Looks like great help. I've been trying to get my old fan working...never knew what goes where... therefore it got hot soon. Amy suggestions about polishing or repainting?
Helpful video! I have an identical-looking fan, but the low-medium-high settings on mine all result in very similar speeds--basically three versions of high, and the fan moves a lot of air! Do you know a way to alter the switch to provide more distinct speed settings so I can have a low or medium? Or can I plug the fan into a fan dimmer switch to accomplish this?
It may just need torn apart and cleaned. Old sticky oil can be enough to hold the blades stationary on start up. Also it could be that the bearings on either end of the motor shaft are not aligned. They can be aligned by adjusting the torque of the screws on the motor housing. Symptom of misaligned bearings is a tight spot when you rotate the blades by hand. If it's not either of these, your fan may have what I call a starter winding that is burnt out, or a dirty switch on the starter winding. The starting winding gives the motor a little extra power when turning on, and shuts off somewhere around half speed or less. Usually the starter winding switch makes an audible click.
when you rewired your fan why did you use white for positive? do you add a ground when you replace the cord? do you take into consideration polarization? I am restoring an old GE fan the 3 position switch [rotary] wires run to a resistor block or choke what do you do if that piece is missing?
It's been a few years so I cannot comment why I used a white wire. I think I added a ground, but not necessary. If you do not have the speed switch wire direct to the fan motor, or find a generic switch to put in the base. Polarization does not matter for AC motors. It will run the right direction regardless.
I am new to the fan repair. I was given an old Westinghouse fan that appears identical to yours. Some questions that may be simple to you but not for a new restorer. The rotor and stator metal parts on mine are quite dirt. Can I clean these in some fashion? How did you get the rotor completely out of the housing? I have mine disassembled but it only slides out part way. In removing the oscillating assembly do I only take out the two screws on the brown ring and the four screws that attach to the housing or is there more? Now for getting the stator out of its housing-when you drilled the holes must you make sure they don't contact the metal of the stator or is that not critical? I've checked out a few sites but none are as detailed as your input. I hope you can reply. I'd rather not mess this up.
Good Questions. I will answer the best I can below, however if you need more detailed information feel free to email me. You can find my email address by going to my channel homepage and looking under the about tab. Its been a few years since this restoration, so please forgive me if my memory of the fans construction is a slight bit off. How to remove the rotor: The rotor should pull directly out of the motor once the front cover is off. I don't recall doing anything special to remove it. With some fans it is necessary to remove the gears to in the oscillator first to allow the worm gear on the rotor shaft to pass by. On mine, the worm gear on the rotor shaft is a separate piece and this is not an issue, however something to look out for. Maybe give the rotor a twist as you remove it. Once the rotor is removed I typically wrap a few turns of painters tape around the bearing surfaces of the shaft to protect them while I am working on it. Cleaning Rotor: If its rusty, some sandpaper (not too aggressive, say 400 grit) can be used to clean the widest part of the rotor, where its closest to the stator. Also a bench grinder with a wire wheel works well. Preferably a brass wire wheel. Just do not press too hard against the wire wheel and be sure not to damage the bearing surfaces. A brass wire brush works well to clean the ends of the rotor, and a wire brush pipe cleaner does a treat on the holes bored through the rotor. I think this model has those holes. Not certain. Pro Tip: if the rotor is in poor, rusty condition, a thin coat of clear lacquer from a spray can will help preserve it and prevent rust. Starter winding switch (Brown ring): Two screws hold the starter winding switch to the motor housing, and it is wired in to the back of the stator. Be very careful with it. The switch will come out with the stator when the stator is removed. Behind the starter winding switch there are 4 of 8 screws that hold the oscillator housing on to the motor housing. Gently move the starter switch around to access them. Remember to clean the starter winding switch contacts prior to reassembly! Oscillator Housing Removal: As mentioned before there are 4 screws behind the starter winding switch, and an additional 4 screws at the neck of the fan (where the fan pivots up/down, left/right). Before trying to remove the housing, unscrew the brass cover on top of the oscillator and remove the vertical shaft. If the oscillator is engaged everything should come out as one piece. Push down on the knurled brass oscillator knob to engage, lift up to disengage. You should feel a good click into position. On the bottom of the oscillator you should see a cover with two screws holding it on, I recall. Remove this cover. This will allow you to disconnect the oscillator push rod, for lack of better terms, from the neck of the fan, and from the vertical shaft of the oscillator. Be mindful that the screws that hold the oscillator push rod in place may be left hand thread, meaning that you turn the screw clockwise to remove it. Again I am not certain about this, but it is not uncommon. At this point the oscillator housing can be removed. you may need a wooden dowel rod and a rubber mallet to persuade the oscillator housing off of the motor housing. Use the wooden dowel rod by putting it in place of the rotor inside the motor housing and with a few gentle taps of the rubber mallet the housing should pop off. Be very gentle and mindful of the starter winding switch. The oscillator housing is made of cast pot metal and should be considered as fragile as glass when any form of hammer is concerned. Removing Stator: Please refer to my other video, which it sounds like you watched. Thanks for that! To answer your direct question, the motor housing is less than 1/16" of an inch thick, So when you are drilling your holes there is no reason to go any deeper than this. If you end up with dimples created by a drill bit in the stator from this process, they will not effect the performance of the motor. Pro Tip: you can sand some metal away from the outside of the stator to help it fit inside the motor housing easier upon assembly. A thin coat of grease on both surfaces will aid in assembly as well. If you choose to sand the stator, remember that you do not want a loose fit. Cleaning stator: Drug store rubbing alcohol is cheap and effective. Use a small semi-soft hobby paint brush to apply the rubbing alcohol to wash off dirt and grime. Be mindful of the small winding wires! if you break one you are pretty much up the creek without an oar. I suppose an aerosol electronics cleaner would do the trick too, but I hate the smell of that stuff. Make sure you let it dry overnight before applying power to be safe. If I remember correctly the stator should read about 4 ohms or resistance on a multimeter by probing the power wires. Might be worth checking for the heck of it. If you measure "OL" that means open circuit on most multimeters. This means your stator is shot and will need re-wound. Some advanced motor repair shops can handle this task. I wish you the best of luck. These older fans (pre 1930) can put someone new to fan restoration through the wringer regardless of electromechanical skill. Again feel free to email me if needed.
