Strange Vintage GE Fan0

[twintubdexter]

I wonder what kind of air flow one could expect from this modified fan. Perhaps it's been reborn as just a conversation-piece table lamp at a wishful-thinking price. $250 in Palm Springs.

http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/atq/5225610100.html

 

[realvanman]

The poor thing

Man the things some people do to high quality old stuff, eh?

Keith

 

[supersuds]

Fortunately Vortalex fans like that are fairly common and cheap. The thin aluminum blades can easily get bent and go off balance, which may have inspired this conversion.

 

[rp2813]

The tan blades on my 12" Vortalex (very similar looking to the altered one above) are pretty thick.  Maybe mine's an older model (1948, I think) and later Vortalex fans had thinner blades that are so common among various makes. 

 

Regarding the subject fan, if those bulbs could still spin, it might be an interesting novelty for a minute or two.

 

I've seen this lamp treatment applied to vintage blenders and ask myself why.   It's not so much that a vintage Waring or Osterizer has been violated (it could have been burned out junk anyway); I just don't find blender lamps to be attractive decorator items.

 

[supersuds]

Not sure how old my 10 inch Vorty is, Ralph, but the blades seem easily bent compared to an Emerson of the same age with steel blades.

Maybe I'm projecting since mine arrived out of balance even though it clearly had been little used (cause and effect, probably) but I seem to have read a lot of threads about out-of-balance Vortys at the Fan Collectors forum over the years.

One person over there blames soft aluminum hubs, though.

http://www.afcaforum.com/view_post.php?post_id=204923

 

[rp2813]

John, those balance issues sound vaguely familiar.

 

I've never had a problem with mine, but it sounds like the hub may be the weak spot instead of the blades.  It's identical to the one in the attached picture.

 

[realvanman]

Balancing fan blades....

I balance them experimentally by adding weight, like a paper clip or two near the hub. Try each blade in turn, then try more or less weight, and so on. Cheesy, sure, but I don't like vibrating fans lol

Keith