Description
An early 1920s General Electric 9" "Whiz" fan model 236327. Brass blades with dark green finish.
This was one of the first fans of this era I had in my collection. It came from EBAY back in the 2000s, when prices on there were still within reason (those days are long gone). I recall replacing the wall to switch cord, lubricating the motor, and polishing the blades when I got it. The paint is in remarkable condition considering it's over 100 years old.
These appear to be fairly common fans, but this one is unique has it had a custom modification done to it at some point. The base was cut in half and patched together using some type of rubber piece. I used to think this was factory, but very recently learned it is not. Whoever did it had the correct tools and knew how to use them. The metal is cut clean and even. The rubber piece is starting to weaken in the last few years, but in it's defense, it's been like this for at least the 20 years I've owned it, and likely for much longer.
I suspect this was done to reduce noise or vibration as this isolates the motor from the part that sits on the table, but I find it hard to believe this was really necessary. This is a very quiet and smooth running fan, despite the blades being totally out of clock.
This is objectively a very good fan. It is quite powerful for the size and notably quiet. It pulls a modest amount of power as well; it's surprisingly efficient considering how old the motor technology is and how early the design is.
The power factor of the motor is very high, around 0.94. I thought this was a shaded pole motor as I don't see a capacitor anywhere, but I find it hard to believe a shaded pole motor has that high of a power factor.
Specifications recorded during the demonstration, listed as [Power (watts) / Current (amps) / Power Factor / Air Flow Volume (CFM) / Efficiency (CFM/watt)].
110 Volts: [46 / 0.44 / 0.93 / 314 / 6.8].
120 Volts: [51 / 0.45 / 0.94 / 321 / 6.3].