Jim Witherspoon Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 I just finished cleaning the lubrication ports. I'm trying to make sense of this. It seems there is a worm gear under the wick as is shown in the blurry picture and a gear that meshes with it on the the top of the shaft which goes through the top hole and another gear on the bottom of the same shaft that must meet with another worm gear, probably the oscillator. I'm only guessing that the top worm gear is lubricated by grease as does the bottom gear on the shaft. I haven't had the wick out, but it must travel through conical ports and lubricated the spiral on the shaft, which in turn lubricates the motor shaft with oil. Am I correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Smith Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 you need to remove the bottom cover & clean out the dried grease on those gears also, the pictured wick, as you call it is more of a sponge "o" ring to lubricate the sliding/rotating gear in the top portion. Also the neck swivel point needs cleaned & lubed as it will gum up & caused oscillation issues. Hopefully your pot metal neck pivot bracket has not cracked or wore as so many of these do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 4 hours ago, Lawrence Smith said: you need to remove the bottom cover & clean out the dried grease on those gears also, the pictured wick, as you call it is more of a sponge "o" ring to lubricate the sliding/rotating gear in the top portion. Also the neck swivel point needs cleaned & lubed as it will gum up & caused oscillation issues. Hopefully your pot metal neck pivot bracket has not cracked or wore as so many of these do. Thank you Lawrence. So, I oil the sponge O ring to lubricate the sliding/rotating gear, and the bottom gear requires grease. I discovered the bottom cover and will tackle that this weekend. Maybe that will reveal how to get apart the neck swivel point. I am afraid the pot metal neck is cracked already, but the fan runs well. Maybe at some point I'll get the neck welded. If I understood you correctly about the grease and oil points, I appreciate your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Smith Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Are you on Facebook? I have a thread with pics of the parts disassembled. I’ll see if I can transfer the pics 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 8 hours ago, Lawrence Smith said: Are you on Facebook? I have a thread with pics of the parts disassembled. I’ll see if I can transfer the pics If you are able to post pictures, I would sure appreciate it. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 The gear box fell apart while I was cleaning it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave McManaman Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 2 hours ago, Jim Witherspoon said: The gear box fell apart while I was cleaning it. Sorry to hear that. Those pot metal parts can just disintegrate. I’m working on a small Century with a very similar oscillator on it, also pot metal. Had a Fitzgerald Star that someone gifted me and the pot metal box on it fell apart in shipping. Unfortunate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Smith Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 https://www.facebook.com/groups/812756382202996/permalink/1804456006366357/ This is one of the facebook threads, it shows differences between 4 & 6 pole motors (amp readings too) & the oscillator neck issue. I'm still looking for the other photos of the repaired piece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 Thank you for the link. I have a old smaller Emerson as well, which seems to have a stronger casing. Yesterday, I was thinking of rebuilding the Westinghouse. I actually have a possible link to a NOS gear box, which I may pursue, if the guy finds it. I also have found the same type Westinghouse that has no power cord, so he doesn't know if the motor works. The gear box looks solid on that one; however, I think he's asking too much money for it as the motor is an unknown. I may get it anyway.and use this mine for spares if the motor turns out good. I need to figure out how to lubricate the Emerson. It seems completely different than the Westinghouse. I may start a new thread for the Emerson. Thanks Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 17 hours ago, Dave McManaman said: Sorry to hear that. Those pot metal parts can just disintegrate. I’m working on a small Century with a very similar oscillator on it, also pot metal. Had a Fitzgerald Star that someone gifted me and the pot metal box on it fell apart in shipping. Unfortunate! And thank you as well Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stephens Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 My advice for new fan collectors is to stay away from fans using significant amounts of pot metal. Many are not durable and cannot always be serviced or worked on. For the Century brand the good ones are the older cast iron FIVE SPEED models. The three speeds are always pot metal on the 12 and 16" fans. Some of the smaller Centurys have stamped steel motors with only a little bit of pot metal. Always check the condition of pot metal before you buy more pot metal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 3 hours ago, Steve Stephens said: My advice for new fan collectors is to stay away from fans using significant amounts of pot metal. Many are not durable and cannot always be serviced or worked on. For the Century brand the good ones are the older cast iron FIVE SPEED models. The three speeds are always pot metal on the 12 and 16" fans. Some of the smaller Centurys have stamped steel motors with only a little bit of pot metal. Always check the condition of pot metal before you buy more pot metal. I don't think I'm going to pursue this Westinghouse. Does anyone know if Emersons are cast iron or pot metal? My old Emerson looks pretty substantial. Attached is a picture the nameplate. How about Emerson 79648"s. They are 16 inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Peters Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Your 29646 is an excellent fan. It should give many years of reliable service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stephens Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Jim, pull that magnet out of your pocket or wallet that you always have with you. That will tell if the item is steel or iron or pot metal. Many Emersons are diecast aluminum or a similar metal and it is very durable; nothing like Pot Metal. Emersons in the early period did use some pot metal in the neck part and oscillator adjustment case but, in both cases, the pot metal parts can be replaced with the corresponding cast iron parts. Some 9" early Emersons used a pot metal gearbox casting but the quality is pretty decent. To familiarize yourself with Emersons look at my blog. It does not extend past about 1930: https://earlyfans.blogspot.com/2011/07/dating-early-emerson-60-cycle-and-dc.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Witherspoon Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 5:54 PM, Steve Stephens said: Jim, pull that magnet out of your pocket or wallet that you always have with you. That will tell if the item is steel or iron or pot metal. Many Emersons are diecast aluminum or a similar metal and it is very durable; nothing like Pot Metal. Emersons in the early period did use some pot metal in the neck part and oscillator adjustment case but, in both cases, the pot metal parts can be replaced with the corresponding cast iron parts. Some 9" early Emersons used a pot metal gearbox casting but the quality is pretty decent. To familiarize yourself with Emersons look at my blog. It does not extend past about 1930: https://earlyfans.blogspot.com/2011/07/dating-early-emerson-60-cycle-and-dc.html Very nice blog Steve. Very informative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stephens Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 Thank you Jim. I would love to take time to update the blog and add more but just never seem to get around to it. Maybe later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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