William Westmo Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 I am new here, and have been collection fans, typewriters and anything else that intrigues me. I picked up a steel blade steel cage fan from a thrift store today for $25 and cannot find anything about it. I cleaned it up a polished what I could, did some resoldering of the switch wires which are very crusty, and put some grease/oil where it belongs. Anybody familiar with this fan and/or can give me a close year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 HELLO, WELCOME TO THE SITE! YOUR FAN IS FROM THE LATER 40S THROUGH THE 1950S. IT WAS MADE BY BERSTED MANUFACTURING AND COULD BE TAGGED WITH MANY NAMES INCLUDING SEARS KENMORE, ZERO, ESKIMO , GRAMMERCY, MANNING BOWMAN TOASTMASTER, MCGRAW EDISON , WIZARD (WESTERN AUTO STORES) CORONADO AND MORE . THE BOTTOM PART OF YOUR BASE TOO LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE BACKWARDS ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MANY DESIGNS. LATER VERSIONS HAD STAMPED STEEL BASES NOT CAST. I SEE 3 IN 1 OIL IN THE BACK GROUND PLEASE DO NOT USE THAT FOR FAN BEARINGS. A GOOD MOTOR OIL OR A FAN RECOMMENDED OIL LIKE ROYAL PURPLE ZOOM SPOUT OR A ROYAL ZOOMSPOUT SHOULD DO THE TRICK . THE OSCILLATOR MECHANISM ON THESE WAS FRAGILE AND FREQUENTLY DOESNT WORK DUE TO WEAR AND NEEDS TINKERING... THAT IS A NICE FIND ...CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK WIT IT ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Westmo Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 10 hours ago, Tom Zapf said: HELLO, WELCOME TO THE SITE! YOUR FAN IS FROM THE LATER 40S THROUGH THE 1950S. IT WAS MADE BY BERSTED MANUFACTURING AND COULD BE TAGGED WITH MANY NAMES INCLUDING SEARS KENMORE, ZERO, ESKIMO , GRAMMERCY, MANNING BOWMAN TOASTMASTER, MCGRAW EDISON , WIZARD (WESTERN AUTO STORES) CORONADO AND MORE . THE BOTTOM PART OF YOUR BASE TOO LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE BACKWARDS ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MANY DESIGNS. LATER VERSIONS HAD STAMPED STEEL BASES NOT CAST. I SEE 3 IN 1 OIL IN THE BACK GROUND PLEASE DO NOT USE THAT FOR FAN BEARINGS. A GOOD MOTOR OIL OR A FAN RECOMMENDED OIL LIKE ROYAL PURPLE ZOOM SPOUT OR A ROYAL ZOOMSPOUT SHOULD DO THE TRICK . THE OSCILLATOR MECHANISM ON THESE WAS FRAGILE AND FREQUENTLY DOESNT WORK DUE TO WEAR AND NEEDS TINKERING... THAT IS A NICE FIND ...CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK WIT IT ! Thank you so much, is there any maintenance that I may have overlooked as it is not common with other older fans? Also would you happen to know a general operating temp of the motor, mine seems to be running around 60-70° C which seems a little warm in my experience. I will be checking wiring, primarily the resistance and condition of the insulation- some of which is already going to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Adams Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 These are shaded pole motors & run quite hot. Rule of thumb on a shaded pole motor is if it doesn't smell, it is probably ok. An exception to this, I have an 8" Zero which was oiled too much somewhere down the line. It did smell for many years, but watts were fine. These were a "working man's fan" & were cheaply built compared to Emerson, Westy, or GE, but are better than anything built today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 THESE MOTORS ALWAYS RAN HOT , MY FIRST FAN AS A CHILD WAS AN 8" ZERO AND IT GOT PLENTY HOT....I DID A LITTLE CHECKING YOUR BASE IS FACING THE RIGHT WAY, SOMETIMES THEY REVERSED SO THE POINT WAS TO THE REAR BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE THE STAMPED VERSION. THE GEARBOX ON THE BACK OF THE MOTOR SHOULD BE GREASED AND CHECK THE WIRING ANFD CORD FOR BREAKS AS THAT EARLY PLASTICIZED RUBBER CAN CRACK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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