Vintage Fan Thread

[rp2813]

That Mathes Pictured Above

It isn't mine, so I just went and snapped a couple.

 

Interesting about that swamp cooler function.  If mine had that accessory, I'd surely use it.

 

This is my fan:

 

[rp2813]

Another shot.

 

[jmm63]

Those models were indeed to be used as "swamp coolers". You hooked a moisture wicking pad up to the back and presto, cool air. That's why those units are made mostly out of wood for water+electric+metal= electrocution purposes, but I still don't know how smart it was. They are much more popular in the SouthWest and drier climates, probably not a very good seller in the humid states.

 

[rp2813]

That explains why they call it a cooler and not just a fan.

 

Time to google up some images to see what the wet media assembly looks like.

 

[pdub]

Kenmore

This thread motivated me to get out my old Kenmore fan that also is a portable heater. When you move the switch from COOLING to HEAT the fan speed slows down and the star shaped heat coil comes on. I have no idea how old it is but it still works pretty well. This fan really moves the air.

 

[polkanut]

Time to resurrect this thread.

<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;">I found this cute little single speed Zero oscillating fan at the only estate sale happening in town this weekend.  Not bad for $5.00 if I do say so myself.  Gave it a couple of drops of oil, and she runs beautifully!  McGraw Electric Co. merged with Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in 1957 to form McGraw-Edison, so this fan would most likely be pre-1957.</span>

 

[Kanticoy]

I know where my love of fans came from: my dad, who is on these boards! He keeps talking about the great folks here so I thought I would share a few. I restore them when they're too far gone. I love all fans, but my favorites are the atomic age fans from the 50's like Vornados, Kenmore's, Mimar's etc. These are just a few of my collection including a few restos. Great place here!

 

[cfz2882]

vornado

I have a vornado similar to pic#1,mine is kinda beat up-snatched it at the dump~20 years ago,but works good.I also recently got a ~1950 fan with 4 brown rubber blades and no guard-will look to see what brand that one is.

 

[jetcone]

Kanticoy

cool fans, whats that one in #5 ? I love the giant ring around it !

 

[polkanut]

Office scene from Bullitt.

I would love to find a desk fan like the one in the background in the scene in the architect's office where Bullitt's girlfriend works.  I think the spiral design on the blades is so hypnotic.  You can see it beginning at 5:49 into the clip.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKI9CmIHmoc

 

[Kanticoy]

Thanks guys! The fan with a ring around it is a Kenmore fan made by Mimar known as the "Dynafan". It is in the process of being restored right now to factory fresh. They made a huge one that I have yet to find in my picking.

 

[philr]

I'd like to find another R&M hunter tripod fan as I have one that hit the floor too many times during the few years it did belong to my uncle!

It still works but it's missing pieces of it's plastic housing... When I was a kid, I was fascinated by this fan, which at that time, was in my bedroom in my grandparent's house. 

 

 

 

[philr]

I had to buy one after I checked again on eBay. Not the tripod version but my tripod is good... I just hope it will not be damaged in the shipping!

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391145961041?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
 

 

 

 

 

[philr]

Here's the one I currently have, I have patched it with fiberglass, it still works but it's ugly! A few weeks ago, I was wondering if I should just throw it away. I'm glad I resisted as I'll reuse the tripod from this one. It's the same model number as the other one.

 

[blackstone]

1906 GE Pancake Fan

Just finished restoring this old fan; GE with the flat "pancake" motor. One interesting feature about this fan is the exposed live wires on the back of the motor. 5-speed fan with all-brass cage and blades. One "before" picture shown.

 

[philr]

That's a really nice fan Fred, I was quite impressed when I saw it in person!

 

[ovrphil]

Fred - nice job on this old GE fan. Did the five speeds work already when you bought it or did that feature need attention to work properly?

 

[blackstone]

As you can imagine, the wiring on the fan was in sad shape. I put on a new cord, and similar wire from the base of the fan to the back of the motor. I used a cloth-covered cord intended for a flat iron. The wire connects to terminals on the back of the motor, which are exposed to whoever wants to touch them. At top speed, there is 110v; at low speed, it's about 70v.

I did have to fix one connection inside the base. I forget what it's called, but inside the base is a circular coil, off of which is tapped 5 wires, for the 5 speeds. Only 1 of these connections was broken.

The most work went into polishing the brass.

 

[maytog77]

Well....

I only have 1 vintage fan..A vintage Emerson Electric. I have no idea how old it is. I bought it at a gsale, and cleaned it up, oiled the motor and such. Is is a one speed DC with no switch. I think I am going to buy one of those lamp type cord swiches for it

 

[ovrphil]

Reply #77

wow, Frid - those open wires are daunting. Hopefully no one or thing will accidentally reach behind and get a little wakeup call.

 

[wash_my_machine]

Recently purchased these beauties!

 

[philr]

After a few years of searching (not too actively but still!), here's my Hunter tripod fan with it's new housing. 

 

I spent a few hours cleaning it and replacing the power cord but I'm very happy about it now!

 

I still need to clean the power cord and the tripod part as it was quite dirty. The last picture is how it was before!  I had patched it with fiberglass because there were large chunks of plastic missing! I was tempted to throw it away a few times because of it's condition, but now I'm glad I resisted!

 

[ovrphil]

PhilR - awesome looking fan!

 

[philr]

Thanks Phil, I spent quite a few hours cleaning it last night and I just finished cleaning another free 1975 Frigidaire air conditioner that I found on Craigslist earlier this week. I'm quite thrilled with my new finds!

 

[ovrphil]

What model no. is that Hunter ?

?

And it shows…..I didn't flip through the eight pictures all the way, and the last photo you posted should be the first to show the "before". I haven't seen a Hunter like that but since you now have introduced me to these, I'd gladly pick one up if it was reasonably priced.

You have some cool stuff, for sure.

 

[philr]

Here it is. Other than the tripod, it has minor differences with mine. The original power cord had been replaced on the one I got on eBay so I used mine instead. Then I noticed that the holes for the power cord have been moved down on the newer design and one of them was also made larger to fit a plastic blocking insert. All the information on the model tag remained the same however.  The fan I already had also had an asbestos sheet in the switch/motor housing that the one I got on eBay didn't have. And I don't think it ever had one. Mine wouldn't fit because the hole for the wire in the asbestos sheet was located at a different place. 

 

[ovrphil]

Fan construction

Thanks PhilR, is that a plastic or metal shroud we're looking at? It looks like metal.

 

[philr]

It's all plastic. I don't know exactly what type of plastic it is. It's relatively hard (not as hard as Bakelite). I think the seller told me it's melamine, I guess it could be.

 

The front grille/shroud is a single piece which holds the motor and switch. The grille at the back is another molded plastic piece that's held to the shroud by 4 screws. The legs are made of anodized aluminium and the part that holds the 3 legs and the fan is mostly made of cast iron that's painted to match the plastic parts.

 

[ovrphil]

The tripod didn't appear to be holding up an all metal fan, but it gave a metal look. Nice job on the restore!

 

[kathyjb]

Just Got Here

Where is everyone? I don't see an icon for vintage fans. drats!