just 500w direct-drive or Heavy-Duty plants that have been mistaken for 300w 32 volt?

[mtblah]

Gabe, good question
Michael has the answer , most knowledgeable !
He has an outstanding collection of most every type built & they work.

[Wind Charger Mike]

Yes Wincharger did make a 300W, model 3216. They do look like a heavy duty 6v so you’d have to find the model number stamped on the case or have a decent tail vane. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one but someone sent me a photo of a tail so I know they existed…and I have a drawing. The tail vane indicates they were sold by Montgomery Ward probably about 1940 based on the drawings date. The drawing also shows it having a 6’ prop and 23” governor which is odd. Maybe so it could be mounted on a roof on an 5’ tower. Even the HD 6v machines had 7-1/2’ props and 32” governors. I doubt many were produced.

The 32V model “65” was equivalent to a 500W. It had a long 7-1/2” case distinguishable from the HD 6v, 12v and 300W 32v by having 2 bolts per field coil pole. The 65 designation stands for it capable of producing 65 kWhr/mo in nominal wind conditions. Peak power ratings were apparently misleading customers….still happens today. There was also a 6V model 65 but that number had nothing to do with energy produced per month.

[Elektro]

Thanks for the print Mike; I did some searching online, I couldn't find a 1940 Montgomery Wards catalog but I did find the spring/summer 1940 SEARS catalog. It looks like these 300w plants were only advertised for one year, 1939 and 1941 catalogs only list the 500w and 1000w plants. I suspect they weren't very popular, as most people would have had room for a tower for the larger plants, and the lower power rating and higher cost gave essentially equal service as the 6 volt Heavy Duty plants. Likely why both information, and the actual generators are so elusive.

Sears spring summer 1940 p. 966.jpg

Sears PowerMaster wind plants 1940.jpg

The small 300w plants seem like they would go on a roof just well as a Heavy Duty or radio charger; the 500w plants are a little too big and probably cause too much stress and noise in the structure. A 3216 would be a good addition to a Delco or other gas engine plant as a fuel saver, or in my case a good standby to replace solar in the wintertime.

Do you happen to have a generator specification table like the one you shared in my other thread that lists the 3216 plant? I suspect it would be just about impossible to find an original, however if I had the winding specs from the table I don't think it would be that hard to rewind a spare Heavy Duty generator for 32 volt charging and put together a working replica.

[Wind Charger Mike]

Thanks for sharing the advertisement. I’ll see what I can find on winding specs. Here’s an interesting drawing that shows how the tail was trimmed for the Ward or Sears machine options. The 1000W also had a large Wincharger tail that was trimmed. Maybe you’ve seen the interesting paddle governors used on the Ward and Sears 500 and 1000W machines.