Wincharger electric generator

From RetroTech, the online museum of 20th century technology.

Wincharger on display at the 20th Century Technology Museum
Wincharger on display at the 20th Century Technology Museum

In the 1920s, the Wincharger was a popular piece of equipment on farms throughout America. Winchargers were wind-powered electric generators made by the Wincharger Corporation of Sioux City, Iowa. They were used to recharge 6-volt batteries that were in turn used to power farm radios.

Wincharger Corporation teamed with Zenith Radio to provide hundreds of thousands of these wind-powered devices that were soon used to provide lighting and to power other household appliances. The purchase price of a typical Wincharger was about $35, but Zenith offered a coupon with the purchase of their radios that allowed the customer to buy one for only $10 during the Great Depression.

The passing of the Rural Electrification Act in the 1930s provided electrical power to the home and eliminated the need for Winchargers.

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