Emerson 14644

[David Kilnapp]

Hello fan friends. I had some good luck when another AFCA'er (Dennis LeBow) agreed to sell me an Emerson 14644. I have purchased a few fans from Dennis in the past and he might be the best packer of fans that I've ever seen. It arrived yesterday and I started to work on it. It ran beautifully on three speeds but the original headwire had been replaced at some point (which I wanted to replace with Tony Clayton's three conductor wire). There was 100 years of crud on the japanne but otherwise it was in fine shape.

The porcelain switch was in good condition except for missing a small piece (on the left).

I broke down the fan and removed the stator. One of the three wires was barely hanging on by two tiny copper filaments which I repaired by cutting back some of the tape, finding good wire and filling a solder tube with lots of Tony Clayton wire filaments then melting the solder which made a much better connection. I then used some liquid tape to stabilize the spot where the repair was made.

I joined Tony's wonderful three conductor wire to the wires above and began to work on cleaning the japanne with some light compound and cleaner wax. It some some effort and a few hours but the result was pretty good.

You can see my repair of the switch using pool putty which hardened up pretty quickly so I could sand and paint it (below).

I put the fan all together this afternoon and it ran quietly on three distinct speeds.

Darryl Hudson supplied the rubber feet which I had on hand. The only thing I'm missing is the cardboard plate that may have originally been on the bottom of the fan. I don't recall which AFCA member made those small covers. I have some tank covers but they are too big for this little fan. Perhaps someone could jog my memory as to who made them. Meantime, I'm going to go see my friend Ron Bethoney (New England Brass refinishing) tomorrow to get the cage, blade and struts polished and lacquered to complete this nice little fan. 

I also purchased a 19644 (below) which I will start on tomorrow when I get back from seeing Ron.

This fan is missing a wing bolt and the sliding door oiler on the back. I believe Chad Baker has the oiler but he doesn't have the wing bolt so I'll be looking for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by David Kilnapp

[Patrick Ray]

Beautiful job polishing up the original finish! Gleaming like it was new! Great write up David!

[Scott Jeffrey]

Looks wonderful. I believe I bought some bottom covers from Darrell Koller. 

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Gents. I'll send an email to Darrell Koller. Much appreciated!

 

[Jack Minor]

Nicely done, David! She’s a beaut. Agree with what Patrick Ray said. 

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Jack! My first preference is to preserve the fan’s original condition if there is enough good Japanne present.

[Ron May]

That turned out great. Can't wait to see it with the rest of the brass!

[Patrick Ray]

I've traded away fans I've restored just to get an example with really good intact factory Japan. There's nothing like being able to say it retains it's original factory applied Japan. 

[Paul Carmody]

Looking good!The tip on the solder tube is one that I’m sure I will use in the future.I got scary close to losing wires into the windings the other day.That would have simplified  it.

Looking forward to seeing that beauty all together.

[Thomas Newcity]

David,

Very nice work on one of my Emerson favorites.  I too have an all original that I plan to keep all original.  But I have a question about the wire coming out of the bottom of the choke coil.  Is it a fix for the split phase lead that comes out of top of the choke?  Thanks.

[David Kilnapp]

Hi Tom. The wiring was done by a former owner but I believe that you are correct.

[Russ Huber]

35 minutes ago, Thomas Newcity said:

David,

Very nice work on one of my Emerson favorites.   I have a question about the wire coming out of the bottom of the choke coil.  Is it a fix for the split phase lead that comes out of top of the choke?  Thanks.

Those little buggers can be interesting trying to fit the switch back up into base to mount with the wiring harness/head-wire coil wires above and around the coil. Not much headroom above that coil when secured into the base. Running the top phase shift wire down and under the coil may free up a little space? Just a theory. 

[Thomas Newcity]

Yes, very little room in these little step-bases.  Just a little tip for getting all that wire in above the speed control and allowing it to seat firmly.  Leave the screw-in grommet loose and pull the head wire out while installing the speed control.  Then feed the wire bundle back in and secure the grommet.  This procedure has prevented the cracking of many speed control bases.  

[David Kilnapp]

Thanks Tom. The 14644 was challenging but the 19644 was much easier. I'm always very careful about tightening down the screws for fear of cracking the bases. Good tip on the plastic grommets Tom! Didn't think of that. I've needed to file down the grommets that go in the back of the head case because of the lack of room behind the stator. I leave just enough of the threads to hold it in place snugly.