Would a 3-blade oscillating Westinghouse fan be rewired the same way? Mine has an open circle in the center of the cage face- if that helps with the time period.
I'm glad you are that impressed with my work, however I am not in a position to be able to take on others projects. However if you have any questions, let me know! If you have an understanding of basic hand tools they can be an enjoyable project and often less complicated than you might think.
I have built coils before with success. A problem I experienced was added resistance, which made the motor get hot. Start with a simple setup, like a motor with two coils and see how it goes, before trying something more complex.
I thought the larger side of the plug in is always hot (black)? The white wire is the neutral. The black wire isn’t a negative wire it’s the Hot wire. You’re thinking of 12dc for black to be negative.
Beautiful restoration project.
Looks like great help. I've been trying to get my old fan working...never knew what goes where... therefore it got hot soon. Amy suggestions about polishing or repainting?
Thanks this is going to help me a ton!
Helpful video! I have an identical-looking fan, but the low-medium-high settings on mine all result in very similar speeds--basically three versions of high, and the fan moves a lot of air! Do you know a way to alter the switch to provide more distinct speed settings so I can have a low or medium? Or can I plug the fan into a fan dimmer switch to accomplish this?
Matt, what brand and type of black paint did you use. It really is sharp. This has been a VERY helpful video. Thanks
At the time that was Rust-Oleum with clear coat. Currently I'm using duplicolor or SEM products and have been much happier with the finish durability.
lots of help thanks, any idea why my fan same as this one always need the blade pushed to get started after i put the switch on?
It may just need torn apart and cleaned. Old sticky oil can be enough to hold the blades stationary on start up. Also it could be that the bearings on either end of the motor shaft are not aligned. They can be aligned by adjusting the torque of the screws on the motor housing. Symptom of misaligned bearings is a tight spot when you rotate the blades by hand. If it's not either of these, your fan may have what I call a starter winding that is burnt out, or a dirty switch on the starter winding. The starting winding gives the motor a little extra power when turning on, and shuts off somewhere around half speed or less. Usually the starter winding switch makes an audible click.
@@mattkinnard6899 thank you much,ill give it a go
when you rewired your fan why did you use white for positive? do you add a ground when you replace the cord? do you take into consideration polarization? I am restoring an old GE fan the 3 position switch [rotary] wires run to a resistor block or choke what do you do if that piece is missing?
It's been a few years so I cannot comment why I used a white wire. I think I added a ground, but not necessary. If you do not have the speed switch wire direct to the fan motor, or find a generic switch to put in the base. Polarization does not matter for AC motors. It will run the right direction regardless.
I am new to the fan repair. I was given an old Westinghouse fan that appears identical to yours. Some questions that may be simple to you but not for a new restorer. The rotor and stator metal parts on mine are quite dirt. Can I clean these in some fashion? How did you get the rotor completely out of the housing? I have mine disassembled but it only slides out part way. In removing the oscillating assembly do I only take out the two screws on the brown ring and the four screws that attach to the housing or is there more? Now for getting the stator out of its housing-when you drilled the holes must you make sure they don't contact the metal of the stator or is that not critical? I've checked out a few sites but none are as detailed as your input. I hope you can reply. I'd rather not mess this up.
Good Questions. I will answer the best I can below, however if you need more detailed information feel free to email me. You can find my email address by going to my channel homepage and looking under the about tab. Its been a few years since this restoration, so please forgive me if my memory of the fans construction is a slight bit off.
