Antique GE Strap Fan Restoration!!
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- Well I decided to take this scrap yard find GE Strap Fan and give it a new lease on life by not only giving it a complete electrical and mechanical overhaul, but a cosmetic one as well!!! Hopefully you enjoy!
![Antique 1920's Marelli Table Fan - [Restoration]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9r3rahAuiCQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Antique 1920's Marelli Table Fan - [Restoration]](/img/tr.png)
I love those little GE’s. They’re just great fans that run quietly.
They are great fans to just setup and run for a long time and not worry about. Even if something did happen, they're still a dime a dozen! Thanks for Watching!
Friction tape. Good stuff for certain uses. They still make it. Nice job.
I thought that's what it was called but didn't want to say the wrong thing on video!! That's interesting that they still make it, I didn't know that! Thanks Kevin!
I love those GE's electric fans and electrical things the company have made in the history. I am a big GE brand fan myself:) Good job fixing that beautiful GE Electric Fan and nice paint color I like Blue as my favorite color too!
Yeah they made some neat stuff back in the day! Their fans may not have been the highest quality stuff around but they sure did last quite a while and made a lot of neat stuff! Thanks for Watching!
That ole girl deserves a restoration. Worked all the way to the dump.
Yessir! Now it's got a new lease on life! :) Thanks for Watching!
Love that! Looks awesome 👏
I’ve got a strap fan like that, they are absolutely some of the best fans I’ve ever used.
Thanks Ben! They're on the cheaper / lower end of the fan spectrum but not bad fans for what they are! Worlds above what you can get new though! Thanks for Watching!
Great job man! You made a really bad condition GE desk fan to a good condition GE!
Thanks Matthew!
I enjoyed watching this on Facebook so much, I had to come back and watch it again here!🙂
Haha I know that feeling! Glad you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839 it's always a pleasure 🤠👍
This Antique GE Fan Looks nice I love it
Thank You!!
Thanks for doing this. I have one just like it that is in decent shape but has a good rattle. So I wanna take it apart bc I love taking things apart and fixing them. I’ve already machined a quick aluminum oscillator knob but I wanna make a nicer one that will look good spinning on top.
My pleasure! The rattle is most likely the blade is out of clock or balance or maybe the bearings are worn. I'm sure if you take it apart you will quickly figure out what it is! Machining a knob for the oscillator is a really neat idea! I might have to do that someday! Thanks for Watching!
Do you want a knob? I’m making at least two bc I’m using a cnc mill and why not make more if I’m set up. I’ll send you one for free. If you haven’t found one already.
Sure that would be awesome if it's not too late!
@@colin_5839 It’s not too late. I made 3 or 4 just bc I was set up and had the material for it. If you want, we can communicate thru email, or any other way you want, so you don’t have to put your address out there. I’d be happy to send you one. Mine works great!
Ohh Awesome! Shoot me an email at ColinWL583 @ gmail !
Snap! Perfect timing for me and great video, thanks Colin. Maybe I missed how you re-varnished. I've been putting my restoration off but this encouragement helps. Like your channel...subbed :)
Amazing! Glad I could help! Thanks for the sub, I appreciate it! As for the revarnishing, if I didn't show it in this video check out the video I did on my Vornado window fan.... I believe I showed it in detail in that one! Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839 cool, I will thanks Colin
Wonderful job!!
Thank you!
what's an awesome job to restoration job to this 50's fan i love the blue and white color theme makes it look so original and it has a new lease at life again and love the Startup Sound and thanks for shouting me out lol it's been awhile since we last seen you so glad to see you have done another fan video can't wait to see more videos soon from you and Yeah i think you should more restoration fan videos like this with the timelapse my favorite lol i enjoyed the video Colin
Thanks Lemont!! I've been super busy so I've had to drop my upload schedule to ever 2 weeks unfortunately, but I'm still trying to post videos regularly! Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839 your welcome and good to know and your welcome for watching
Excellent job Colin!
Thanks Eric!!!
@@colin_5839 You're welcome!
I believe the little snapping/ticking noise is the badge on the front which has little metal tabs that bend that secure it to the shroud .
If you have safety wire pliers you can effectively tighten the tabs with a little Pull roll crimp.
