deskthority

Well a few months ( or was it a year i don't know now) i showed off my loverly vintage desk fan.
Well this one was nice and easy , after a clean and oil she was good to go, still missing some washers to hold the rotor in place but she works fine. She was however a very dirty girl.


But , i decided i needed a smaller fan to sit on my desk as this one is too big , it works well for the bedroom , and thats where she lives now.

Introducing the "NEW" vintage fan!
I will post some more detailed photos and a description of what was done to get her running well. She looked ok in the ebay listing but looks can be dissipative! Much to my surprise you can no longer buy new bearings for a 68 year old desk fan , so i had to get creative with the superglue!

Nice fan! I'm not sure that mobile phone is strong enough to mount cars on.

I could not be arsed to get my video camera out , i don't have a charger so i have to charge it from my bench power supply.

It also need some new mini DV tapes.

So often when I look at old gear like that, particularly since having had children, my first thought is "OMG what a cruel slicer and dicer that is!"

fohat wrote: So often when I look at old gear like that, particularly since having had children, my first thought is "OMG what a cruel slicer and dicer that is!"

Its simple, learn to do as your told when you are told not to touch the fan , or learn the hard way .

What are the pros and cons of a vintage fan versus a modern one?

The quality looks really good.

Pros

Look Sexy as hell
Are built up to a standard not down to a cost.
Common for all metal construction
Motor and bearings are serviceable so will last forever
Very quiet compared to a modern china fan.
Re-use is better than re-cycle, save the planet
Generally much less power draw than a modern fan.

Cons

Not safe for little fingers , H and S will have a fit when they see it in the office.
Have to be fully re-wired all the way up to the motor wingdings to be safe
have to be earthed properly as they are metal, a problem for people who live in a country with a tenuous grip on the concept of earthed mains outlets ( IE most of the world apart form the UK).
Should be fused, again an issue for anyone who does not have fused plugs ( IE most of the world)

I compare them a bit to mechanical keyboards vs modern stuff, go buy a china fan from the hardware store today , use it for years and years and then leave it in storage until its 68 years old and then expect it to work... never going to happen.

andrewjoy wrote: Pros

Very quiet compared to a modern china fan.
Generally much less power draw than a modern fan.

Cons

have to be earthed properly as they are metal

If I could find one that truly was quiet I would be very pleased. I always assume that bearings are sure to go.
I am very surprised that they use less power. Perhaps something like a lot more wire winding in the motor?

So would it be true that with an all-metal casing you can bring in that 3rd wire and tap it on basically anywhere?

Some of my Rotobeam fans are incredibly quiet, and pushes more air then a lot of modern junk, and as Andrew said, look sexy as hell. I find old fans quite enjoyable to work on. Nice work on this one, Andrew!