Kim Frank Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 In 1896 GE offered their first 12 inch trunnion fan for sale. They also made a bracket to convert those fans into wallmounts. These brackets were offered to consumers thru the 1898 model year. It wasn't until 1899 that the bracket was combined with a motor and also sold as a single unit. It was the type UI form K model. This motor had a rear motor cover with a snowflake design, similar to the rear cover on the '96 12 inch trunnion fan. Along with this, GE produced their first 16 inch fan, as a wallmounted unit. It was the type UI form A model . It used a bracket base with a three position switch and a torriodal coil and featured a forward swept trunnion. In 1900, the 12 inch motor came with this same base and trunnion. It too was labeled as the type UI form K and the 16 inch bracket fan was the type UI form B. The 12" example in the museum has a hole in the knuckle, to easily change it back to a desk fan. In 1901, the 12 inch fan became the type AE form A. This model doesn't have a hole in the knuckle. I haven't seen any 16 inch bracket fans from '01-'03 to know their type and form letters but would venture to say it would have been the same as the 12 inch bracket...type AE and form A, B, or C. In 1904, GE offered an adapter to convert a desk fan to a wallmounted fan. A cast piece was all that was needed to make the conversion and was available for both 12" and 16". The first photo courtesy of Steve Rockwell and his invaluable research. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kovar Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 (edited) Hi, Kim.FYI, your bracket and fan aremounted upside-down. Just callin' it as I see it. Edited January 8, 2022 by Jim Kovar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Frank Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 I've seen that advertisement. Interesting way to hang a fan...Here it is in the GE bulletin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Fisher Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Looks like the railroad got it wrong in their advertisement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Whichever way it is supposed to hang, it sure is an interesting and desirable cake! Thanks for posting Kim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Guegain Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Neither is right, it’s gotta be sideways!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Henderson Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Good stuff. Is there any way to date the tensioning finials on the 12" cakes? Short vs. long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kovar Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 9 hours ago, Terry Fisher said: Looks like the railroad got it wrong in their advertisement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Frank Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 Finally filled a missing piece of the GE Bracket fan collection. I picked this up at Chad's this past weekend. It is the 1899 16 inch motor that goes to a wallmount base and trunnion. It is type UI form A 104 volts and 60 cycles. It is GE's first offering of a 16 inch motor. It is single bearing with the snowflake rear cover. The blade is 4 wing w/cast brass hub and the cage features the thin stock rear ring (like it's 12" and 14" counterparts) and has the large center badge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rockwell Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) You've filled another inside straight Kim... not many omissions left in your list... I'm really enjoying this thread, you're pushing my nose back into the catalogs, and I'm learning new things about old things because of it. Do you have a bracket waiting for it? I've got more comment to make, when time permits..... 12-inch left, 16-inch right, from 1899 catalog 27 Jun 1899--- Football tag above... Edited April 27, 2022 by Steve Rockwell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Frank Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 (edited) Finally got the 1899 GE bracket motor back to complete status. A Big Thank You to Geoff Dunaway for the bracket base and trunnion and to Chad Baker for the Motor/blade/cage and choke coil. The goal here was to do nothing but clean the motor up and then try to match the base and trunnion to it. The cage required a bit of straightening but other than than, it too was left as is. I fabricated the base terminals and the finial, using originals as patterns. After machining the base for the trunnion post, switch and feet, and putting a stem on the trunnion, I put them in appliance epoxy finish, laying on two heavy coats and letting it dry for eight days. I sanded it down heavily, then tacked it off and put on two more applications and let it dry again for a week. I then beat it up, cutting thru many areas of the finish. Once that was accomplished, I rubbed it down with an abrasive cloth to kill the sheen and started the rusting process with muratic acid and hydrogen peroxide. After getting the look I wanted, I built and finished the stand and assembled and mounted the pieces. The rusting will continue slowly over time and should be where I want it in six months or so. For now, it's going on display in the Museum as an important piece in the GE timeline. Come visit us here in Zionsville next month for the 5th Annual Meet at the Museum. Edited August 3, 2022 by Kim Frank 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Nice work “aging” the finish. It looks altogether authentic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rockwell Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rockwell Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Regarding the absence of a monogram badge in this Jan 1899 photo, I believe that ornament was very much in the development phase those months pre- Mar 1899... so a 16-inch version of the '98 cage was utilized? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Frank Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 In the 1899 section of the GE pancake survey, the first nine fans have serial numbers earlier than the 31001 - 44000 span as established by Lawrence Erickson and Prewitt Scripps. None of those fans are listed as having the GE monogram badges. The first entry I have for a fan having the GE logo is the above pictured Bracket fan, and the badge is the larger version. The cage meets the same characteristics of the 1899 12 and 14 inch cages in that the front and rear ring are of the same diameter brass rod. 1900 cages uses thicker stock rear ring. The 16" Bracket fan s/n is 32986. The next listed fan with a badge isn't until 34015, on an F4 early frame and with a CGE badge. The first fan list in the survey with the new GE monogram is 36855. Fans after that number are mostly listed as having the logo. Interesting stuff.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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