I’m currently working on mine and cracked the motor cover I’m not sure what to do. I’ll probably have to go get some kind of two-part epoxy resin
I thought the same thing as you initially, but have since confirmed it is something else making some noise.... could be the bearings or gearbox potentially.... I'm sure epoxy will work for that, however, I'm also sure you can find another parts fan somewhere. They are quite common fans. Thanks for Watching!
You can soak the grease in wd-40
so that way it will come out easily. I have done that with hard grease and it clean it off.
Yea I've done that with fans that I can't dunk in the ultrasonic cleaner and it does work, but the ultrasonic cleaner is much easier and works better lol. Thanks for Watching!
I’ve been wanting to get one of those fans.
There are plenty of them still out there for very reasonable prices! Not the best fans, but they are neat! Thanks for Watching!
Nice job! Looks awesome👍🏻
Thanks Bono!
That's looks good
Thanks Simeon!
Stellar video! I have the same fan, it stopped working today and with your help I had it back up and running in an hour or so. Are you able to share the STL for the oscillator knob?
Thank you! Ohh man that's awesome! So glad to hear that! I would share the STL, however, I unfortunately didn't design the knob, it was sent to me by a viewer of mine so I don't have the file sadly. That being said I think my buddy Rob will be reproducing these knobs in the next few months or so, so hopefully you can get one from him if he does! Thanks for Watching!
I have an antique GE Fan exactly like the one you restored and I'm thinking of restoring mine after seeing this video. It's sort of difficult to see what's happening during the fast tear down section. I slowed it down on you tube but the angle made it tough to see. How does the blade come off? Is it a pressed fit? Thanks.
Yea these usually clean up pretty nice! The blade is held on by a friction fit (there is a rubber gromet that goes between the blade and the shaft) Some come off easily.... others put up a hell of a fight! Thanks for Watching Paul!
You did a fantastic restoration job! I have this same fan, possibly a few years newer. Im looking to have it put back into running shape. Mine has the oscillator knob still. Do you do private restoration jobs?
Thanks Corey! They are kinda annoying fans to work on, not going to lie, but they do clean up well! I actually haven't done any private restoration jobs for anyone else before, I wouldn't be totally opposed to it, but I am also quite busy for most of the year with school....
Screen would look good black too
It might but I wanted to keep the color scheme close to original. Plus I already have a ton of black fans so I wanted something a little different. Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839 it looks great man. I’m a painter so I’m always fiddling with color schemes
Hello! I know this videos is old, but I've browsed forums with little help. I just came into possession of one of these fans (Pre 1960 as the logo on the shroud is red.) Everything works, and the spin down time is a little over 30 seconds with no out of the ordinary sounds. I'm not an expert on these, but it seems to run a little warm. I've heard the old shaded pole motors tend to run warmer due to them being less efficient but just out of curiosity I checked it with a thermometer and it read just over 103° Fahrenheit. I suspect that it may have been apart at one point in time as the nut on the bottom has been replaced with a much newer stainless steel square nut, and rhe blade is ever so slightly crooked. Anyways, I just wanted to know if i should be concerned about the temperature it runs at, and if its normal. Like I said, it makes no noise, has a nice long spin down time, and seems to be well greased. Just wanna know if its normal to run that hot. I should also add that it doesn't seem to slow down when it gets warm, nor does it put off a bad smell. Thanks in advance!
Nice! Yeah GE used shaded pole motors on these and much like all other GE fans they tend to run pretty warm! As long as the windings are below like 130 to 140 degrees F and the amp draw is within spec I think you should be fine! 103 on the outside of the motor housing isn't bad at all! Thanks for Watching!
Alright! Many thanks!
@@colin_5839 one more thing I forgot to mention. The rod that holds the blade has some back and fourth play and when I tilt the fan forward it seems to spin slightly faster. Sometimes it'll buzz louder than usual on startup. Is that a normal occurrence for these? Sorry for blowing up your inbox lol
No worries! Always happy to help with questions! The shaft can have a little bit of in and out play but if it's excessive that means you need to add a fiber washer or 2. I typically replace them all anyways when I go through a fan because the original ones are always brittle if they are even still there at all. You can get a nice kit of assorted sizes from Amazon.
