Peerless Top Mount Oiler (oil, grease, mix?)

[Dave McManaman]

I'm finishing up this Peerless #260520 front oscillating fan with a top mount oiler in front. The pictures don’t include the oilers yet as they were taken previously. Anyway, the oiler in back (a standard bottom mount) and the one in front (top mount) are designed identical, both as if they ought to both take oil, both have a wick spring and wick. But seeing as the front one mounts from the top, I'm used to grease cups which I've used a combination of vaseline thinned a bit with oil. I'd think if I went straight zoom spout, it would just run through the wick and out. So I was thinking of doing as I've done with grease cups, a thinned down vaseline mixture which the wick could still absorb but not so thin that it would run out. Anyone have one of these or another similar set up where it's not, simply, a grease cup? If so, what do you use?

 

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Dave McManaman
Added pictures

[David Kilnapp]

Interesting that you should post on this subject Dave. I just acquired a nine inch Peerless front oscillator which was missing the oilers. Steve Dempsey sold me (at an extremely reasonable price) another of the same fan WITH the oilers which I promptly sent to Darryl Hudson to be duplicated. Darryl will then have the specifications and blueprints should anyone else need these hard to find oilers.  Like you, I wondered how to deal with the front oiler which was pretty much identical to the rear oiler except that it is mounted as a grease cup on the top of the nose. I should think that thinning grease with a mixture of light oil would do the trick, at least that's what I'm going to try when I get the original oilers back from Darryl. 

[Dave McManaman]

39 minutes ago, David Kilnapp said:

Interesting that you should post on this subject Dave. I just acquired a nine inch Peerless front oscillator which was missing the oilers. Steve Dempsey sold me (at an extremely reasonable price) another of the same fan WITH the oilers which I promptly sent to Darryl Hudson to be duplicated. Darryl will then have the specifications and blueprints should anyone else need these hard to find oilers.  Like you, I wondered how to deal with the front oiler which was pretty much identical to the rear oiler except that it is mounted as a grease cup on the top of the nose. I should think that thinning grease with a mixture of light oil would do the trick, at least that's what I'm going to try when I get the original oilers back from Darryl. 

Thanks David. I’d seen your post in the wanted section and Steve’s offer. At the time I’d forgotten I’d sourced one, so I was thinking I needed two and was asking about it in that thread too. But then remembered I had one so I found a second with Chad’s company. It should be here tomorrow. I think Vic Valenchek has one of these too. I emailed him as well to see what he has done. Absent other direction, I’ll stick with the mix plan, maybe prime the wick a bit with straight oil, and give it a try. Cool little fans. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Dave McManaman

[Dave McManaman]

Funny thing is, I thought the front was a pin set up like my old Marelli’s top mount grease cup. I’d stripped and painted it, had never noticed the threads on the original oiler had broken off in the port, flush as could be. A smooth interior into which I thought a pin grease cup would rest. So I was looking for a grease cup that didn’t exist. Then I found a thread on AFCA’s old site from six or seven years ago from a guest looking for a switch for the same model. His post had gone unanswered so I clicked on his name, got his email address, and wrote to see if he was interested in selling what I thought would be a pin mount grease cup. He answered right away. Not selling but we got talking and he suggested I look closer - saying his was threaded and that the tube/tread part of the oiler might still be in there, busted off. Don’t ya know it, he was right! Great guy and, with a screw extractor, out it came easy peezy. A year of delay, and your post prompting me to look again, then that old forum post, and some email conversations later, and this old fan is going to be finished!

[Russ Huber]

Peerless 8" Tab Foot Front Oscillator - Pre-1950 (Antique) - Antique Fan Collectors Association - AFCA Forums

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Russ. You are a wealth of information. Dave:  I can't imagine how that grease cup could have broken off like that. At any rate, Darryl may be able to reproduce these little cups for members who are missing them. It's a neat little fan! I'll post pictures when the restoration on mine is done. 

In the meantime, two questions.

Who in the club can rewind these little nichrome choke coils?

Secondly, the bottom opening for the power cord is cut into the base in a very odd place so that the grommet is distorted. The grommet looks original but the fit isn't good. Who might have a grommet that fits this hole better?

[Steven P Dempsey]

I have a second 10" Peerless as discussed, currently out of my hands - I put Vaseline in it as other top mounted "Oilers". (I have R&M Gear Backs with top and bottom mounted cups, no idea why they switched & what was an earlier design.

[Dave McManaman]

13 hours ago, David Kilnapp said:

Thanks Russ. You are a wealth of information. Dave:  I can't imagine how that grease cup could have broken off like that. At any rate, Darryl may be able to reproduce these little cups for members who are missing them. It's a neat little fan! I'll post pictures when the restoration on mine is done. 

In the meantime, two questions.

Who in the club can rewind these little nichrome choke coils?

Secondly, the bottom opening for the power cord is cut into the base in a very odd place so that the grommet is distorted. The grommet looks original but the fit isn't good. Who might have a grommet that fits this hole better?

 

I posted a reply regarding the rewind in your other thread before seeing this one. Vic Valenchek rewound one just like this. I don't know if he does others but he said it wasn't that hard and named the materials he used. I thought my coil was going to need that done because it just looked bad. It was hanging from the switchplate, the plate being broken into several pieces, with only two wires connected. But I tested it and it seemed OK so I cleaned it up, fixed the switchplate, reconnected it, and wrapped it in friction tape as the nichrome was a bit loose. It works fine. Here's the coil hanging off the switchplate as I first got it and then another picture after it was cleaned up and wrapped.

Regarding that grommet placement, I wondered why on earth they had the wire exit there. Makes for a difficult grommet replacement. I just tried a variety till I got one that barely fit. Actually looked like it was too big. Then shoved it out into the edges all the way around till it looked like the original. My old grommet looks like yours so I would think it's original. Anyway, here's some before and after pictures of the grommet on the fan when I first got it and the new grommet replaced.

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Dave. Your grommet looks like the best idea for this odd angle. Last night I got a message from another AFCA'er who has offered to rewind the little nichrome coil for me for the cost of shipping. It seems I had done a favor for him at one point (though I really don't recall that). I guess what goes around comes around...