# 1902 Electric Fan



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Back in 2000 I found this fan. I shined it up a bit and got it running but it wasn't really worth the effort timewise. The end result was very satisfying though. I'll add more pics and info Cletis style.


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Damn cool, when I look back as a young teenager I let several of those and other "lost items" pass thru my hands into the garbage when I cleaned out the storage rooms of the apt. complex where I worked.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Shockdoc said:


> Damn cool, when I look back as a young teenager I let several of those and other "lost items" pass thru my hands into the garbage when I cleaned out the storage rooms of the apt. complex where I worked.


Me too....people generally don't think about the future and how fast it can arrive.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

I only owned a film camera when I was working on it and I didn't think to take any pics. This is the only good pic I had of the fan taken a few years ago so I dusted it off and took some better pics today.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

That is awesome! Great job. Did you have to get the motor rewound, or the brass replated? 

I like the "guard" that you can stick your whole hand through and the exposed motor terminals. That comes from the era of _"I told you not to touch that!" _:laughing:


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Big John said:


> That is awesome! Great job. Did you have to get the motor rewound, or the brass replated?
> 
> I like the "guard" that you can stick your whole hand through and the exposed motor terminals. That comes from the era of _"I told you not to touch that!" _:laughing:


Thanks John. Everything is solid brass on these old fans so it was fairly easy to shine up. They stopped using brass on fans because of WWI and there was a big recycling push so many of the older ones got scrapped. I rewound it myself because it was completely fried inside for an odd reason.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

There was no set frequency back in the day so I guess you had to order an electrical device that was compatible with your area. This fan was made for 110/115 volts at 125/140 cycles.

Somewhere along the line someone tried to run it on 60 cycles and toasted the windings. I halved the wire diameter and doubled the turns and it loves 60 cycles now. I can run it 24/7 and it barely gets warm. It's a 10 pole motor so it runs slow which is really nice because it hardly makes any noise. It sits next to the computer and I run it most every day just to circulate the air around.


----------



## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

Thanks for sharing those pictures. Real nice job on the fan. Love the exposed terminals.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

nolabama said:


> Thanks for sharing those pictures. Real nice job on the fan. Love the exposed terminals.


My young son at the time still has all 10 fingers and never got shocked. Cats don't do so well though. :laughing:


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Nice awesome restoration, now all you need is a 110/220 Tslot receptacle and brass plate to plug it into


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

*Cool Oiler*

The top unscrews from the brass cylinder and you fill it with oil. The oil travels up a spring loaded wick which rubs on the motor shaft. The excess drips down the angled gutter in the bottom of the brass nose piece and back into the oiler through tiny holes in the top.

Don't pay attention to the color in this pic. The fan is actually a dark maroon but but it's hard to photograph depending on the light.


----------



## electricmalone (Feb 21, 2013)

That's frickin cool  Great work!


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

After I bead blasted the fan most of the decorative flutes were missing or severely pitted and portions of the bottom were rusted away. I used some sort of epoxy, maybe JB Weld, to build the bottom back up.

Trying to figure out the best way to rebuild the flutes, I found a couple that were still in good shape so I made a rubber mold of them. I filled the mold up with bondo and transferred the new flutes back onto the base.

I wasn't sure how well they would hold up but all are still there and I did this work back in 2000. I sprayed the fan with a couple coats of epoxy primer and automotive urethane for the finish coat.












Pic taken yesterday


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

*1902 General Electric*


----------



## big2bird (Oct 1, 2012)

Would you sell that fan?


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

big2bird said:


> Would you sell that fan?


No, but thanks if you have an interest in it.


----------



## big2bird (Oct 1, 2012)

8V71 said:


> No, but thanks if you have an interest in it.


I do. PM me if you decide to sell it. You might be surprised what I would pay for it.


----------



## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

8V71 said:


> There was no set frequency back in the day so I guess you had to order an electrical device that was compatible with your area. This fan was made for 110/115 volts at 125/140 cycles.
> 
> Who does or has, used frequencies this high ?
> 
> ...


----------



## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

Take that thing to Antiques Roadshow!