If I could just get the blade off. Mine is obviously oiled well but I need to get in there. I've tried using two screwdrivers to pop the hub off from the back but that sucker is stuck on there.
I did it! I got behind the blade only with my fingers, pulled real hard and wobbled back and forth, pops off.
For anybody else taking this apart, open the gearbox and remove the gear that's engaging the worm gear on the rotor, then remove the rotor. Put the rotor back in before you put that plastic gear in.
Glad you got yours all figured out! Sorry I didn't get a chance to reply earlier! Thanks for Watching!
The humming and noise comes from the wiring. It over heats.
Does the fan actually run as it should and it overheats or does it sit there and just hum and get hot?
It does both. Do you know of a kit or motor replacement? Thanks.
My fan is slightly different t I believe but I can’t get the blades off to save save my life. Even sprayed the heck out of them with blaster
Some of them put up a real fight! Hope you can wrestle it off there soon enough!
Do you recommend lubricant or anything to help release the blade, or does that promote future failure? (Or simply not help anyway...)
I have almost the exact fan. I want to dismantle it and clean it up as it seems to run just fine. Do you have a video that actually shows the process of dismantling it? yours is fast forwarded, which I understand, but that doesn’t help me. It did a great job on it by the way!
Thanks Glenda! I unfortunately don't have any non timelapse video of me taking this thing apart, so what's in the video is what I've got. I can help answer questions through these comments though! Thanks for Watching!
If you need to replace the rubber grommet I have heard you can use carburetor rubber vacuum caps. I am not sure the size.
Oooh that's not a bad thought at all!
It should oscilate a full cycle every 5 seconds. You're still running a little slow (about 6 seconds)
Typically I lay the fan with the blades facing the ceiling and put a few drops of oil on the shaft, behind the blades, with an eyedropper.
Hmmm interesting! And yeah that would likely work to get some oil in the front bearing, but this thing really needed the gearbox grease changed and oil in the 2nd bearing definitely helped a bit too! Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839
Thanks for the response !
I'm sure mine could use a good once over, but I'm worried that I'd never get it crammed back into the housing (and I've heard that the rubber grommet holding the blades can't be replaced if it's damaged)
I hope that's a Brush Motor. Speed Controls aren't for Slide Pole Motors.
It's a shaded pole motor. Also you can use speed controllers for shaded pole or induction motors just fine! Just have to use the correct one! Thanks for Watching!
I have one that just started running rough outta nowhere, so i tured ot off an then back on it popped and i seen it flash through the oscillator knob hole. It wont do anything now, any suggestions?
It sounds like you had a winding short out and fail in the motor. Id start by taking it apart and doing a visual inspection of everything. Then get an ohm meter and measure out the resistance across the windings and lets see where you are at.
Great job as usual, but since it came out so close to original, people might like to know your paint colors and brands. 3D is the way to go for the knob, hope you follow up.
Thanks Mike! If you specifically are curious I'll go look at the cans I used and I can let you know! Yep! Many people dont realize how useful and strong 3D printed stuff is! Thanks for Watching!
Hi. I have a GE antique fan from 1950s. The GE fan blad falls off after its being run for 1 hour. Any thoughts ?
Is it the same style fan as this one or something else? Because if its the same as this fan or something similar they use rubber grommets to hold the blade on and its possible that the grommet is worn out and not fitting as tightly as it should...
I have a similar fan that just hums and overheats. Not sure how to fix that issue.
Sounds like it needs oil badly to me!
Mine's a One Speed, with the upgraded OSHA guard, so I ordered a Speed Control for it to have low, med and high. I painted it Turquoise because it was an ugly Tan.
Edit: Couldn't pass it up for $19 at the Antique Store.
Nice! Not a bad deal at all! Very nice addition with the speed controller too! Thanks for Watching!
What kind of grease did you use for the gears? On my Safe Flex, I used White Lithium Grease as that was all I had on hand, as well as 3-in-1 Oil for the bearings in it.
Jus regular old general purpose automotive grease is what I always use! IDK if it's the proper grease to use but it seems to work well enough!! Thanks for Watching!
