Vintage electric fans / ventilators

[Machineghost]

Besides a facination with audio equipment I also admire the engineering that went into vintage electric fans. I have a collection of 27 vintage electric fans.

Most of my fans are Japanese-made Matsushita (National/Panasonic/KDK).

The oldest of the lot however is a Brooke Industries 56" ceiling fan from the late 40's. It is a beast. I got it from a shop in town that renovated in 1997.
The motor is made from cast iron and the blades from sheet steel. No aluminum! Made in England. (Its doing duty in my workshop !!)

There is an active fan community here: http://www.dtvintagefans.org/forum/forum.php

And these guys on FB does wonderful resotration of American made vintage fans: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Worth-TX/Vintage-Fans-LLC-Vintagefanscom/91767911488

I would love a vintage American made EMERSON desk fan or a G.E.

Any other FAN-atics here on AK?

 

[rollei35guy]

Yep, Right here!

I have 3 Hunter 'originals'. Not terribly old. One from the early '80s that was in my living room/dining room. 2 from the early '90s. A 5 blade and a smaller 4 blade.

The Hunter 'originals' blades have a more aggressive pitch and move a lot of air even when on low.

These were in my house I just sold. I took the fans with me when we moved.

I also have a small collection of old table fans. They are in good shape but need cleaning and maybe some new wiring.

I like that Brooke fan. It's a beast.

 

[spaceman]

I live in an older brick house, & there's a really old exhaust fan in the kitchen, complete with a chicken-head fan-speed controller on the wall. It has to be from the 50s or older. When I moved in, it still worked, but made some strange sounds, & didn't spin up quite like it should. I spent a full day on cleaning it good, & put some Shimano bicycle grease on the spindle, & now it works like new. They sure don't make them like they did back then, I bet it has at least another 20-30 years in it. EDIT: I needed a refill on coffee, so grabbed a couple pics. Looks like it could use a light dusting, lol.

 

[rollei35guy]

I live in an older brick house, & there's a really old exhaust fan in the kitchen, complete with a chicken-head fan-speed controller on the wall. It has to be from the 50s or older. When I moved in, it still worked, but made some strange sounds, & didn't spin up quite like it should. I spent a full day on cleaning it good, & put some Shimano bicycle grease on the spindle, & now it works like new. They sure don't make them like they did back then, I bet it has at least another 20-30 years in it. EDIT: I needed a refill on coffee, so grabbed a couple pics. Looks like it could use a light dusting, lol.

I need one of those and a sensor for the utility room where there cat's litter box is! .

Bicycle grease comes in handy, doesn't it?

 

[gewoonmaf]

I have one of these. Looks older than it is, maybe 20 years. Still made in India today. I've always loved old table top fans.

 

[electronjohn]

I've picked up a few at garage sales over the years...a Polar Cub, a Zero, GE, Westinghouse. Oldest one is a fan my Dad bought at an auction 30-odd years ago to use in his workshop...it's a Western Electric w/brass blades. I'm figuring from right around 1920 or so. We had a little black Emerson when I was a kid...still remember the smell of the ozone from the brushes mixed in with the airflow. Cool running at night, too with matching blue sparks on each side!

 

[Machineghost]

I have 3 Hunter 'originals'. Not terribly old. One from the early '80s that was in my living room/dining room. 2 from the early '90s. A 5 blade and a smaller 4 blade.

I like that Brooke fan. It's a beast.

Thanx!

Thats another great American fan - the HUNTER ORIGINAL. I would also love one of those in black enamel with pecan wood blades. :tresbon:

 

[Machineghost]

I live in an older brick house, & there's a really old exhaust fan in the kitchen, complete with a chicken-head fan-speed controller on the wall. It has to be from the 50s or older. When I moved in, it still worked, but made some strange sounds,

Good going! I have a 60's british-made Vent-Axia window ventilator fan as well. Good old retro appliances. Built to last.

 

[rollei35guy]

Thats another great American fan - the HUNTER ORIGINAL. I would also love one of those in black enamel with pecan wood blades. :tresbon:

My first Hunter from the early '80s is brown with pecan blades. The motor is not reversible but the blades are. One of the newer white Hunters is a 5 blade 52". It can really move the air.

My mom's old house had one of the old black enamel/ pecan fans. It was post WWII I think. Wish I had of snagged that one.

Sorry there are no picts. They are stored with the blades off as we settle in to the new place.

 

[Sam Cogley]

I have a few - a late 40s 10" Vornado, late 20s B&W and Emersons, a very cute and tiny Westinghouse Whirlwind personal desk fan, and the cream of my collection - a brass blade/brass cage 6-blade Emerson. Unfortunately it was stored very poorly and needs a lot of work, though the 99 year old motor works fine.

 

[spartanmanor]

I had a fan collecting period in my life. I still have maybe 15 - 20 early brass blade fans. They are fun but do start eating up a lot of space.

 

[Machineghost]

I am still looking for a brass-bladed fan... very hard to come by here in South Africa though I have seen a SIEMENS or two.

 

[Sam Cogley]

Brass-bladed fans aren't really common anywhere. The fan collectors (they're as crazy as any collectors, maybe more than most) have sucked up the easy-to-find and pristine condition examples. There has been quite a bit of attrition over 90+ years, since most manufacturers shifted to steel blades and cages in the 1915-1920 range. Plus, electric fans were a luxury then and weren't made in huge quantities.

The good news is that the motors were so overbuilt that they rarely need more than a cleaning, lubrication and rewiring.

 

[rollei35guy]

Not brass but I remembered I found an old fan where someone had taken off the wire guard and replaced the metal fan blade with a big purple plastic blade. I'll try and snap some picts. It was a thrift store find for a few bucks.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Here's a couple of mine. A 40's Hunter Zephair osc. fan in black and chrome, made in Memphis and a 10" Vornado that was made in Kansas. And in one of the bedrooms, a "modern" style Hunter ceiling fan with dark oak blades.

 

[spaceman]

That Zephair looks like a real finger-chopper. :worried: My grandmother always seemed a little paranoid that one of us kids was going to lose a finger like that, so we didn't get within about 3 feet of it, or else, lol.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Yeah...no kidding. There's a huge start up oil cap mounted inside its base. You turn that sucker on and you best back away fast!

 

[Sam Cogley]

I have an early 50s commercial-grade Emerson desk/wall fan in my office, got it from the University of Missouri surplus department a few years back. The lowest setting might as well be labeled "hurricane."

 

[Machineghost]

Those Hunter Zephairs are great!

 

[Machineghost]

I have an early 50s commercial-grade Emerson desk/wall fan in my office, got it from the University of Missouri surplus department a few years back. The lowest setting might as well be labeled "hurricane."

Like this one?