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Posted (edited)

Good evening friends. Recently, I acquired an R & M 1801 from another AFCA'er. It's a lovely little fan that runs nearly silently.

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As soon as I received it, I started to dissassemble it and noticed that the headwire was quite frayed and could use replacing. These little fans whose stators are pressed into the headcase can be extremely difficult to remove (pipe method won't work) so I slept on the problem and this is what I came up with. I took an old screwdriver and ground it down (on my bench grinder). I used a torch to heat it up and then bent it into a curved shape as you see below.

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Next, I opened the jaws of my vise so that only the outer edge of the head case was balancing on it thereby allowing the stator to slide past the opened jaws. In retrospect, having an extra set of hands from a helper holding the case steady on the vise would have made the job much easier. Next, I inserted the bent screwdriver through the vent holes so that the curved part slipped over the stator coils and began tapping through each hole until the stator started to come out. As the stator moved down the case, there was more room to get the tool from hole to hole without touching the coils. The whole process took no more than thirty minutes.

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You can see that the piece that sits on the rim was damaged but I don't think that performs a vital function particularly after I replaced the headwires and thoroughly insulated the wires where they exited the coil.

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I ordered some new "deep" grommets from McMaster Carr. While I wait for them to arrive in a couple of days, I cleaned up all the parts including the switch and the struts and applied green felt to a sanded and primed bottom cover (which was quite rusty).

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The motor tag and oilers cleaned up nicely. The former owner provided the new oil wicks.

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The next step will be to install the new grommets that accommodate 1/4 thick metal from McMaster Carr and then....take a deep breath...grease the sides of the stator and attempt to get it back into the case properly lined up with the holes. I have some very long threaded rods that will help to line the stator up with the holes in the case but still, even with lubrication, getting these little stators back into the case is only slightly less difficult than getting them out.

Meanwhile, Ron Bethoney of New England Brass Refinishing, is performing his magic on the blade and the cage. One of the spokes on the cage is in need of silver soldering before being polished and lacquered. 

I'll report on the final condition of the fan when I have re-assembled it.

 

 

Edited by David Kilnapp
  • Like 3
Posted

I have yet to run across one of those gems. David on R & M I just use machine screws & tap around the 4 screws in order, they are a standard size & Ace hardware sells longer versions. it has worked well for me in the past.

Very nice fan you acquired

Posted (edited)

I'm always leery of the method you mentioned, Lawrence. I tried it but the stator wouldn't budge, not even a little no matter how much I tapped the four rods. The rods actually bent from the force I applied. Tapping too hard will deform those threads and create a bigger problem. The method I proposed allowed me to use enough force to get that ornery stator out of the case. The last time I tried to remove a stator from a small fan like this was an Emerson 1500 which had holes so small that this method (the one described above) wouldn't have worked. I destroyed that case in the process and discovered that the stator was held in place, almost welded in place, by a century of rust. You may recall that one of our members welded it back together for me. 

I also thoroughly tried soaking the case with penetrating lubricant to no avail. Every once in a while I run into one of these, usually a Westinghouse, so I tend to avoid trying to restore them.

Edited by David Kilnapp
Posted

Beautiful work on a great little fan, I broke the back out of one of those, but was able to acquire a replacement.

Posted

Good job David , looks great!

Posted

Good deal David! I proved to everyone in the group that the pipe method doesn't work on these. Ruined the whole weekend when the rear housing snapped in two.

Posted

My sheetmetal coil method is still the easiest and best but no one seems to favor my ideas. You can get a roll of aluminum roof flashing for I think $15-20 at your big box hardware store.

Just cut off a few feet at a time and coil it against the stator. It may get dented up after a few removals, so just cut off another few feet. 

  • Like 1
Posted

1913 introduction model. Robbins & Myers had a separate catalogue up until it appears 1917 for their cast iron fan motor line introduced in 1911+ despite the drawn steel models introduced in 1916. 

Handsome fan, David. 🙂

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  • Like 1
Posted

The DC 8" desk and bracket model was introduced the following season of 14. 

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  • Like 1
Posted
7 hours ago, Nicholas Denney said:

My sheetmetal coil method is still the easiest and best but no one seems to favor my ideas. You can get a roll of aluminum roof flashing for I think $15-20 at your big box hardware store.

Just cut off a few feet at a time and coil it against the stator. It may get dented up after a few removals, so just cut off another few feet. 

Hi Nicholas. I'm not familiar with this method. Can you elaborate? Any new technique I can learn is beneficial.

Posted

David

Thank you for posting this topic.  A cool idea and one I will try.   I have always used threaded rods to get the stators aligned and back in the case.   Slow going but it has worked for me.  I have not heard of how to use roof flashing so I would like an education on this technicians too. 
 

I just wonder back in the day at fan repair shops how those guys got the stators removed?   I wonder if there is some technique long lost from generation to generation.  
 

Posted
5 hours ago, Mel Lagarde said:

I just wonder back in the day at fan repair shops how those guys got the stators removed?   I wonder if there is some technique long lost from generation to generation.  
 

Lots of agencies were out there with or individual service departments. Lots of techniques WE could have benefited from that have over time "washed away like tears in the rain". The quote was from Rutger Hauer from the original Blade Runner movie. 🙂

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  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Posted

Nice job David. Did you get lucky in not having to paint the motor housing and base? Like to see it when finished.

Posted (edited)

Vic:  No painting was necessary except touching up here and there to cover the spots on the base where the paint had rusted off.

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Edited by David Kilnapp
  • Like 1
Posted
22 hours ago, David Kilnapp said:

Vic:  No painting was necessary except touching up here and there to cover the spots on the base where the paint had rusted off.

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It came out fantastic! Great job!

Posted

David

This is wonderful restoration.   A beautiful addition to your collection.  

Posted

Thanks, Mel. You are very kind!

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