Im working on a non oscillating version of this fan and was wondering where i can get a wick for the oil reservoir? It runs great but gets hot.
I wasn't aware they made non oscillating versions! Unless you are talking about the one with the U shaped base and the GE ball motor... All of these old GE fans run really hot, they're shaded pole motors and GE's always seem to run warm for some reason. As for the oil wick, I need to know what motor the fan has... Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839 Mine does not have a ball motor, it has the motor housing like the strap fan oscillating models just a bit shorter. i Also figured out which wick to use, f10 felt 1/8 inch thick is an exact match to what i pulled out. Thanks for the reply!
@@colin_5839 im almost wondering if I have a Frankenstein fan lol
Ohh very interesting! I want to see some pictures of that now LOL! Glad you were able to figure it out! Good luck with the repair!
I have one of those fan's
Cool! They're good fans!! Thanks for Watching!
Nice work,but isnt it better to just put some rust deoxidene on instead of new paint? To keep its original finish from the factory and let it look old? I have an old GEC fan that i consider to put rust deoxidene on just to remove the rust and prevent future rust on it.
I have several patina fans in my collection, but this thing was waaaaayyyyy too rough for my taste. If I'm going to leave a fan as is it's got to still be in pretty decent shape or it's going to drive me crazy and I'll restore it. Plus I wanted to practice a new painting technique on a cheaper less desirable fan like this one before I use it on some of my brass era fans I'm going to restoring soon. Thanks for Watching!
Just purchased the same model. I can’t seem to get the oscillator to click and stop the motion. Any ideas?
These oscillators don't click, you turn them. Try loosening / tightening it first and see if anything happens.
@@colin_5839 Thanks so much. I found another video after I posted showing the process. Thanks again.
Glad you figured it out! :)
Does anybody have a link to a 3-D print file for a knob replacement?
I'm not entirely sure but someone did send me a few that they made so I'm sure a file exists somewhere! I'd ask around on some of the Facebook pages if I were you. Thanks for Watching!
Do you sell the 3d knobs that you made? I need one!
I actually didn't make them, someone sent me one... not sure if he ever went into production on them or not though....
I have the exact GE mine needs oil does the blades just pull out when you take the grill off I guess I don't understand that
The blades are on a rubber isolater that is pressed onto the shaft. You can remove the blades by carefully pulling on the back of the hub and they should slide off the shaft. Some put up a real fight tho... Hope this helps! Thanks for Watching!
@@colin_5839 Thanks! Mine is missing the Knob to and has a slight vibration noise too. it does not bother me it still works fine it doesn't jump around and the vibration noise isn't loud enough that it annoys me These are the perfect size for me too. The Vortalax Models are a bit big for my use and the strap may make it cheap for the 50s/60s standards I think it makes it unique I don't know of any other fans like that. Is there another model that has a dan in the motor?
💥Top 💥
Thanks!
the ghost pole motors are kind of buzzy
Yeah some of them can be for sure. Thanks for Watching!
Is there a source for the rubber piece that holds the blade on?
Mine tore
Unfortunately there isn't one that I'm aware of. If I were you I'd go down to your local hardware or auto parts store and see what they have for rubber grommets or isolaters and see if you can find anything that will fit. Worst case you can always use some shrink tube and either a dab of glue to keep it on there or on one of these I went as far as to drill a hole through the blade hub and motor shaft and put a cotter pin through it to make sure the blade doesn't go anywhere. ( That fan was mounted on the wall so I didn't want it slipping off lol) Hope this helps! Thanks for Watching!
Zero fan You do one of those
I haven't done a Zero branded fan before as I dont own one....
Is that fan for sale?
I wasn't planning on selling it to be honest, but if that ever changes I can let you know!
But to me i call these ge as the GE standard :)
Ok!
Bro, blow your nose. Not saying it to be hateful but people with misophonia like me get driven up a wall by that sniffling. Good work on the fan. Will be restoring one of my own soon.
Well when I started this video it was still peak allergy season so blowing my nose literally lasts all of 5 seconds before the sniffles come back. Trust me it annoys me too, but there is literally nothing I can do lol. Thanks! Hope yours comes out nice too! Thanks for Watching!