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Vintage belt driven fan


Ken McClead

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I obtained this fan the other day, and when I got home with it, I began to disassemble it to go over the mechanical and electrical parts to make sure everything was working as it should.  My first problem was that the fan shaft bearings were very rough sounding when I turned the blade by hand.  I began to remove the bearings from the shaft, but could not get the one closest to the fan blade off.  I then proceeded to remove the fan blade, but one of the set screws holding the blade onto the shaft had seized and I could not break it loose.  I then had to resort to more drastic measures to remove the blade by drilling two holes down the shaft to break the blade free.  I ordered a new belt, bearings, and a shaft to replace the worn and damaged parts.  I will begin to reassemble the fan once all parts come in.  I have a couple of questions regarding reassembly.  When I install the bearings should the grease fitting face away from the belt or toward the belt, also which way should the oil ports on the motor face.  I do not know who made this fan, but once I get it running it should blow some serious air.  Here are some pictures to help out.

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Hey Ken, You have a Windmaker fan from our hometown company. I have never used pillowblocks with a grease zerk, but I would say it is what will be the easiest to service in the future, so I would probably direct both fittings toward the middle. As far as the oil ports, you want them pointing up. Once again position them for the easiest to service, but somewhere in the up position. This one is on the USS TEXAS, I repaired it a few years ago.

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13 hours ago, Ken McClead said:

I obtained this fan the other day, and when I got home with it, I began to disassemble it to go over the mechanical and electrical parts to make sure everything was working as it should.  My first problem was that the fan shaft bearings were very rough sounding when I turned the blade by hand.  I began to remove the bearings from the shaft, but could not get the one closest to the fan blade off.  I then proceeded to remove the fan blade, but one of the set screws holding the blade onto the shaft had seized and I could not break it loose.  I then had to resort to more drastic measures to remove the blade by drilling two holes down the shaft to break the blade free.  I ordered a new belt, bearings, and a shaft to replace the worn and damaged parts.  I will begin to reassemble the fan once all parts come in.  I have a couple of questions regarding reassembly.  When I install the bearings should the grease fitting face away from the belt or toward the belt, also which way should the oil ports on the motor face.  I do not know who made this fan, but once I get it running it should blow some serious air.  Here are some pictures to help out.

 

Hi Ken. That's a very nice fan! It's a shame about the shaft, though. Sometimes it can be a difficult part of the repair process, getting the shaft out of the blade. I've faced this with some of the direct-drive industrial fans. Because the blade is directly on the motor's shaft, one has to develop nondestructive methods to remove the blade from the shaft. The torch, and gear pullers are your friend in this case. 

As for the bearing grease fitting position; I would try to look at how the fan would be installed and serviced. Normally the motor would be a service item, so accessibility around that area would be provided. It would make sense to have the bearing grease ports oriented in such a manner that you can reach them from the same position where you could service, rewire, or replace the motor. 

Looking at Stan's picture, it seems there is one large screen assembly which simply lifts off. That would mean you have completely limitless access to the bearings. In that case, I would simply angle the grease fittings so that you can reach them from a comfortable position. 

The motor oil ports must face up, or else the oil won't be drawn into the wicks by gravity. Your motor has a rubber anti-resonant vibration mounting, so it would be easy to un-clamp it from its base, turn it, and re-secure it. The only real reason for doing that would be if you decided to operate the fan with the motor mount in a vertical position. Those rubber mounted motors are great because they are so quiet!  What brand of motor is that?

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16 minutes ago, David Allen said:

Hi Ken. That's a very nice fan! It's a shame about the shaft, though. Sometimes it can be a difficult part of the repair process, getting the shaft out of the blade. I've faced this with some of the direct-drive industrial fans. Because the blade is directly on the motor's shaft, one has to develop nondestructive methods to remove the blade from the shaft. The torch, and gear pullers are your friend in this case. 

As for the bearing grease fitting position; I would try to look at how the fan would be installed and serviced. Normally the motor would be a service item, so accessibility around that area would be provided. It would make sense to have the bearing grease ports oriented in such a manner that you can reach them from the same position where you could service, rewire, or replace the motor. 

Looking at Stan's picture, it seems there is one large screen assembly which simply lifts off. That would mean you have completely limitless access to the bearings. In that case, I would simply angle the grease fittings so that you can reach them from a comfortable position. 

The motor oil ports must face up, or else the oil won't be drawn into the wicks by gravity. Your motor has a rubber anti-resonant vibration mounting, so it would be easy to un-clamp it from its base, turn it, and re-secure it. The only real reason for doing that would be if you decided to operate the fan with the motor mount in a vertical position. Those rubber mounted motors are great because they are so quiet!  What brand of motor is that?

It is 1/3 HP Westinghouse.  When I got the fan, the motor bearings were completely dry, along with wasp nest and dirt/debris inside the motor.  It is all cleaned out and the motor was reoiled with 3 in 1 20 weight oil.

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18 minutes ago, Ken McClead said:

It is 1/3 HP Westinghouse.  When I got the fan, the motor bearings were completely dry, along with wasp nest and dirt/debris inside the motor.  It is all cleaned out and the motor was reoiled with 3 in 1 20 weight oil.

Nice!  I certainly know how it goes removing wasp nests and all manner of dirt from inside motors! Sounds like you got it ready to go for the long haul.

Do you have a back-story on how you got this fan and why it was so neglected? Probably interesting. 

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9 minutes ago, David Allen said:

Nice!  I certainly know how it goes removing wasp nests and all manner of dirt from inside motors! Sounds like you got it ready to go for the long haul.

Do you have a back-story on how you got this fan and why it was so neglected? Probably interesting. 

I purchased it on offer up from a guy in Pasadena, TX.  He told me that he used it in his house before he put in ceiling fans.  Unfortunately, the rear guard is missing, so I will have to make a wooden frame and use hardware cloth on the back to prevent injuries.  I am looking forward to getting it running again.  I will post pictures once the fan is complete.  Thanks for all your help.

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Got the fan back together and running.  It moves a lot of air for a 30" blade diameter.  I still have to build a box and rear guard for it.  Here are more pictures and a short video.

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4 hours ago, Ken McClead said:

Got the fan back together and running.  It moves a lot of air for a 30" blade diameter.  I still have to build a box and rear guard for it.  Here are more pictures and a short video.

Looks good!  The sound isn't working on the video, but it doesn't seem to be shaking or vibrating much at all.  I bet it is nice and quiet with those new bearings. 

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  • 4 months later...

I have, I believe, a fan from the same maker, but a 48". I got it somewhere locally, they are probably pretty common around Houston.

Edited by Richard Daugird
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