Post by redkiosk on Mar 18, 2021 16:33:30 GMT -5
I recently took down our Avalon for the first time since it was installed in September of 1990. We decided to paint our bedroom and I thought this would be the perfect time to give it a thorough cleaning and wellness check. Everything polished-up extremely well except for the original gray ripstop nylon panels which were looking quite frayed and had turned to a yucky, tan color. The backsides of the nylon panels (upper surface) were somewhat sticky to the touch. When I tried to wash them with a warm, soapy cloth, it resulted in some of the stitches disintegrating and the old polyurethane coating coming off. Miss Avalon will be needing some new clothes!
Last summer I thought I had noticed a slight bearing noise at the medium speed a couple of times when I woke up in the middle of the night. Sure enough, spinning the flywheel by hand resulted in some bearing noise.
I sent the motor assembly to a local, experienced Casablanca refurbisher for new bearings, new flywheel and new vent screens. That was the easy part, replacing the ripstop nylon panels was a whole ‘nother thing. Definitely… a rabbit hole!
I don’t know how much detail you want (because there is definitely a lot more that I can provide if someone asks), but in a nutshell… I figured out a safe way to dismantle the Avalon blade system and replace only the ripstop nylon panels (and a small wire ring terminal). I was also lucky enough to be able to “surgically” remove one of my five nylon panels “intact”, to use as a template when fabricating new ones. The other four nylon panels disintegrated in one way or another, while trying to remove them from the wire.
Over the course of a couple of weeks, I researched and learned a lot about ripstop nylon (weights, surface-coatings, de-lamination, UV yellowing, Denier, construction, patterns, etc.), how to sew it, what size needle and thread to use, what seam tape is best, length of stitches, etc. Lots of samples were ordered and compared to the original material and then everything I needed was ordered.
I cut out new nylon panels from material of the same weight and coating, but with a slightly different pattern. Ripstop nylon has come a long way in the past 30 years (and all for the better), but not all pattern/color/weight/surface-coating combinations are still available. I located ripstop nylon in the original colors and with the same grid pattern, but unfortunately it was available only in a lighter weight. I felt more comfortable replacing my panels with material of the same weight and opted for another pattern. Actually, I really like the hexagon pattern I chose better than the original grid pattern, as I feel it updates the fan a bit. Makes me think of the fan blades as dragonfly wings now.
I fabricated new, ready-to-sew ripstop nylon panels exactly as the originals were constructed (seam tape size and placement, seam dimension and channel for the wire). Then, I borrowed my daughter’s portable Singer sewing machine and learned how to use that specific machine AND how to sew… all through YouTube videos! Until this project, I had never sewed anything besides a a few button on in my lifetime. There were lots of practice seams until I felt confident to attempt sewing the final panels. It all went extremely well. I so thoroughly enjoyed this project, that I made an extra set of white panels and a another set in charcoal gray. Miss Avalon has a wardrobe now!
When I originally purchased this Avalon, I really, really wanted white ripstop nylon panels, but I wanted the black fishing poles even more. So I ended up with gray panels. Now, over 30 years later, I’m finally am getting what I originally wanted! Also, I think I solved a design problem where the nylon panel would loosen and pull up and outward on the wire when run at the highest speed. A small, discrete crimp collar solved that problem.
This Avalon is one of my favorite fans in our house and I wanted to see it continue to spin over our bed for another 30 years!
Attached are some photos that I took during my Avalon journey…
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