Are Hunter Original blade irons made of... iron?

[unfussy]

The ones on my installed fan appear to be cast iron (although I'd rather not disassemble the fan to find out). Are plated versions made of the same material? Any variation over the years?

I'd like to add reverse to a Robbins-era fan that doesn't appear to be wired to the stator for it, this fan is purely for air circulation so it can live in reverse permanently.

Reverse-aire blades are too pricey. My harebrained scheme is to make a set of reverse-direction irons from the cheapest, ugliest set I can find on eBay. I can weld iron, don't have a TIG machine so cast aluminum would be a show stopper. Wanted to make sure before I spend money on the donor irons.

[fantasticfans]

The current Original made today uses cast iron blade arms. Some R&Ms might but not all, I have 2 and neither are cast iron. I can imagine that the earlier ones did. I have no way of knowing how old your fan is so I cannot tell you what yours are made of unfortunately. I am not even sure on when they would've changed production.

[unfussy]

I'm not planning on modifying the ones original to my fan, I'm going to buy a set on eBay to modify. So I'm really just looking to see what variations exist out there so I know if I can buy any-old-set or need to be more choosy to get something ferrous.

What material/process are your non-cast-iron blades? It sounds like you're saying there are two different materials in use over the years?

[fantasticfans]

Potentially more than 2 types but I cannot say for sure. I am unsure of the materials of mine. Maybe aluminum or something of the like. They are fairly lightweight and feel like they may be brittle. No matter what material you get it should be fine. Just ensure the eBay set is the same shape shape if you want originality.

[Obi-Wan Canopy]

The R&M era irons are NOT cast iron. They are cheap pot metal and cannot be welded easily.

This is a bad idea. Either save up for reversaire, get a reversible Original motor, or do without reverse.

[unfussy]

Thanks for saving me the cost of figuring out the material the hard way. I could still fabricate the irons from steel, but that's a lot more trouble.

The main reason I'm avoiding Reversaire is that I don't like the look, I left it out of my original post to keep things positive. The two-post irons (without the filigree in the center) are hard to beat. Guess I'm not unfussy after all.

I hadn't considered swapping the guts, that's the easiest solution. I suppose all I really need is a 2.5A stator that has the extra wires for reverse (and the switch). Will any 2.5A reverse-ready stator work? Any design changes over the years that would prevent me from swapping stators?

[Obi-Wan Canopy]

I would not assume the stators are interchangeable. The castings changed over the years. To do a stator swap you would need a motor from the same version, which would still not be reversible.

Your options are:

1. Get a reversible motor
2. Use Reversair irons
3. Do without reverse
4. Get a spare set of irons and try to bend them without breaking

[unfussy]

Ah I wasn't aware these are shaded-pole motors. That made it easy, I reversed the stator and it now spins in reverse.

You wouldn't be able to reshape these irons, assuming they're all cast. Way too brittle.

[Jonathan A.]

Dec 18, 2022 22:11:04 GMT -5 unfussy said:

Ah I wasn't aware these are shaded-pole motors. That made it easy, I reversed the stator and it now spins in reverse.

You wouldn't be able to reshape these irons, assuming they're all cast. Way too brittle.

I don't recommend running it on opposite direction. The shaft is only made to pump oil on one direction, so it wouldn't pump oil in other direction. The shaft on reversible Original is different.