The Shop Fan

[BuickFarmer]

"Cool" thread

couple of mine.

 

[santagary]

Some nice fans in the thread. Yes, there are collectors out there for rare and exotic models, but for me it's all about the volume of air and the noise level. Even with air conditioning, I still like the feel of a strong fan.

In the garage, I use a 22" Freshnd'aire that came from a jewelry shop in South Carolina. It ran there daily for 40 or 50 years I think. I cleaned it up, blew out the dust and it's been great. Three speeds, quiet, and I like the style.

Also have a couple of the mid-century GE Vortalex fans. They should pretty much last forever too.

Looks like the Star of David in the fan shroud design...interesting

 

[chrommagman]

Those old fans sure look great, but I'm surprised that no one's mentioned one of these heavy duty shop fan beauties:

http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.com/Cyclone3000-Portable-Evaporative-Units-P143176.aspx

Now that's a shop fan!

At my tec school they use "swamp" coolers. it makes it so sticky out in the shop

so if you can get an Ac not a swamp cooler

 

[brats.n.harleys]

picked this one up last friday, $0.00

and by midnight on friday

 

[ddawg16]

picked this one up last friday, $0.00

and by midnight on friday

$0?......You *******.....just rub it in.....

 

[PECVD2]

BRATS, that is amazing. Give us the details. How did you make that transformation?

 

[brats.n.harleys]

it was running when i got it. stripped all the old paint off with nylon bristle wheels (came off really easy) powder coated all the parts, and polished the silver parts. the blades are just spraypainted. re wired the internals, and put a new cord on it. it is a badass fan. no plastic parts, and real heavy duty.

 

[J Persons]

Fresh'in Aire model 26. I just pulled it out of an old storage building. Plugged it in and it started right up, and it will move some air! The blade looks like it came off an old bi plane.

 

[zip95864]

picked this one up last friday, $0.00

Is that the soup nazi on the wall?

 

[brats.n.harleys]

Is that the soup nazi on the wall?

It is. Signed. Lol

 

[69f100]

Fresh'in Aire model 26. I just pulled it out of an old storage building. Plugged it in and it started right up, and it will move some air! The blade looks like it came off an old bi plane.

man thats cool. kinda scary though. metal blade spinning maybe 50 mph and the finger guard would let half my left hand in. guess no one stupid is allowed in your garage

 

[czuch]

My Dad has 5 that he pulled out of the dumpster when they were refurbishing the Queen Mary. They were stateroom fans. I gotta find em now. Probably wired weird.

 

[-Brent-]

Ryan, it's been over a month and no update on the museum, err... shop/headquarters.

What's the scoop?

 

[PsRumors]

Those old fans sure look great, but I'm surprised that no one's mentioned one of these heavy duty shop fan beauties:

http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.com/Cyclone3000-Portable-Evaporative-Units-P143176.aspx

Now that's a shop fan!

These things are horrible when it comes to humidity. Many jails and prisons use them and when standing right in front of them they are great but everything not in its path gets coated in water. Think about your tools.

 

[BHR4CE1]

I have one of these in each garage and it is amazing! It swivels around as it spins.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/accessories/B0019O6AAU

Here's a video of it in action. It really cools the entire garage.

 

[stf]

Picked this Emerson Electric up for my work desk. $30 and it's quiet and works, even oscillates.

picked this one up a few weeks ago for $40 it's really heavy. It didnt work when I got it but after repairing a broken wire it worked great.

I also grabbed a small GE this weekend for $15 that doesn't have a base (I don't think it ever did). I'll try and get a picture later.

 

[Tripp P.]

Found one at an antique shop $20 no cord. Cleaned it up a bit, new wires all works just fine. Nice and quiet, moves a ton of air.

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[dittle fart around]

Found one at an antique shop $20 no cord.

[/IMG]

Nice, don't know if that's an original but I like it.

 

[simpleman64]

I found this one a few weeks back. It is a Western Auto Wizard. I plan on repainting and restoring. It works great as is. The man I got it from is moving to Florida. We went to his house to look at a vintage Gulfpride oil can rack. Just about anything in his shop was for sale. It cost a whopping $10 and blows like a tornado.

