1960s Sears/Kenmore "Automatic" 20 Box Fan Issues

[Levi Mevis]

Hello everyone, I had posted on here about a year ago about acquiring a 1960s Sears/Kenmore "Automatic" 3 speed Box fan on a stand that is thermostatically controlled but not reverseable and I had asked about getting a replacement blade assembly because it was loose on the shaft, but then I fixed the blade assembly when I finally got by 20# hammer fixed with a new handle and used a large flat blade screwdriver set on the edge of the shaft where it meets up with the blade assembly and gave the screwdriver a good whack a couple of times at three different spots on the fan blade assembly and it tightened up the crimps.

But now my fan has a weird issue of having a loud mechanical buzzing noise that only occurs when the fan is on High setting when its on Medium and Low settings the fan is absolutely quiet, and no buzzing noises.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this issue? 

[Levi Mevis]

[Jerry Van]

Look at the center hub of your fan in the video. It's wobbling all over the place as it makes the noise.

[Levi Mevis]

So I guess I should try to re-crimp the blade hub some more?

[Tom Zapf]

levi what is the size of your shaft? 3/8 or 1/2? i have a blade for a 3/8" shaft in the early 60's deep tan... yours looks like the metallic color though so you would have to paint it 

[Tom Zapf]

i t is hard to tell but yours looks like the 1/2"

[Jerry Van]

19 hours ago, Levi Mevis said:

So I guess I should try to re-crimp the blade hub some more?

Maybe. Or, check the motor bearing for wear.

[Levi Mevis]

8 hours ago, Tom Zapf said:

levi what is the size of your shaft? 3/8 or 1/2? i have a blade for a 3/8" shaft in the early 60's deep tan... yours looks like the metallic color though so you would have to paint it 

Its a 1/2" shaft and its not a metallic tan, at least not that I can see. I think what the problem is with the fan is that the blade hub has a rubber cushion grommet between the blade hub and the blade assembly and that rubber grommet is going bad I think which is why the blade hub isn't holding tight anymore to the blade assembly, because no matter much I try to re-crimp the blade hub it still shifts on its axis slightly when the fan is run on high (its not nearly as much as it was before me re-crimping it, but its still shifts nonetheless.)

Its unfortunate because when the fan is ran on medium and low the fan works great and is really quiet but on high that's when it gives trouble. 

[Levi Mevis]

47 minutes ago, Jerry Van said:

Maybe. Or, check the motor bearing for wear.

Its not the bearings because the noise is only present when the blade is on the fan, when the blade is off the fan is absolutely silent, also the motor shaft has no up and down or side to side movement.

[Jerry Van]

On 8/1/2024 at 4:22 PM, Levi Mevis said:

Its not the bearings because the noise is only present when the blade is on the fan, when the blade is off the fan is absolutely silent, also the motor shaft has no up and down or side to side movement.

Okay, but it's when the weight and any imbalance of the blade is added, is when a worn bearing is most loaded and has to do a harder job. Let us know what you eventually find.

[Jerry Van]

On 8/1/2024 at 4:19 PM, Levi Mevis said:

... when the fan is run on medium and low, the fan works great and is really quiet, but on high that's when it gives trouble. 

Because when it's running on high, any imbalance in the blade becomes more pronounced and strains bearings, fan hub, and motor mounts.

 

Good luck...

Edited August 2, 2024 by Jerry Van

[Tom Zapf]

OH NUTS I DO NOT HAVE A BLADE FOR A HALF INCH SHAFT I HAVE A 3/8" FOR WHEN THEY USED THE UNIVERSAL MOTORS ...CHECK WITH ROB DUFFY ABOUT FIXING YOUR BLADE WITHOUT THE RUBBER SPACER...HE HAS BEEN DOING THAT FOR CHELSEA BLADES SUCCESFULLY 

[Levi Mevis]

1 hour ago, Tom Zapf said:

OH NUTS I DO NOT HAVE A BLADE FOR A HALF INCH SHAFT I HAVE A 3/8" FOR WHEN THEY USED THE UNIVERSAL MOTORS ...CHECK WITH ROB DUFFY ABOUT FIXING YOUR BLADE WITHOUT THE RUBBER SPACER...HE HAS BEEN DOING THAT FOR CHELSEA BLADES SUCCESFULLY 

I will do that. And have already sent him a message. 

Edited August 6, 2024 by Levi Mevis

[Tom Zapf]

ok buddy good luck with it! 

[Levi Mevis]

2 hours ago, Tom Zapf said:

ok buddy good luck with it! 

I did notice though that when I went to message Mr. Duffy I saw that his account was listed as "Guest" so hopefully he'll be able to get my message and reply back, because with my recent experience with this site, if you aren't a paid up member you can't PM anyone, which means he might get my message but might not be able to reply back to it... 🤔