Anybody Know About Lubricating Stuck Fans? It’s a Weird One.

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Christmas tree lights plugs are like that, however, they are designed as a pass-through, not to have a take-off for interrupting the circuit. Cannot find an equivalent on McMaster. The other option would be to simply have one cord with a plug, and add a second cord with a socket.

Also, the rivets look like they still have the pins in them. Normally, you need to punch those through first, then drill, but who knows if there is room behind them to punch them through.
 
Guess what I found

Was looking for meters in my junk, and found this. The plug looks 100% identical to yours. But it has 2 screws holding it together. The 3 visible rivets only hold on the prongs, so drilling them would be a moot point. Yours actually has screws, I can see them in the picture. They're so filthy and rusted that they're camouflaged.

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MadMan! 😘

Holy crap! I didn’t see those at ALL!
Texaskirbyguy even pointed them out and I still missed them.
Man, I’m slipping. 😒
Imagine how mad I would have been if I had drilled those rivets, then found the screws.
Multiple heads are better than one! (With the exception of Greek mythology and Chernobyl family planning)
You guys are so helpful and encouraging. I really appreciate your time spent helping me.
Thanks again!
 
Wtf

Guys c'mon the cord end is crap. If you have wire cutters I'll keep it some.
Males have plug outside the other is female.
Cut the plug off. Strip about a half inch of the cord plastic. This leaves you with what you attach to the plug shown.
Here is another idea. If you have a lamp with an online switch or you can get one at a thrift store for a dollar. Scrap the whole wire and use the lamp in place of this shoddy plug.
I don't know why everyone is telling you how to take apart the plug.
Just thought I'd suggest an easier alternative.
Les

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Thanks Lesinutah, but...

Call me a purist. I like the original plug.
If the fan was rusty with 3 coats of paint and needed serious restoration, I might be more open to bastardizing it with bulky, modern, dayglow-yellow hardware, especially if I were going to put it to work in a garage or something. But this fan isn’t far from museum quality. It will be used lightly around the house and get plenty of luvin’.
I’m happy to go the extra mile to retain that time-warp experience you get when you see a piece like this. 😎
But thank you for your input.
 
Well, I bet the plug is plenty saveable, however you probably need to replace those two rusty screws. I'm just wondering how the plug and switch thing look so crusty if the fan is near mint?
 
Yeah, that was a head-scratcher for a second. lol
I’m so tired, I forgot for a minute, this fan didn’t have the timer option, unfortunately.
You could buy them with or without.
But as I mentioned earlier, I pulled this timer from another Homart Cooler I bought last year on fleabay. It’s condition was a bit disappointing when I opened it, so my search continued for another.
I thought I’d sell it when I found a better one, but I can’t. I love them both. 😜
So now I have the inside princess and the outside workhorse for the patio & garage.
The princess got the workhorse’s timer.
 
To Anyone Still Interested in This Restoration-

Well, I sprayed the on/off/reverse/speed switch with that electronics cleaning spray.
Strong stuff. It blasted through every nook & cranny leaving it as clean as a whistle before instantly evaporating. It seems like a pretty good product, generally speaking, just not so much for this particular switch, as it left it locked-up, solid as a rock.
I don’t fault the cleaner though. After drilling the rivets and popping it open, I found it to be a rather strange switching mechanism. It’s impossible to describe, so see for yourself.
I worked a little synthetic oil in between those sliding... whatcha-muhjiggers, and let it sit overnight.
Now it seems to be working as well as it ever did, which I suspect was never the responsive pop & click one might expect, but rather more of a sludgy submission to one’s selection. Whatever.
Moving on to the timer transplant. I kinda feel like I’m putting Keith Richard’s liver in 12yr old here.
I sprayed the plug’s screws with WD40 and left it overnight. They came out pretty easily, revealing the fact that I finally needed to break down and order a soldering iron.
While waiting for that, I checked the timer mechanism over and found it to be fairly well stuck solid.
I opened it, pulled the movement out and oiled it, jiggled it, played with the gears, and got nothing.
I see some rust on a couple gear pins. I do not want to take apart the movement and have to figure out how to put it all back together. Forget that. I’m as deep into this rabbit hole as I intend to go.
So I sprayed it with WD40 and put it down for the night.
I’ll see where we are later today.
My paints came already, so once I’m done playing with this timer (one way- or the other🏳️💀) I’ll be moving on to touching up chips, then polishing.

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Thanks. I’m pretty sure my solder has a flux core. (Hoping 🙄)

I jiggled and futzed with the gears on that timer movement and I couldn’t get it to run for more than a second or two, so I blasted it with that electronics cleaner.
That stuff has so much pressure, it blew out a pin hole in the Little red sprayer straw ("aerosol tip extension tube"). Now it shoots a tiny stream out to my left when I spray it. 😜
That blew a significant amount of dust/grit/debris out onto the paper towel.
Then I oiled it again with the synthetic lube (Liquid Bearings). After patiently jiggling & futzing for another 10-15min, it finally seems to have come back to life.
It’s a 10hr timer, so I had to wait overnight to see if it would run all the way down and trip the circuit release mechanism. I’ll find out in a couple hours. Then matching that paint is next. That’s a little intimidating. Normally I’d go to an auto-paint supply nearby and have them scan the fan and let them make it, but I’m in Texas during the pandemic. These people are idiots. Nobody is wearing masks or staying 6ft apart. The hospital beds are all full and overflowing into emergency tents set up at the stadium.
I’m not dying for touchup paint. 😒