 

[wesalexleft]

Not an antique by any means, but here's my space-saving fan. It's a typical cheapo pedestal fan. I took off the base, inverted it, put it through the ceiling and clamped it to the joist above with a conduit clamp. It can now be "lowered" with the built in height adjustment, oscillates, and takes up no floor space. First picture is it "before" and the next is after. Got an antique emerson desk fan, but just don't fully trust it.

 

[Richard D]

I have a few old fans, I'll take pictures later. One is a box fan with a reversable motor I found in an old house. It smells funny after running for a while, is the motor posibly burned up? The fan is really nice and I'd like to repair it. The reverse feature is handy.

 

[PsRumors]

I have a few old fans, I'll take pictures later. One is a box fan with a reversable motor I found in an old house. It smells funny after running for a while, is the motor posibly burned up? The fan is really nice and I'd like to repair it. The reverse feature is handy.

May just need a good cleaning. Alot of the old fans have set up so long they either won't run or run slow.

 

[CreteCoater]

Hmmmm I found 2 old fans in the shop....time to check them out and post pics.

 

[Richard D]

Emerson Electric. Works and oscillates. Need to restore it and get it looking good.

Looks like it bends 90 degrees for wall mounting.

Kenmore I found abandoned in an old house. Low-light cellphone pic makes it look worse than it is, but I still want to restore it. It smelled kinda burned after I ran it for a few hours. Haven't really tested it to see why.

I like that it's reversable.

The workhorse. It has a electric socket on it so I can plug in a tool where ever the fan/I am. The 21" motorcycle wheel is not attatched.

I have another box fan, about 36", needs a motor. I also have a really nice squirrel cage I made sawhorse-style legs and mounted good size wheels on, and painted up nice. Blows hard 20' away. I'll take pictures when it isn't dark outside.

 

[smedly]

Got both these from my FIL's basement.
Green one has no switch and it does not rotate. It had a sticker underneath at one time- no brand markings on it anywhere. It has "5159" stamped underneath. Slotted hole for hanging it on a wall. Base has a slight streamliner look to it. No idea if it is really a cool vintage item or a POS. Cool looking though.

A bit of research says the Wagner is from the 40's.

Both just had a little cleanup.

 

[Mr.Mix]

I have a collection of vintage fans of varying sizes and shapes. I really like the ceiling and wall fans many of you have posted, need to add that to my junkin list for this summer!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I picked this monster up recently, it's a GE Vortalex. It has a 16" blade and really blows a lot of air. I think it's probably from the late 1950s; there's still a price tag on it from a store in Duluth, MN for $54.95.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Didn't know about this thread until told about it by WildCJ5 - thanks.

So, I started my own thread on a fan I found Sunday and refurbished over the last two days. It's no classic like some of the old metal fans on here, but I like it for the $10 I paid at the swap meet.

Here's what I posted elsewhere. (Moderators, feel free to shut down the other thread if you'd like):


This is a '60's cheapo desktop fan from a long-gone variety or "5 & Dime" store called W.T. Grants. I remember them well from childhood. I did a quick search and they were in much of the U.S. starting shortly after 1900 and have been out of business since the mid 70's. They were a contemporary of Kresge's which most only remember later as KMart.

Anyway, apologies for the cell phone pic's.

Before, rusty but the seller CLAIMED it worked....and it did smoothly and totally quietly after FIFTY years!

The date I found on the motor:

Do you think a bottom-of-the-barrel $15 Walmart fan of today will be running in 50 years?! Funny thing is, this fan probably was "Japanese junk" as we called most of their products then...much as we label Chinese stuff today, hmmmm.


And finally, the "After" picture.

I was going to repaint it a pastel aqua like it was, but didn't find anything I liked at OSH and already had the hammertone Rustoleum, so...


Amazingly, the chrome cleaned right up with 000 steel wool. The fan blades polished up with metal polish, no problem. I only had to drill out the leg rivets so I could sand/paint the body and replaced them with 1/4" bolts & Nylok nuts.

