Eck Hurricane sidegear choke coil question

[David Kilnapp]

Hello friends. One of our members recently agreed to sell me his Eck Hurricane sidegear for a mutually agreed upon price so I made the three hour round trip (in a driving rain storm) to pick up the fan.

The fan has been restored perhaps by the seller. The stator was rewound and the body painted (but not japanned). The screws on the body have all been replaced by brass screws.

The fan runs slow on high speed and slightly slower at low speed. There is no third speed. The porcellain base gets hot to the touch (due, no doubt, to the nichrome windings).

I believe I can repair the broken corners of the porcellain base with some pool putty but I haven't a clue about how to rewind the choke coil. I certainly don't need three speeds but I would like the high speed that it should be. It's more like a medium speed. So my first question is if this fan is supposed to be a three speed fan or a two speed fan? My second question relates to how this can be modified so that the high speed is actually high and more importantly so that the porcellain base doesn't get quite so hot. Is this normal? If you have this fan, would you kindly take a picture of the bottom for me so I can compare it to the one above. 

[David Kilnapp]

I saw this post by Jim Humphrey eighteen months ago which included a picture which I put side by side with my coil.

The two pictures seem to indicate that these are identical choke coils.  Jim Humphrey's post describes the first switch position as energizing the nichrome windings which starts the fan. That description fits mine as well. He then says that there is no middle speed and a third position which is the high speed. I seem to have a middle position but the speed is no different than the start up speed and the third position is very slow. So now I'm wondering if maybe two of my wires are switched since My fan starts up fine (by energizing the nichrome windings?) but no high speed. Like Jim, I need to talk to someone who is familiar with this arrangement and what the readings should be so I can get something close to high speed. 

[Louis Luu]

The one on the right looks like mine?  Russ recently gave me a volt meter, just tell what readings you need?  I'm new to this volt meter thing and still need to figure out how to use it.  I do have one ECK for the American market just like yours.

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Louis.

[Jim Humphrey]

Hi David,

Sorry for not getting back til now, but I seem to have lost the txt msg you sent (or I think you did) and just came across this.  Status here is basically that I've not been successful in finding either a functional choke coil assembly or in getting the self start feature to work.  I believe the nichrome winding is necessary to provide the phase shift to self start the fan, and I get something like 179 ohms from this one, if memory serves. However, I further believe the choke coil wiring is mixed up and I haven't found the correct arrangement.  I would bet anything that these fans are 3 speed by design, but can't prove that either by painted numerals or wiring arrangement.  So right now I get power on the fan by placing the lever in any position and giving the blades a spin.  It runs and oscillates at about the same speed at any lever setting.  But there is some mechanical problem now with the switch, it's loose so I'm going to have to get the mechanics fixed now.  Wish I could help out, but I'm pretty much at work stoppage on this fan.  It would be nice to have a good wiring diagram for the choke and stator, but so far no luck and difficult to figure out the diagram using an ohm meter.

Jim

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Jim. I appreciate the response. I actually sent you an email to the address in the members' directory. I'll be spending the day repairing the corners of the porcelain switch with some pool putty then I'll see if I can dope out how to wire  this. There are only six possible combinations so I may be able to figure it out.

[Jim Humphrey]

David, I'd sure appreciate any info you can come up with!  I'm not that good with electrical troubleshooting.  Oh, and you did indeed send me an email and not a text, just shows you how the older I get the more forgetful I become.

[Lane Shirey]

If the resistance coil is only used for phase shift, why not replace it with a cap, like we successfully do with BMYs with a similar coil construction? 

[Rod Rogers]

Resistance wire does not create a phase shift!

 

~Sparky~

 

[Lane Shirey]

7 hours ago, Rod Rogers said:

Resistance wire does not create a phase shift!

 

~Sparky~

 

I’m not an expert and trying to understand how it would differ. .  If they’re both AC motors, How Is the halo coil different on an Eck than a GE BMY??  Apparently it serves a different function? Please explain. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Lane Shirey

[David Kilnapp]

I did recently get the switch sorted out so that I'm now getting three distinct speeds. The fan starts on high and the second speed is slower and the third speed, slower still. But the fan isn't as fast on the high speed as I would expect. Don't get me wrong, the high speed is certainly good enough to be a daily runner but not as fast as I would have thought.

Edited October 17, 2022 by David Kilnapp

[Paul Michael]

On 10/17/2022 at 5:52 PM, David Kilnapp said:

I did recently get the switch sorted out so that I'm now getting three distinct speeds. The fan starts on high and the second speed is slower and the third speed, slower still. But the fan isn't as fast on the high speed as I would expect. Don't get me wrong, the high speed is certainly good enough to be a daily runner but not as fast as I would have thought.

If you don't already have a plug in amp meter, this is a critical tool in both diagnosing and monitoring a fan's condition... I can send a link to one on Amazon, they are cheap. 'Kill-a-watt' meter, I or so named. 

I'm sending you a private message too.

peace,
pm

[David Kilnapp]

I do have a plug in amp meter.