I posted a question in Factual Questions about an old “ZERO” brand 20" box fan that came from my elderly aunt’s estate. More related to MPSIMS I have been pondering about the history of this fan. It has my grandpa’s name written in magic marker on top, my grandma died in 1976 and my grandpa in 1978. Who knows when they bought it? Looking on images from the internet the fan seems to be have been made in the early to mid-60s. The fan is very heavy compared to new box fans as it has metal blades and front/back guards.
My aunt (and my uncle) had moved into their last house in the mid-80s and there was a crawl space under a bathroom/kitchen addition and they had placed this fan in the opening to the crawn space from the main basement for air movement into the crawl space. Maybe to prevent pipes from freezing or moisture control?
What I find fascinating is I remember this fan running 24/7. Until it was unplugged when cleaning out the house I don’t think it stopped running for 40 years. I plugged it in at home and it started right up. I have heard some of these old electric motors have an place to add a drop of oil to the motor shaft, I may need to look for it.
I am lucky if I can get a new box fan that I use in my shop for air movement to last more than 2-3 years. Guess they don’t make’em like they used to.
Those old finger loppers with the brass blades from the 20s & 30s can polish up beautifully and most can be restored to running condition. They can be a little loud and push a bit less air than a modern one but not excessive. Not for use around children or pets!
After seeing this thread I went downstairs and took a look at an old Frigid floor fan that has been running nearly 24/7 for the last 6 years. A friend left it at my house back then and I just saw him a couple of weeks ago and I asked him if he wanted it back. He didn’t, he was sure it couldn’t keep running much longer, he got it from his grandmother and had no idea how old it could be. I just looked up Frigid and they made fans like this in the 60s and 70s. Online, people were selling them and remarking on how well they held up over time.