Post by JW on Aug 13, 2014 23:21:59 GMT -5
Picked up a 38" Parlourfan amongst others last night on a Craigslist run. Cosmetically it is in super condition, couple of rust spots notwithstanding. However, I noticed that something was amiss when I turned it on. Fascos with Vari-Low have high, and then the highest possible speed on Vari-Low is about 3/4 what you can get on high. Well, this one acted like a Thomas - both high and the high end of the Vari-Low were the same. There was also no separate wire for the light kit. This made me curious so I opened up the switch housing (light kit was jury-rigged on there - one of the screws was replaced with a much bigger, wider and longer screw - NOT GOOD). What I found was the following:
Standard metal-housing 2-speed pull chain with black, red, and blue wires (high - off - low - off). Below are what each one was connected to.
Black wire - lead wire AND black light kit wire.
Blue wire (high) - blue wire from fan (high speed) AND white wire from potentiometer (variable speed control).
Red wire (low) - red wire from fan (low speed) AND black wire from pot.
Therefore, when the fan is turned on high, not only is the motor powered directly, current also flows through the pot and the low speed wire.
When the fan is turned on Vari-Low, not only does the low speed wire have full current passing through it, current also flows through the pot and the high speed wire, resulting in a variable speed range up to high.
I disconnected the pull chain and ran the fan with the lead wire connected directly to the blue. Naturally, this resulted in a full high speed.
HOWEVER - when I did the same with the red wire, instead of the normal low speed these fans have, it only ran about about 50-60 RPM. Remember too that this fan is 38".
At this point I opened the motor housing and examined the famous Fasco resistor which appears to be what controls the low speed. It is cracked across the top. It reads as follows:
51018463 PW50E
500ohm 10% P-522
So I assume that resistor failure is the reason behind the slow low and the apparent decision to jury-rig the fan. Which leads me to my next questions:
a) Is it easy and/or affordable to find a replacement resistor?
b) Can I switch out the resistor for a reasonably valued capacitor (say by installing the fan with blades and no motor housing and swapping them out until I get a top low speed that is reasonable)?
I'd really like to try to get this fan running as it should from the factory before I end up "Thomas-izing" it for good and avoiding the red wire altogether.
Standard metal-housing 2-speed pull chain with black, red, and blue wires (high - off - low - off). Below are what each one was connected to.
Black wire - lead wire AND black light kit wire.
Blue wire (high) - blue wire from fan (high speed) AND white wire from potentiometer (variable speed control).
Red wire (low) - red wire from fan (low speed) AND black wire from pot.
Therefore, when the fan is turned on high, not only is the motor powered directly, current also flows through the pot and the low speed wire.
When the fan is turned on Vari-Low, not only does the low speed wire have full current passing through it, current also flows through the pot and the high speed wire, resulting in a variable speed range up to high.
I disconnected the pull chain and ran the fan with the lead wire connected directly to the blue. Naturally, this resulted in a full high speed.
HOWEVER - when I did the same with the red wire, instead of the normal low speed these fans have, it only ran about about 50-60 RPM. Remember too that this fan is 38".
At this point I opened the motor housing and examined the famous Fasco resistor which appears to be what controls the low speed. It is cracked across the top. It reads as follows:
51018463 PW50E
500ohm 10% P-522
So I assume that resistor failure is the reason behind the slow low and the apparent decision to jury-rig the fan. Which leads me to my next questions:
a) Is it easy and/or affordable to find a replacement resistor?
b) Can I switch out the resistor for a reasonably valued capacitor (say by installing the fan with blades and no motor housing and swapping them out until I get a top low speed that is reasonable)?
I'd really like to try to get this fan running as it should from the factory before I end up "Thomas-izing" it for good and avoiding the red wire altogether.
