Lighting plants for farms used a bank of lead-acid storage cells
that produced 32 volts DC.  This battery was charged when necessary by
a small gasoline engine.  It was a popular arrangement, and lots of
electric appliances -- 32-volt refrigerators, light bulbs and vacuum
cleaners are listed in my old Sears catalog -- were manufactured for
this voltage.  I suppose that Mills must have manufactured some 32-volt
equipment as well.

But with the Rural Electrification Act and the TVA in the 1930s and '40s,
many homes were converted to 120 volts AC power, necessitating the use of
a converter of some sort to provide power for the old 32-volt equipment.

Mark Kinsler
Lancaster, Ohio
http://www.mkinsler.com/