Hey everybody, I'm reporting in after requesting advice on my 1947 GE Vortalex fan, which was gradually becoming a rattle trap even on high speed.
First off, thanks go out to Nate (roto204) who spied the fan recently and advised me about the oil cup and wick assembly for the front bearing. This fan had been running with that cup empty and caked with oil residue for many, many years.
Additional thanks to Dave (volvoguy87) who provided step-by-step maintenance instructions including those for the oscillator mechanism.
After cleaning up the cup and wick assembly, filling the cup with turbine oil and running the fan several hours a day for a few days straight, it began to quiet down, but there was still some noise on either end of the oscillation sweep.
I discovered that the blades were wobbling. The cage around the blades was quivering, particularly on medium speed. I wouldn't be surprised if wrestling the cage from around the blades could have bent something. I had been warned that the Vortalex blades can be particularly difficult to balance but I had to do something. I made a crude arrangement on the bench and found that one blade segment in particular was out of alignment. I'd say it took me at least two hours total over two days to gently bend things back into alignment, then remount the blade on the shaft each time and check for vibration. Things got worse before they got better. It was the classic situation of bending the problem blade segment and impacting the alignment of one or two others. But finally I got it nearly perfect, and the difference in the fan's noise level and operation has been nothing short of amazing. At this point, it sounds almost like new. During certain portions of the oscillation sweep, the motor hum disappears completely. It's the most silent operation I've ever witnessed from this fan in the 30+ years I've owned it, particularly on low speed, which was formerly the most noisy of the three.
The oil wick is doing its job. I've already topped off the cup after the bearings took in what they needed. Since it's oscillating smoothly and quietly, I've decided not to mess with things any further.
It's all ready for next summer.
Thanks to all who helped me get this powerful fan back to optimum performance.
Ralph
First off, thanks go out to Nate (roto204) who spied the fan recently and advised me about the oil cup and wick assembly for the front bearing. This fan had been running with that cup empty and caked with oil residue for many, many years.
Additional thanks to Dave (volvoguy87) who provided step-by-step maintenance instructions including those for the oscillator mechanism.
After cleaning up the cup and wick assembly, filling the cup with turbine oil and running the fan several hours a day for a few days straight, it began to quiet down, but there was still some noise on either end of the oscillation sweep.
I discovered that the blades were wobbling. The cage around the blades was quivering, particularly on medium speed. I wouldn't be surprised if wrestling the cage from around the blades could have bent something. I had been warned that the Vortalex blades can be particularly difficult to balance but I had to do something. I made a crude arrangement on the bench and found that one blade segment in particular was out of alignment. I'd say it took me at least two hours total over two days to gently bend things back into alignment, then remount the blade on the shaft each time and check for vibration. Things got worse before they got better. It was the classic situation of bending the problem blade segment and impacting the alignment of one or two others. But finally I got it nearly perfect, and the difference in the fan's noise level and operation has been nothing short of amazing. At this point, it sounds almost like new. During certain portions of the oscillation sweep, the motor hum disappears completely. It's the most silent operation I've ever witnessed from this fan in the 30+ years I've owned it, particularly on low speed, which was formerly the most noisy of the three.
The oil wick is doing its job. I've already topped off the cup after the bearings took in what they needed. Since it's oscillating smoothly and quietly, I've decided not to mess with things any further.
It's all ready for next summer.
Thanks to all who helped me get this powerful fan back to optimum performance.
Ralph