Now I'm looking for a matching one and I'll mount them both overhead in my garage for those hot summer days.

 

[Richard D]

Damn, I like that.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Richard.

Its nothing compared to some of the beauties on this thread, but it pleased me to try to improve it and (maybe) give it another 50 years!

 

[Super Sport]

It isn't quite as neat as some of the fans in this thread, but it's a start! Been looking for one of these old fans for some time now...$10 at an estate sale this morning! Already got her mounted on the wall!

It's in great shape but missing the oscillating knob. Not a big deal, I have it aimed right where I would be standing at the bench. Time to start a collection!

 

[sxk122]

Just picked this up for the garage after seeing this thread....

Was a little rough looking and the cord scared me.... lol.

I started in on it by replacing the electrical cord with a modern cord.
There was also a bit of shaft wobble (in and out) when I received the, so I fixed the shaft wobble using the washer that was behind the tilt wing nut. It was the same style of washer as was already on the shaft. I added the wing nut washer to the shaft, and used a nylon washer behind the wing nut.... everything seems to be working correctly now. I then got some polishing done late Wednesday night as I had some energy left-- The sticker on the case clamp was in a sad state, so i decided to polish the case clamp and the front sides of the blades, along with the pokey-outey bits behind the blade. Also removed the front badge from the cage and polished up the arctic lettering and trim.

I had Thursday off, so I got to relax... and what better way to relax than play with the fan! I prepped and painted the back of the blades, kind of like an airplane propeller. May not be everyone's taste, but it's exactly what I had in mind. Also pulled it all apart, and prepped and painted the base and casing satin black. It's no where near perfect, but I'm happy with it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cpw9NgXf0iM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


I'm going to head to Lowes tomorrow and buy some t-nuts and some bolts. I want to make a wood base plate that is bolted to a stud (2 or 3 lag screws). The base plate will have 4 t-nuts in it so i can bolt the fan to the base plate, but also easily remove it. Can anyone think of any reasons this is a bad idea?

 

[great adventure]

Nice, don't know if that's an original but I like it.

I like this one. general elextric.... amazing fan

 

[chrommagman]

sxk122,

Lovely fan!!!!

 

[sxk122]

Thanks.... I had a blast working on it.

 

[chrommagman]

Here is my fan,

It's not old at all I think I got it back in November. My mom new that I wanted a old fan and she saw that this one was marked down because it had been opened. she brought it home and surprised me w/ it

I have thought about cutting the guards that are in between the vertical supports to mark it look older and to quite it down a bit.

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Here's my old fan. I bought it at a garage sale about 5 years ago for 5 bucks. No plans on restoring it I like the orignal look of it and it works perfectly. Not very child safe though!!

 

[phy6]

Hey! This thread inspired me to look for an old fan for the garage. After stopping by some local antique shops on the way to work, I found this fan tucked away on the floor of a shop in Lovettsville, VA. I didn't know anything about antique fans except what I read in this thread. I couldn't even guess the model, but I liked the shape.

Also the serial number tag is almost completely worn off, and the shroud was upside down. SO i didn't even know it was an Emerson.

When I came back to the thread, I found it almost looks exactly like the gov't version in the first post!

Also, with a flash light, I'm able to make out a faint "US" mark, with an anchor between the U and S. Does this mean it's a government model? (It would not shock me since we're so close to DC) Are these rare?

The other thing I can tell is that it's a .4 amp 12" model, 3 speed oscillating, non bullet back.

It needs some tuning (sometimes loses speed for a second) and a new cord (frayed, and I don't want my garage to catch on fire).

Besides that, it could really use new paint since some areas have surface rust and paint is gone entirely. I'd like it to look like the one in the first post--I'm not sure the patina would grow on me.

Sorry for going all out and posting here, but I'm not paying $50 to join some afca fan club. I don't plan on collecting.

 

[HKB3]

It's not old, It's not small and it's not very quiet but it does a pretty good of keeping the shop cool.

 

[Brian_B_]

It is amazing to see these old fans still running. No way will today's plastic junk still be working in 50+ years.

I do not have anything like this. Just a cheap (all metal though) workforce 20" fan from home depot.