Fan Find

[rp2813]

I found this great looking large Kenmore box fan at a yard sale on the way to the supermarket this past Saturday.

 

$5.  It works fine, is very quiet, and just needs a good cleaning (although there is some rust inside the housing) to look decent.

 

One of the adjusting knobs for tilt has been broken off.  That's the only glaring issue.

 

I have two questions:  What is the purpose of a thermostatic control?  Why does that control start at "5" and go up to "11" with "5" being the "coldest" setting?  What's the aversion to 1 through 4?

 

Anyone else have an interesting fan they'd like to share pix of here?

 

[yogitunes]

not sure about the numbers from 5 to 11, but a thermostat on a fan is to control the temp in a room, as if it were placed in a window, for exhaust, once the rooms air is exchanged to a set temp, the fan would turn off...... have a few whole house fans, work pretty good for night time sleep if it happens to get too hot or cool during the night, like an A/C, it monitors the temp for on or off...

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Martin.  That explanation makes perfect sense.  The legs are removable so it would to a good job as an exhaust fan if placed in a window. 

 

Maybe the Off, High, Medium, and Low settings are considered 1 through 4.  Taking cues from home laundry machines, that would give this fan nearly 40 cycle options!

 

[qsd-dan]

Anyone else have an interesting fan they'd like to share

Got 13 of 'em. Newest is from late 50's

I don't want take up too much bandwidth though. Plus, most of them are on duty at the moment and don't look their best from thousands of run time hours since May ;>)

Gotta say that it pays off using them. Neighbor across the street has the identical floor plan as I and had a $600 PG&E bill running his A/C last month. Mine? $104.....and my house was cooler than his the entire time

Not sure why people in this area can't open windows toward the evening hours, put running fans in front of them, and close windows and shades come early morning. I'll be walking my dogs at midnight and hear A/C units blaring away at every direction while it's 57F outside.

REALLY?!

 

[JaredH]

Ok,first of all: nice find! This fan was made by Signal electric mfg. company of Menomnnie,MI (spelling is probably wrong) in the late 50s-early 60's, and is the smallest model they had that era in that style. The global mod on another forum I am registered on ( not competitive to here at all) has one of those. Enjoy it!

 

[rp2813]

@ Dan

I know what you mean -- about bandwidth but even more so about the practice of taking advantage of cool nights with window fans.  This summer we've yet to have a heat wave so bad that the house won't cool down at night with a few strategically placed fans.  The house usually cools enough to shut the fans off before morning.

 

Shades are drawn and/or curtains closed during the day until the sun is off those particular windows.  Downstairs it has been comfortable all summer.  The small upstairs area is another matter.  The house is not insulated and it can get uncomfortable up there even on an 85 degree day, but with a couple of window fans I can start cooling it down by early evening. 

 

I think this new Kenmore will do a great job up there -- way better and quieter than the cheap plastic Chinese twinnie fans I've been using.

 

[paulg]

The sound of fans

I don't know about the rest of you, but just the sound of those metal fans is soothing. Certainly something to do with my childhood.
That's a great fan you found.

 

[rp2813]

Jared, thanks for the manufacturer information.

 

Paul, my partner Dave hates whirring sounds of any type (which is why I'm limited to owning only the least noisy types of vintage dishwashers).  This Kenmore fan should quiet things down -- including him.

 

[qsd-dan]

my partner Dave hates whirring sounds of any type

You need a 77646 (12" blade) or 77648 (16 inch blade) series Emerson fan. With its steeply pitched overlapping blades, it throws out a tremendous amount of air at very low RPM's. This arrangement keep noise levels WAY down. They're silent on low and still pretty quiet on med and even high. They also have very efficient PSC (Permanent Split Capacitor) motors. I run a few of them for 5 months straight during the summer months and the motor housing are always cold to the touch.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Dan.  I'll be on the lookout for one of those Emersons.  My 1948 GE 4-blade Vortalex is way too loud to use indoors.  I use it in the shop area of the garage because it can really move a lot of air.

 

I'm surprised the Kenmore is so quiet for being a 3-blade fan.