Red Emerson Headwire???

[Marc Sova]

Any one have an original example of a factory red or reddish brown or mahogany colored original head wire on an Emerson? Preferably an ivory fan? Maybe a swan? 
    In conversations with Tony C he mentioned having done some for collectors…perhaps for Swans? Not sure if that was just their preference or if there is historical precedence for that? 
    I had one scrap of headwire from my IVORY dc 75046 from the Palmer House Hotel….i wish i had the bigger piece coming out of the motor as seen in the pic, but i can’t seem to find it. Only the tiny piece from the switch.l. I thought I could see just a tinge of red. I figured it was just grease. But….after chatting with Tony I soaked it in dawn and gently rinsed. And lo and behold…it’s reddish.  
    So now I’m trying to wrap my head around this fan having a reddish headwire handing on the wall at the Palmer house. And that begs the question…what about the felt? Red felt? The power cord????
    I really am loathe to open it back up and redo the headwire cause I was really happy with my tidy solder and wrap job on it….not to mention it’s a bit of a bear to open up (remove gearbox, remove kotter pin/worm gear, remove rear cover hoping to not boof the paint). But…in the spirit of keeping this thing Uber original (other than the fact that it had painted blades) I might have to. 

Edited December 28, 2024 by Marc Sova

[Todd Adornato]

The only thing I can say is you’re the only other person I’ve heard use the word “boof” 😉

[Marc Sova]

Wow. Unbelievable. So no one in all of fan collecting amongst the AFCA, has seen a reddish headwire on an Emerson. This fan is even more rare than I thought. 

[Michael Bouthiller]

My 16 inch tank has a cloth cord with a reddish tint 

[Marc Sova]

9 hours ago, Michael Bouthiller said:

My 16 inch tank has a cloth cord with a reddish tint 

I bet if you soaked that in dawn for 30 minutes and then gently rinse you’d get a good idea. That’s how I got to thinking about mine….i could see just the slighter to ge of red looking at the filthy segment of headwire I had. 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Marc Sova

[Lane Shirey]

As far as power cords, most early fans with user-accessible terminals on the base did not come with them, so it’s possible that an appliance dealer added the red cords. 

[Marc Sova]

11 minutes ago, Lane Shirey said:

As far as power cords, most early fans with user-accessible terminals on the base did not come with them, so it’s possible that an appliance dealer added the red cords. 

Yeah I get that about power cords. This was most definitely a remment of headwire though. See that nub with whipping coming out of the asbestos sheath?  There was a bit bigger piece exiting the motor but for some reason I didn’t keep it. 🙁. Also….seeings how this was part of a large custom order for a big hotel it would’ve likely come ready to use/mount (pretty sure it was wall mounted at the Palmer house). 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Marc Sova

[Chris Campbell]

The 1” asbestos insulator sections can be replaced with fiberglass tubing

 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Chris Campbell

[Marc Sova]

33 minutes ago, Chris Campbell said:

The 1” asbestos insulator sections can be replaced with fiberglass tubing

 

Oh yeah….id ordered some black when I did it. I ordered a couple different sizes and used a smaller one over the conductors and then a bigger one over that. I didn’t however replace the two asbestos around the nicrome wire you see in the pix. I just wasn’t willing to risk breaking one of those. I sprayed a little EL600 in cap and used a brush to sort of wick it onto the surface to act as sort of an encapsulates. I think it worked fine. 

[Doug Wendel]

Red tinted wire.  My hypothesis is that the color has shifted from the original black over time due to age, UVs, contaminants.

[Marc Sova]

13 minutes ago, Doug Wendel said:

Red tinted wire.  My hypothesis is that the color has shifted from the original black over time due to age, UVs, contaminants.

Well….if you look at the picture, I think that’s way too consistently “red” to be due to that. That was my first thought when I initially thought I saw a hint of red I just figured it was due to those factors and maybe the old oil or grease looking that way. But after soaking it in dawn and thinking per tiny coatings advice….i think it’s pretty clear that’s actual red thread 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Marc Sova