off-topic: restoring a vintage fan

[beatcomber]

While on vacation last week, I picked up a very cool c.1954 "Canadian Beauty" table-top fan/heater in a Toronto antique shop. The unit does work and runs quietly, but the fan produces barely any breeze. I'm thinking that the blades are not turning fast enough and it needs a cleaning/relubing. Since a fan motor is probably not all that different from a turntable motor, what would you experts recommend I use for lube on this neat old machine?

Here's an ad for the exact fan that I bought from a November 1954 Ottawa newspaper:

 

[interalian]

It probably has oil-soaked sintered bronze bearings and the original lube has gotten sludgy. This is a rare case where WD40 would work as it will flush out the old sludge (and the old oil). A nice light oil designed specifically for small electric motors (from the makers of 3in1) can be used once it frees up.

 

[beatcomber]

It probably has oil-soaked sintered bronze bearings and the original lube has gotten sludgy. This is a rare case where WD40 would work as it will flush out the old sludge (and the old oil). A nice light oil designed specifically for small electric motors (from the makers of 3in1) can be used once it frees up.

Fantastic, thank you! Would sewing machine oil be a good lubricant then?

 

[totem]

Would sewing machine oil be a good lubricant then?

The original viscosity used "when new" is chosen based on the tolerance
of the bearing and its shaft. That said if the bearing is older and not being replaced then a thicker more viscus lube would be more suited.

Many years ago when I was rebuilding motors which used bronze sintered type
bearings I was shown by my boss at the time how he did it.

The lubrication used was synthetic compressor oil and I would soak the bearings in the warm lube for a few hours or even till the next day.

An indication that the lube was penetrating were the air bubbles escaping
and rising to the top of the container.

Remember to clean and then lube the bearing wicks at the same time.

In your case you can use 3 in 1 "motor lube" it is not the same as general purpose 3 in 1 sewing machine oil.
If you live near an HVAC supplier they have lube for pump bearing assemblies and motors in a container with an extendable
spout, called zoom spout.

 

[pfcs49]

my hunch is that the fan function is kinda bogus.
the fan for a resistance heater typically doesn't move much air/very fast.
and on freeing up sludgy bearings, unless you are able to disassemble and clean (unlikely) perhaps you should consider trying to get some CRC or WD40 into them at the shaft entries. (unlikely it has bearing wells and caps like pre-war stuff) Either of these perform remarkably as solvents/softeners to really dried up oils and grease.

 

[Sam Cogley]

I'm thinking that this is a fairly inexpensive unit, and probably didn't have the strongest motor to start off with. Good vintage fans draw a crapload of current, but will move air like it's nobody's business. At my old office I had a vintage Emerson mounted on the wall about 10' from my desk. I couldn't turn it above the lowest setting or everything on the desk would go flying.

 

[beatcomber]

As to whether the fan function is bogus or if it was a cheap unit, anyone know what $16.95 in 1954 Canadian dollars equals in today's money?

 

[captainclock]

As to whether the fan function is bogus or if it was a cheap unit, anyone know what $16.95 in 1954 Canadian dollars equals in today's money?

I haven't a clue as to how a heater fan vs a table fan motor works but to answer your question about the cost of the heater taking into account inflation, according to an inflation calculator I had bookmarked in my web browser, the price of that fan would of been approximately $142.77 as of 2012 (in US Dollars for the Canadian Dollar just assume only a few cents difference).
With that in mind I would assume that the heater was probably pretty expensive and not a cheap run of the mill unit.

 

[transmaster]

The fan speed on this type of electric heaters are not very fast. They are designed for a gentle air flow over the heating coil. If the fan speed is too high it will cool the coil and you will actually get less heat out of one. Some of these fans do have a high speed that only works with the heating coil shut off, and the add copy indicates this is one of those.

The oil I have always used for motors of this type is LaCo Zoom-Spout-Oiler I learned about this stuff back in the late 1960's from an appliance repairmen. Amazon has some really interesting deals going on this stuff right now.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...s=zoom+spout+oiler&sprefix=zoom+spout,aps,272


http://www.laco.com/lubricants/zoom-spout-oiler/