Antique Store Haul

[Daniel Herczeg]

I went to the Weil Antique Center earlier this afternoon, and managed to walk out with three fans, which is the most I've ever managed to leave an antique store with. I'll upload images soon, but what I purchased were:
- (A little less that $30) A Chicago Electric Sterling desk fan, an earlier model than the one I currently have. It still absolutely flies like the other one. Running it is a bit risky, though, as the plug is looking a bit worse for wear.
- ($90) A 14" brown GE Vortalex. For whatever reason, Vortalexes always seem to cost upwards of $120, so getting one for less than that was pretty nice. It does, however, have a balance issue, which probably won't be fun given the thick metal blades.
- ($35) Some other GE fan, which I believe is the predecessor to the Vortalex. The plug head appears to have been stepped on or otherwise destroyed, but Home Depot carries very similar plug heads, and the fabric cord is still in good shape. It also appears to have at some point encountered a flood, as there is a line of slightly rusted metal around the base. Fortunately, the tag is still mostly legible.

I'm fairly happy with the purchase of the two GE fans, as they have proven themselves to be very powerful, quiet, and reliable fans with the Graybar and Strap Fan I have, and I'm also glad that I got another extremely powerful dime store fan. I feel like I have some kind of ability to seek out great dime store fans that either are in very good shape, are extremely rare, or are very powerful.

[Daniel Herczeg]

[Michael Bouthiller]

I’ve gotten 7 fans from a antique mall once 

[Daniel Herczeg]

I ran the fans, besides the older of the two GEs, and here's what I've concluded:
The Sterling runs fine, but the plug is in atrocious condition, so I'll have to see where I can go from there.
The Vortalex needs varnish, as it buzzes loudly when running. It also will need significant balancing, as it vibrates severely when it runs.
I'll probably have results by Monday, but I imagine that the other GE will run fine once I replace the plug.

[Michael Bouthiller]

Here are pictures 

[Daniel Herczeg]

That small Vortalex looks pretty nice, but a little dirty. I know they made larger Vortalexes in blue, do you know if they made smaller ones in blue as well?

 

[Michael Bouthiller]

They only made the blue ones in 12 and 16 inch only 

[Russ Huber]

 

Edited August 11, 2024 by Russ Huber

[Michael Bouthiller]

I also got a GE BMY 16 inch 

[Russ Huber]

3 hours ago, Michael Bouthiller said:

They only made the blue ones in 12 and 16 inch only 

FWIW.....They made a smaller blue model than the 12". I owned one. 🙂

Edited August 11, 2024 by Russ Huber

[Patrick Ray]

30 minutes ago, Russ Huber said:

FWIW.....They made a smaller blue model than the 12". I owned one. 🙂

That they did! 10" I believe?

[Michael Bouthiller]

Yeah

[Daniel Herczeg]

I got the Quiet Blade running, and though the motor is silent and it is well-balanced, the knob to engage the oscillating mechanism is too stiff to be turned by hand.