ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the engineering, construction, performance, electric output and different uses of the Jacobs wind electric 2500 to 3000 watt plant, thousands of which were installed in many parts of the world between 1931 and 1957. Early engineering started on this wind-operated electric generating plant in 1925. After several years of testing different types of windmills, the three-blade aeroplane type of propeller was found to be far superior in power output. When in operation, the three-blade propeller creates a steady centrifugal force resistance, against which the tail vane reacts with a constant pressure and produces a smooth shifting horizontal movement of the plant facing direction. A six-pole battery-charging-type shunt generator was designed so that its load factor would exactly parallel the power output curve of the wind-driven propeller when operating in the 7 to 20mph range that it was felt produced the most hours of wind per month.