My favorite episode is when some Ozark hillbilly wearing overalls came in with the ceremonial sword & scabbard worn by Nicholas II at his coronation :blink:


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

8V71 said:


> There was no set frequency back in the day so I guess you had to order an electrical device that was compatible with your area. This fan was made for 110/115 volts at 125/140 cycles.





dmxtothemax said:


> Who does or has, used frequencies this high ?
> 
> Was it used on a ship maybe ?
> 
> Damn nice fan thou !


Thanks dmx.....It was a land based fan I'm sure. I researched this and IIRC some of the major US cities had this frequency at the turn of the century. The fan came from a very wet basement in Indiana BTW.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

erics37 said:


> Take that thing to Antiques Roadshow!
> 
> My favorite episode is when some Ozark hillbilly wearing overalls came in with the ceremonial sword & scabbard worn by Nicholas II at his coronation :blink:


This fan is not really worth much but I ended up restoring a very rare fan that was shown on Antique Roadshow by the owner. It was worth $15,000 at the time and I remember freaking out over dropping it on the concrete floor when I was painting it. They are thick cast iron and pretty heavy for their size.


----------



## chrisfnl (Sep 13, 2010)

Awesome restoration job! Good work!


----------



## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

Beautiful job restoring that fan. Ya gots skilz.

Amazing the craftsmanship on that fan in 1902.


----------



## ampman (Apr 2, 2009)

i missed this post somehow anyway that fan is awesome great work 8v71


----------



## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

erics37 said:


> Take that thing to Antiques Roadshow!
> 
> My favorite episode is when some Ozark hillbilly wearing overalls came in with the ceremonial sword & scabbard worn by Nicholas II at his coronation :blink:


 

When I read this, I wondered if it was the coronation of Nicholas 2 ?

OR ... some Ozark hillbilly ! 

Let us see a pic of an Ozark hillbilly wearing overalls , a ceremonial sword and scabbard ! :whistling2:


----------



## CMC (Aug 7, 2013)

Very cool.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

A buddy of mine in our motor shop actually got a hold of one of these fans. It was in his wife's mothers house. I immediately thought of this thread when I saw it: It has the brass blades, the oilers on the front-and-rear bearings, a ceramic plug and everything.

I'd need to give it a little TLC if I bought it from him (and I'm sure it'd look nowhere near as good as this yours), but I'm really thinking about it. They're just awesome looking.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

CMC said:


> Very cool.


Thanks!


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Big John said:


> A buddy of mine in our motor shop actually got a hold of one of these fans. It was in his wife's mothers house. I immediately thought of this thread when I saw it: It has the brass blades, the oilers on the front-and-rear bearings, a ceramic plug and everything.
> 
> I'd need to give it a little TLC if I bought it from him (and I'm sure it'd look nowhere near as good as this yours), but I'm really thinking about it. They're just awesome looking.


Do you know the brand and is the cage brass or steel? Stamped steel or cast iron for the motor body and base?


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

8V71 said:


> Do you know the brand and is the cage brass or steel? Stamped steel or cast iron for the motor body and base?


 The name wasn't one I recognized, so it wasn't a GE or Tesla, and the design wasn't as nice as yours. I think it was steel, but I'll ask him to look at it again tomorrow.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Pay attention to the cage material brass/steel. That is a good indication of worth and age. Emerson, Robbins & Myers, Hunter, Century are some popular ones that come to mind.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

I didn't pay good attention to the cage! :wallbash: The fan's a little dinged up, when I was looking at the cage I was thinking about how to repair it. It was painted black, I didn't see any brass, I don't believe it was.

The model was a Robbins Myers 2410.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Big John said:


> I didn't pay good attention to the cage! :wallbash: The fan's a little dinged up, when I was looking at the cage I was thinking about how to repair it. It was painted black, I didn't see any brass, I don't believe it was.
> 
> The model was a Robbins Myers 2410.


I like those fans...probably a steel cage.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

8V71 said:


> I like those fans...probably a steel cage.


 I'm not the type to pay $100 for a desk fan, but I also don't wanna screw the guy out of something legitimately valuable. Are these things worth anything in beat up, but running condition?


