Vintage Berns Air King Exhaust Fan NOS In Box

[rp2813]

This fan has been waiting for at least 50 years to be installed.  It's a Model AL 4014A with 8" blade that spins at 1550 RPM.

 

I've given it some turbine oil and currently have the fan component running in the shop for testing purposes.  It's very quiet.

 

I'm wondering whether this fan is intended for use in a bathroom as opposed to a kitchen.  Its air movement seems weak for a kitchen application and I have doubts about its ability to move exhaust from above the stove top and into the flue, past the second floor, and through the roof.

 

It's also missing some installation parts like mounting bars and shroud.  I'm planning to rework the false ceiling over the stove and add a sorely needed exhaust fan, but I'm not so sure this is the right fan for the job.

 

Can anyone advise on what I have?

 

I found a picture of a similar grille on line.  If it will help, I can take some pictures as well.

 

 

 

 

[moparwash]

This looks like a through the wall fan for the kitchen similar to mine

 

[pulltostart]

If it is/were intended for kitchen application, it should include provisions for a filter.  I think only a thru-wall kitchen exhaust (similar to what might be found in a mobile home) would not include a filter.

 

lawrence

 

[rp2813]

I think a mesh filter is considered optional.  I checked the box again and found it indicates contents of "1 Motor-Blade & Grill," so what I have amounts to replacement parts to be mounted into/onto an existing Air King housing -- the left half of the illustration in photo 4 below.

 

Here are some shots I lifted from the ebay ad showing the shroud and related parts I would need for installation:

 

 

[this post was last edited: 3/2/2016-18:41]

 

[vacerator]

Fans;

Mu aunt had one in the wall. When you released the chain, the outside vent cover opened up.
My first house had one in the ceiling.

 

[retro-man]

My parents house had a Hobart, I think it was, through the wall exhaust fan. That thing on high was like a jet engine. It could really blow some air. If you stood on the deck in front of the vent it would blow your hair back. The stove was on another wall with a walkway to the back hallway. When that was on you could see the steam and smoke going toward the fan. It has a similar fan type set up as rp posted. This would also clear cigarette smoke from the dining room, next room over when people were over for cocktails and cards. My brother now lives in the house. He redid the kitchen a couple of years ago. Not sure if is still there. Will have to go over and check to see and snap a few pics.

Jon

 

[vacerator]

Many were branded,

"Vent King"??????

 

[rp2813]

I think I'll have to track down used assemblies that have fallen victim to remodels.  That's if the fan motor I have is even rated for the kind of CFM air movement required for a kitchen situation. 

 

I'm not so great at physics, but am wondering if having the blades surrounded by a shroud serves to increase the fan's ability to draw and exhaust.   My current testing arrangement with the fan held in a vise by its mounting bar may not be representative of its air moving abilities when installed with proper components.

 

I'm amazed by what I've seen on ebay.  Complete vintage Air King fans have sold for $200 and up.

 

[yogitunes]

I have a Nutone thru-the-wall in my kitchen, wall switch operated, the damper is spring loaded.....

those filters are available at Lowes......I like the metal ones as they can go in the dishwasher....

these ones from ebay seem a bit steep in price....

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[circlew]

My house originally had a thru-the-wall type kitchen vent fan. The one installed when the house was built in 1952 was a Victor. Sometimes the chain would go through the opening and end up hanging outside, which required the power to be shut off to get it to stop so it could be put back in. That fan was replaced by a NuTone in 1973 when the kitchen had to be refurbished due to a grease fire. That one had a rounded-off square grille.

 

[customline]

Well now !!!!!!

Congratulations on your score. This is definitely a bathroom/clothing washroom fan. Unfortunately it's missing a shroud. Keep looking and one will turn up. I'm a vintage Nu tone exhaust fan and doorbell collector and I just scored a new in the box '55 Heat a Vent Lite with the original wall switch. Pictures to come soon !!!!

 

[moparwash]

The door to my thru the wall fan will freeze shut in the winter...have to poke it with the broomstick to open it

 

[vacerator]

outdoor vent cover freezing;

Oh, is that why my dad removed his when he remodeled years ago?
He bricked it up an put a flood light there for the driveway.

 

[rp2813]

Kevin, thanks for the confirmation.  I guess this "Motor-Blade & Grill Only" is going back in its box.  It would not be the correct Air King to place over the stove even if it had all of its installation components. 

 

I'll probably have to rethink my plans and come up with a way to install an exhaust hood.  In the end, that might be the easier DIY option, but it won't likely be a quieter one unless I shell out big bucks.

 

 

 

[norgeway]

I have a 1962 Nutone

I found NIB that I put in my kitchen ceiling, I like it much better than a hood , I was always banging my head on the hood!I hooked it up to a vintage BloFan variable speed control.

 

[rp2813]

Head bumping

I think I can manage with a hood if I have to.  Even though it's a false ceiling, it's higher than the average hood-over-cooktop-but-under-a-cabinet configuration, something that had me bumping my head a lot of the time at our previous house, so there would be considerably more clearance between range top and the hood above it.

 

A hood would also be slightly further back than the front of the stove, so that will help too.  Or I could just wear a hard hat.  I already have an old rusty "DANGER MEN COOKING" sign by the grill on the patio that I could hang in the kitchen instead.

 

[robbierabbit]

AIR KING WANT I'm interested in that Berns Air-K

please email on that NOS Berns Air-King.. ours (1959) is dying a slow death and I need a new one..

 

[rp2813]

Rob, where is your failing fan located?  In a kitchen?  In a bathroom?

 

As was stated above, the incomplete fan I have doesn't move enough air for a kitchen installation.