How to remove the rotor:
The rotor should pull directly out of the motor once the front cover is off. I don't recall doing anything special to remove it. With some fans it is necessary to remove the gears to in the oscillator first to allow the worm gear on the rotor shaft to pass by. On mine, the worm gear on the rotor shaft is a separate piece and this is not an issue, however something to look out for. Maybe give the rotor a twist as you remove it. Once the rotor is removed I typically wrap a few turns of painters tape around the bearing surfaces of the shaft to protect them while I am working on it.
Cleaning Rotor:
If its rusty, some sandpaper (not too aggressive, say 400 grit) can be used to clean the widest part of the rotor, where its closest to the stator. Also a bench grinder with a wire wheel works well. Preferably a brass wire wheel. Just do not press too hard against the wire wheel and be sure not to damage the bearing surfaces. A brass wire brush works well to clean the ends of the rotor, and a wire brush pipe cleaner does a treat on the holes bored through the rotor. I think this model has those holes. Not certain. Pro Tip: if the rotor is in poor, rusty condition, a thin coat of clear lacquer from a spray can will help preserve it and prevent rust.
Starter winding switch (Brown ring):
Two screws hold the starter winding switch to the motor housing, and it is wired in to the back of the stator. Be very careful with it. The switch will come out with the stator when the stator is removed. Behind the starter winding switch there are 4 of 8 screws that hold the oscillator housing on to the motor housing. Gently move the starter switch around to access them. Remember to clean the starter winding switch contacts prior to reassembly!
Oscillator Housing Removal:
As mentioned before there are 4 screws behind the starter winding switch, and an additional 4 screws at the neck of the fan (where the fan pivots up/down, left/right). Before trying to remove the housing, unscrew the brass cover on top of the oscillator and remove the vertical shaft. If the oscillator is engaged everything should come out as one piece. Push down on the knurled brass oscillator knob to engage, lift up to disengage. You should feel a good click into position. On the bottom of the oscillator you should see a cover with two screws holding it on, I recall. Remove this cover. This will allow you to disconnect the oscillator push rod, for lack of better terms, from the neck of the fan, and from the vertical shaft of the oscillator. Be mindful that the screws that hold the oscillator push rod in place may be left hand thread, meaning that you turn the screw clockwise to remove it. Again I am not certain about this, but it is not uncommon. At this point the oscillator housing can be removed. you may need a wooden dowel rod and a rubber mallet to persuade the oscillator housing off of the motor housing. Use the wooden dowel rod by putting it in place of the rotor inside the motor housing and with a few gentle taps of the rubber mallet the housing should pop off. Be very gentle and mindful of the starter winding switch. The oscillator housing is made of cast pot metal and should be considered as fragile as glass when any form of hammer is concerned.
Removing Stator:
Please refer to my other video, which it sounds like you watched. Thanks for that! To answer your direct question, the motor housing is less than 1/16" of an inch thick, So when you are drilling your holes there is no reason to go any deeper than this. If you end up with dimples created by a drill bit in the stator from this process, they will not effect the performance of the motor. Pro Tip: you can sand some metal away from the outside of the stator to help it fit inside the motor housing easier upon assembly. A thin coat of grease on both surfaces will aid in assembly as well. If you choose to sand the stator, remember that you do not want a loose fit.
Cleaning stator:
Drug store rubbing alcohol is cheap and effective. Use a small semi-soft hobby paint brush to apply the rubbing alcohol to wash off dirt and grime. Be mindful of the small winding wires! if you break one you are pretty much up the creek without an oar. I suppose an aerosol electronics cleaner would do the trick too, but I hate the smell of that stuff. Make sure you let it dry overnight before applying power to be safe. If I remember correctly the stator should read about 4 ohms or resistance on a multimeter by probing the power wires. Might be worth checking for the heck of it. If you measure "OL" that means open circuit on most multimeters. This means your stator is shot and will need re-wound. Some advanced motor repair shops can handle this task.
I wish you the best of luck. These older fans (pre 1930) can put someone new to fan restoration through the wringer regardless of electromechanical skill. Again feel free to email me if needed.
Would a 3-blade oscillating Westinghouse fan be rewired the same way? Mine has an open circle in the center of the cage face- if that helps with the time period.
Most likely. But I've never worked on one
Would you be willing to restore my fan like this one?
I'm glad you are that impressed with my work, however I am not in a position to be able to take on others projects. However if you have any questions, let me know! If you have an understanding of basic hand tools they can be an enjoyable project and often less complicated than you might think.
Matt- Great video. Do you have a tutorial on rebuilding a speed coil? I could use some help! Please reach out to me if you do....
I have built coils before with success. A problem I experienced was added resistance, which made the motor get hot. Start with a simple setup, like a motor with two coils and see how it goes, before trying something more complex.
Anyone what do these # mean on my working fan...serial 1762928, cycles 100-120, model 241853B.
I thought the larger side of the plug in is always hot (black)? The white wire is the neutral. The black wire isn’t a negative wire it’s the Hot wire. You’re thinking of 12dc for black to be negative.
Your correct on the wire colors and polarity. I am certain that the wide prong on a polarized plug is neutral.