Found an Ideal/Temco

[Patrick Ray]

Found this Ideal fan locally and I knew I had to snag it as the oscillator was in one piece. It is missing one brush/brush cap so I can't test it at the moment. Looking through the old forum, appears to date '21-'22. Temco is faint on the base tag. Whole motor appears to be pot metal. 

 

[Thomas Peters]

Interesting find. Please, post photos as restoration progresses. 

[Patrick Ray]

10 minutes ago, Thomas Peters said:

Interesting find. Please, post photos as restoration progresses. 

I sure will! Don't think I can salvage the base tag as it's pretty heavily corroded, but will give it the college try. Plenty of relief on the cage tag. I'm looking forward to tearing into this fan and bringing it back to life... As soon as I clear 2 other projects off my bench! 

Any tips for painting this much pot metal? 

[Steve Butler]

Cool looking badge when cleaned up.  I’ve had a couple and neither would oscillate. Cross your fingers on the gearbox contents.  🤞

[Patrick Ray]

32 minutes ago, Steve Butler said:

Cool looking badge when cleaned up.  I’ve had a couple and neither would oscillate. Cross your fingers on the gearbox contents.  🤞

Notorious for stripped gears?

[Steve Butler]

A seasoned collector told me the gears are not Ideal on those fans.  I’m hoping the best for you.  It’s my understanding Ideal is more or less what Menominee became.  

Edited May 29, 2022 by Steve Butler

[Steve Sherwood]

I restored a Menominee a few years ago that looked very similar to that fan. I don't think the Menominee had the handle on it and the oscillator was pot metal.

[Patrick Ray]

1 hour ago, Steve Sherwood said:

I restored a Menominee a few years ago that looked very similar to that fan. I don't think the Menominee had the handle on it and the oscillator was pot metal.

On this model, the oscillator and motor housing is ALL pot metal.  How that much pot metal has survived for 100 years is beyond me. Looking at other posts on these fans, it seems other models had a steel motor housing. 

[Steve Sherwood]

7 minutes ago, Patrick Ray said:

On this model, the oscillator and motor housing is ALL pot metal.  How that much pot metal has survived for 100 years is beyond me. Looking at other posts on these fans, it seems other models had a steel motor housing. 

The one I did the pot metal was a little warped, I was a PITA to get it running as good as a could.

 

[Steve Butler]

The housings on mine were fine, the gears were junk.  

[Patrick Ray]

Let's all cross our fingers for when I blow this fan apart!

[Steve Butler]

On fans that don’t run, make the blade spin with compressed air from  a blow gun. You can see if it oscillates that way. 😉 Windy days at an outside flea market are funny when the fan is oscillating without being plugged in.  It makes people wonder.  

Edited May 29, 2022 by Steve Butler

[Patrick Ray]

3 minutes ago, Steve Butler said:

On fans that don’t run, make the blade spin with compressed air from  a blow gun. You can see if it oscillates that way. 😉 Windy days at an outside flea market are funny when the fan is oscillating without being plugged in.  It makes people wonder.  

Actually I did turn the blades by hand and the oscillator wheel moved. There's a promising sign!

[Russ Huber]

Definitely not 21.  Your fan could date as late as mid 20s.  Airster fans emerged from from the WP corporation (later to become Red Seal(?) absorption of Tideman Electric (under receiver since late 21/early 22) 

Iron age 1927
The WP Corporation, Cairo, ill., recently organized, has purchased the local properties of the Tideman Electric Co. and will continue the manufacture of electric fans, small electric motors and other electrical appliances.


Merchandising week 1928
Electrical Merchandising, May, 1928. Yl-ln. Oscillating Fan in Colored Finish A new AC, 12-in. oscillating fan placed on the market by the WP Corporation, Electrical Division, Cairo, 111

[Russ Huber]

Donald Coleman could make you a new tag from that image above if he is still with us.

[Russ Huber]

1923 Tideman Electric Mfg. Co. advertisement in the link provided below. Notice no TEMCO in the advertisement. Notice the receiver's name W. A. Krebs. Henry Tideman resigned as CEO in Oct. of 21. The receiver must have gained full rights to Tideman's fan motors. The Menominee name was still used on the fan motors as late as 22.

Popular Mechanics - Google Books

Edited May 30, 2022 by Russ Huber

[Patrick Ray]

11 hours ago, Russ Huber said:

1923 Tideman Electric Mfg. Co. advertisement in the link provided below. Notice no TEMCO in the advertisement. Notice the receiver's name W. A. Krebs. Henry Tideman resigned as CEO in Oct. of 21. The receiver must have gained full rights to Tideman's fan motors. The Menominee name was still used on the fan motors as late as 22.

Popular Mechanics - Google Books

Russ, is there any information to better nail down a possible year of manufacture on my fan? TEMCO base tag, Ideal cage badge, pot metal motor. Seems there was a change in design of the motor at one point (seen photos of steel motor housing).

[Russ Huber]

On 5/30/2022 at 11:57 AM, Patrick Ray said:

Russ, is there any information to better nail down a possible year of manufacture on my fan? TEMCO base tag, Ideal cage badge, pot metal motor. Seems there was a change in design of the motor at one point (seen photos of steel motor housing).

The only one here I am aware of that has the skills and paid access to old newspaper that could possibly answer your questions is Mike Kearns. All I have access to through Google books is a few book snippets/full read(very few full reads) of the early to mid 20s. Google books cut off for full read books is roughly around 22-24.

Henry Tideman lost his chair at Cairo in Oct. of 21.  Along with that I am confident he lost the rights to the Menominee fan motor name to the receiver. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by Russ Huber

[Russ Huber]

The new Tideman Electric Mfg. co. was completed in 1919 at 614 Commercial Ave. in Cairo, IL. The images below show what appears to be the factory building(part of the factory?) on the far right at 614 Commercial Ave.

1923

Edited May 31, 2022 by Russ Huber

[Patrick Ray]

Looks like that building was torn down. 

 

[Larry Hancock]

[Patrick Ray]

Been a while but I finally got this fan torn down. Cleaning the paint off of the motor housing did reveal a couple cracks (guess that was inevitable with everything being pot metal). Gears are in great shape. I'll stop-drill the cracks and do an epoxy fill on them.  

[Jim Kovar]

[Patrick Ray]

Anyone know how to remove the oscillator engagement knob from the lid?

 

[Patrick Ray]

Got it! It's threaded! So much gunk on there, I couldn't see what was going on!