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Good on you

For staying safe. I can say this is the first time in years where I didn't catch some form of flu virus and I always do, but with the extra cautions taken, it made a difference. I bought the highly recommended and widely used Radio Shack cleaner and lubricant for electronics, It does the job for sure, I just wasn't ready for the intense blast from the pressure. You also don't want to spray a finger, it's a bit chilly. I was wondering if the rapid temp change would be hard on soldered connections and the like. I wasn't spraying directly on circuit boards but I could hear a crackling noise when the spray got away from me and on to parts unseen but heard. I'll stick to using the regular contact cleaner for contacts and the like and use the afore mentioned for parts that move or slide or mesh or... " I kinda feel like I’m putting Keith Richard’s liver in 12yr old here." From your earlier reply, I like it!
 
Mm

WD-40 on electrical connections I'm not so sure about that.
The electrical cleaner for car batteries and electrical is all I'd use on cleaning the electrical.
Wear a mask people. If your out clean your hands and never rub your eyes that's how it spreads. You don't want to get sick it's miserable as hell. Be safe and you don't have to worry.
Les
 
Paint

After about 13 tries, I finally got the color for the touchup paint.
It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough for me.
I also used it on a pair of custom handles I installed.
I know. I’m a purist and very against customizing, especially something so pristine, but sometimes it’s necessary.
These fans were designed to be installed in a window permanently, more or less, but since the modern air-conditioner found it’s way into every home, it’s become an appliance that gets moved around according to need. It weighs about 411lbs with nothing to grab onto but sharp steel edges, and having all the weight on one side ensures that it cuts into your fingers most efficiently. It’s enough to keep you from even using it sometimes, so something had to be done.
I did, at least, manage to find a classic style that’s period-correct, and luckily the style seems to blend agreeably with the fan’s design.

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Wow - give yourself a big pat on the back for that paint matching! I had to do the same long ago for repainting some instrument clusters for a vintage car.

Did you get the motor apart and relubed? Does it have ball or sleeve bearings? Almost looks like balls...

Nice to know I am not the only one who goes out on a limb to keep things looking original. Keep up the great work!

411 pounds? That thing must be a monster! :o)
 
Fantastic work!

The motor looks very similar to the Delco motor in my Kenmore wringer washer. That's got solid bronze sleeve bearings with big oil felts that directly oil the shaft. It doesn't really have oil ports, you have to take it apart to oil it. Strangely, one of the bearings was missing most of the oil felt on mine. Not sure why, didn't look like it had been opened before.
 
Thanks, texaskirbyguy & MadMan.
No. I couldn’t bring myself to open the motor. I couldn’t find any photos or videos of this motor being opened and I was convinced I would cock it up somehow.
I’ll try to find an exploded view of it and maybe do it this winter.
The Liquid Bearing label says it’s supposed to displace old gunky grease & oil, so it’s in their hands for now.
 
Believe it or not, I finally got that gnarly timer looking decent and running like a top.
I’ve never had a project like this in my life. Every facet of it goes more easily and turns out better than expected. It’s like hitting all green lights when you’re running late. 😎
I kept the timer movement by my bed and nudged it along every time it stopped ticking for a few days while I watched TV. Eventually it didn’t need my help anymore.
Soldering the old plug wiring was fun, even though I seared my palm checking to see if it was cool enough to put away afterwards. Note to Self: Be sure you’ve unplugged the soldering iron before expecting it to cool off.
I removed the previous owner’s spray paint from the faceplate with chemical stripper. It dissolved long before the factory enamel even softened.
Residual staining and oxidation was removed with my trusty cutting compound.
The on/off/reverse switch has much better, more decisive pop & click action now that the unit it firmly mounted in place.
Once I finally had the fan all reassembled, I was scared to plug it in. I thought for sure sparks were going to fly, or the blades were going to ricochet out, embedding in the surrounding walls like a tornado movie.
When it whirred to life just as it was designed to, you could have knocked me over with a feather.
I’m crediting 1950s American engineering for the ease of this entire restoration.
This thing will blow the wallpaper off the walls without hardly making a sound.
There’s no clicking, ticking, pinging, squeaking, or rattling, not even the faintest motor hum. The only thing you hear is the sound of the ferociously angled blades pushing air like a freight train.
On a white noise scale, it’s practically pharmaceutical.
Now I just have to figure out where to put this thing.

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Wow it's a beauty

I'm pretty sure the 41lbs meant 41 LBS. If you have a dolly it is suggested moving method.
That looks better than anything I've seen in the store in over 30 years. Congrats glad it's working like a top.
Les
 
Lesinutah

HA! 😆
I was just being hyperbolic.
By 411lbs, I meant roughly a f£#k-ton.
Although, coincidentally, I don’t imagine 41lbs is far from accurate, but it sure feels like more when the motor-end is pulling down and it’s cutting into your fingers.
It’s about as awkward as a cow on crutches.
(Thanks, Les. 😁)
 
Looks like you have a fan for life!

Literally after all you've done. Somehow I missed the part about this fan being belt driven. Have seen them in industrial settings but not for the home before. With the pitch on those blades I imagine there is some serious air movement going on at all speeds.Everything's been said before so I'll just say Kudos on the resto and thanks for the tip on soldering irons that stay hot while plugged in, Roger that!
 

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