Wendy Haffner Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 My home was built in 1951 and I have a similar through-the-wall fan like the one in this post - pictures attached. Yesterday it didn't start so I tapped the motor cover lightly with my hand and it worked. I did that one more time later with success, but now it won't start at all. It's very dirty/greasy so I'm hoping that caused the problem. I want to get it fixed - what is my best bet? Hiring a regular electrician? I know they will want to replace it with a new model but I want to keep the original. In order to remove it, I see wingnuts on on the inside (picture #3) so I could undo those and maybe pull it out? I think I also see a plug behind the bottom piece that has the on/off bar attached. (the on/off bar is shown in picture #2) I would prefer to remove it, clean the grease and dirt off, and then take it somewhere to get fixed rather than paying someone the extra service fee to come to the house twice. (once to remove, once to come back and reinstall. I would definitely pay someone to reinstall since I'm not comfortable working with wiring/electricity.) Notes: Picture #1: The fan has a door - when you open the door it starts the fan unless you have the little bar near the bottom flipped up that holds the switch down. (the bar is shown in pic #2.) Picture #2: Fan with door open. Here you can see the little bar that you can flip up to start the fan. You can also keep it up all the time and the fan will stop when you close the door because it has a piece attached to the door that will push the switch off. (hope that made sense.) Picture #3: There is a wingnut in a slot on the left and right side. (inside the housing) Picture #4: My fan has been painted over in the past, and I didn't realize the little decorative thing on the door was actually an emblem! I used a flashlight and found that mine says Schaefer St. Louis just like in photo #4 that I found on ebay. I don't know if Schaefer is the actual manufacturer or if this is a Pryanco fan and they slapped their emblem on the door. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lane Shirey Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Have you ever cleaned or oiled the fan? Sounds like the answer is no. At this point it will probably have to be disassembled and the bearings cleaned and relubricated. Old fans need to be oiled on a regular basis. Sounds like it’s gunked with cooking grease. A basic wipe down won’t clean the parts that are likely causing the problem. the proper oil is either zoom spout (Amazon) or 3in one in the Blue/white bottle (Home Depot, Amazon, Lowes, others) Hope that helps. A little maintenance goes a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 WENDY , THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS HERE THAT COULD BE AN ISSUE. 1)- THE WINGNUTS ON THE SIDE ARE THERE SO YOU CAN ADJUST THE EXPANDABLE ROUND "SLEEVE" THAT GOES THROUGH THE WALL, AND YOU COULD EXPAND OR CONTRACT THE SLEEVE TO BE ABLE TO FIT WALLS OF DIFFERENT THICKNESSES BETWEEN INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SURFACES. . THAT WILL NOT HELP REMOVING THE MOTOR AND BLADE 2)- THE "BAR" USUALLY PRESSES DOWN OR AGAINST A POP UP SPRING LOADED SWITCH SO WHEN THE DOOR IS OPENED THE SIWTCH BUTTON POPS UP AND THE FAN TURNS ON. IF THE BUTTON ON THE SWITCH IS GUMMED UP IT MIGHT NOW BE STICKING IN THE "OFF" POSITION AND NEEDS TO BE CLEANED. 3)-TAPPING ON THE MOTOR COVER MIGHT BE INDICATIVE OF A LOOSE WIRE ALSO , OR JUST ENOUGH TO LOOSEN UP THE GUMMED UP SWITCH MY GUESS IS AN ELECTRICIAN WILL NOT EVEN BE BOTHERED WITH SUCH A SMALL FIX ESPECIALLY OF A VINTAGE ITEM. . I THINK YOUR BEST BET IS TO FIND A HANDY NEIGHBOR (ONE WORKING ON LAWN MOWERS,OLD CARS ETC ) AND SEE IF THEY CAN HELP YOU... OR... FIND AN OLD DUDE HANDY TYPE PERSON LIKE ME WHO ADVERTISES FOR SMALL HOME REPAIRS IN YOUR AREA...ALSO I BELIEVE WE HAVE A FAIR NUMBER OF AFCA MEMBERS IN THE ST LOUIS AREA AND YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO POST HERE FOR A REPAIR GUIDANCE AND SERVICE AS LANE SAYS MAINTAINANCE GOES A LONG WAY FOR SAFE WIRING AND WELL LUBRICATED OPERATION ...GOOD LUCK WITH IT ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Haffner Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Thank you Lane and Tom. This is good info for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 YOU ARE WELCOME WENDY ... SEE IF YOU CAN FIND A HANDY PERSON TO HELP OUT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kovar Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 11 minutes ago, Tom Zapf said: ...FIND A HANDY... Hey, Tom,... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Haffner Posted April 4, 2023 Author Share Posted April 4, 2023 Tom, I am looking for a person. I will follow up if/when I get this fixed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 OK GOOD DEAL ..HANDY PEOPLE CAN BE GALS TOO, JUST LOOK FOR SOMEONE WORKING ON SOMETHING IN THEIR YARD OR THEIR HOUSE . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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