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

I have not been following the prices lately. I like to use ebay, both ongoing and completed auctions when trying to price something. If it doesn't have brass blades I'm going to guess $100 is too much. Google that make and model and see what you come up with.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

This should be similar but maybe older as it has brass blades and a steel cage. It's labeled Western Electric but made by R&M. I have a larger R&M that has a Graybar label on it. I think there is a huge electrical supply house named Graybar, I wonder if it ties into them somehow many years ago?

This fan has all original paint. I took it apart and cleaned it up, shined the blades, new felt on the bottom and cord...that was it I think.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

With the exception of the oscillating arm, it looks almost identical. Nice to see what it could look like when cleaned up. 

This model isn't super common, and the prices are all over the map. I actually found an auction for one asking almost $500. :blink: But the ones that actually sold seem to be going for about $35 dollars. :laughing:


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Big John said:


> With the exception of the oscillating arm, it looks almost identical. Nice to see what it could look like when cleaned up.
> 
> This model isn't super common, and the prices are all over the map. I actually found an auction for one asking almost $500. :blink: But the ones that actually sold seem to be going for about $35 dollars. :laughing:


Does the one you looked at have a brushed motor like the one above? They are actually nice and quiet (other than a little brush noise) if you want to run the fan. The problem with the old AC fans is any furniture you set them on acts like an AC hum amplifier. I run the little R&M in my bedroom sitting on a dresser.

I should clean that fan up on the right and get some good pictures of it. It's a little Westinghouse and a real eye catcher.


----------



## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Thought of you 8V71, this one sat at a motor shop , they said it was unrepairable


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanks for the pics doc. I'm surprised to see brushes on that motor. Maybe they were using up old stock at the start of production or it could be a DC model??


----------



## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

Shockdoc said:


> Thought of you 8V71, this one sat at a motor shop , they said it was unrepairable


"Unrepairable" NO.
economically unrepairable maybe !
Hope you fixed it, just to prove them wrong !
I would have !


----------



## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

8V71 said:


> Thanks for the pics doc. I'm surprised to see brushes on that motor. Maybe they were using up old stock at the start of production or it could be a DC model??


That could be an oil fitting. Probably an AC fan. :001_huh:


----------



## janagyjr (Feb 7, 2011)

8V71 said:


> I only owned a film camera when I was working on it and I didn't think to take any pics. This is the only good pic I had of the fan taken a few years ago so I dusted it off and took some better pics today.
> 
> View attachment 27340


wow, I'm loving these pictures of old model fans. Just so beautiful. 



erics37 said:


> Take that thing to Antiques Roadshow!
> 
> My favorite episode is when some Ozark hillbilly wearing overalls came in with the ceremonial sword & scabbard worn by Nicholas II at his coronation :blink:


For some reason this does not surprise me.



8V71 said:


> Thanks dmx.....It was a land based fan I'm sure. I researched this and IIRC some of the major US cities had this frequency at the turn of the century. The fan came from a very wet basement in Indiana BTW.


I'm quite surprised, I thought the frequency was a settled issue when a/c was introduced.


----------



## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

janagyjr said:


> I'm quite surprised, I thought the frequency was a settled issue when a/c was introduced.


It took a while to nail down the frequency as there are pros and cons with both and low frequencies.

High frequencies will result in physically smaller motors, transformers and generators for the same power but have a lot more voltage drop.

Low frequencies require much larger motors, transformers and generators for the same power, you see flicker in lamps but have much less voltage drop.

Some electric railways use 20 cycles to reduce voltage drop, a heavy motor is not an issue.


----------



## janagyjr (Feb 7, 2011)

BBQ said:


> It took a while to nail down the frequency as there are pros and cons with both and low frequencies.
> 
> High frequencies will result in physically smaller motors, transformers and generators for the same power but have a lot more voltage drop.
> 
> ...


Oh, cool.


----------



## 8V71 (Dec 23, 2011)

BBQ said:


> High frequencies will result in physically smaller motors, transformers and generators for the same power but have a lot more voltage drop.


400 hz military comes to mind.


----------

