I seek this fan #2, thanks Sean!

[Deleted]

As is with many collectors, the fans I love today are based on those I saw as a child. Of course, there were many fans that didnt particularly interest me as a child, but the early 80s held many unique designs and so I certainly have fond memories of many different fans. These fans can be divided into three categories:

1. Fans I loved as a child I have identified and found for my collection, not necessarily in that order
2. Fans I loved as a child and have identified but not yet found for my collection
3. Fans I loved as a child and have not seen since, not found or identified.

The fans in the first two categories are certainly very important, but it is the third category that stirs the greatest amount of emotion. For how can you find a fan if you cannot identify it and it doesnt turn up on it's own? Especially if no pictures surface. All you have of the fan is the memory, which burns.

The most well-known example of this is my well-documented Tara Quest. For those who are unfamiliar, note the thread "I seek this fan" on this board. I am very lucky that the majority of the fans I loved as a child have fallen it to category #1, or at least #2 (the #2 fans are listed in the Database on the Yahoo Group), but there are a few others that still remain in the auspicious Category #3.

I would like to thank Shawn, who provided a picture of one of my most important remaining Category #3 fan, which was especially important as this fan was a rather ambiguous import that most likely would not be able to be identified by name (1. import fans are made by different companies and labeled all sorts of things 2. this fan looks similar to many other import fans under different names).

I will be uploading the picture, posting some information, theories and questions about the fan, and putting a call out for more fans and information. Hopefully I will be able to get the fan in the photo from/through Shawn.

I will also open another thread where we can discuss the different categories and fans pertaining to them.

[Deleted]

This is the fan in question, Shawn mentioned the brand name to me but at the time I hadnt seen the picture, so I didnt bother to remember it (didnt think it was actually the fan I was looking for) . . . I'll update that later.

Here is the fan, for the time being I am referring to it as 'spinner'.



Now when attempting to describe this fan in the past, I have always referenced this Sears Emerson spinner



And the infamous garage Daytons:



Now I had no idea if there was any relationship between the spinner and the other two, and I certainly never assumed there was a relationship between the Emerson and the Dayton. But the spinner appears to be the missing link.

Note the upper and lower canopies are identical on the Dayton and the spinner. These may look like standard designs, but based on the amount of time I spent wrestling with those Daytons I'm very aware of the nuances. The casting on the collar is thicker than on most bell canopies, and the tapering on the lower canopy is unique. There is also a well around the collar on the lower canopy, not visible in the photos but it's pretty clear it's there.

Also, look at the motor specifically. Notice how built into the casting of the top half are elevated platforms where the blades mount, this is very distinctive on the Daytons as well as on the spinner.

So then, as I was inspecting the spinner picture, I realized that the switch housing was very familiar, it was identical to the switch housing on one of my blenderfans. Identical, including the ridge at the bottom, the pullchain, even the enamel.

So I got to thinking, it has an Emerson switch housing? I looked closer at the picture of the Sears Emerson Spinner (a fan on my want list Adam hasnt given me yet) and realized the Emerson also had the Dayton characteristics (motor castings, lower canopy, etc) but with an Emerson canopy.

The Dayton industrial was made by Marley. Emerson did include several imported fans in their lineup. I have no idea who actually made them, but I'm wondering about a connection to Marley.

As far as the spinner goes, I've seen a couple other fans with those blade brackets. One was a wood blades Envirofan (Evergo) the other looked similar to a Nutone Slimline with no switch housing, but it very may well have been another Evergo.

When I saw the spinner as a child, it had a very oddly shaped globe light kit. Based on the fitter included here, perhaps the globe came standard, or maybe it's only a coincidence. The fitter looks unique as well.

Any comments?

[Deleted]

In keeping with the spirit of Tara Quest, I am going to share the story of where I saw *this* fan as a child.

Many of the fans I saw as a child were seen through windows, as I rode by in my mom or dad's car. I would make a point to sit nearest the window so I could catch a glimpse of a cool fan from the road. Rarely would they actually stop so I could go inside and see a fan.

One of my favorite places to drive by was the miniature golf coarse. Not only did an adjacent restaurant have what appeared to be several 4 blade Casablanca Deltas (with 4 lights), but the golf course itself had windmills and other colorful spinning things to hit the ball through. Seeing as at a young age I not only liked every sort of fan, but also other spinning things such as hub caps, and bright rainbow colors, this was a dream!

When I was old enough I went miniature golfing with a friend from down the street and his dad. And if the spinning pinwheels and whatnot werent exciting enough, my friend's dad bought us nachos from the snack bar, which had-- a ceiling fan!!!!

The fan hung near the counter over the slushy machine. The ceiling was fairly low, maybe 9ft, and even at that young age what I saw was primarily a profile view of the fan (fans with the capacitor on top always hang very low). It was operating, most likely at medium, and had the strangest globe light kit I've ever seen. The globe shape, best way I can describe it is a cross between a pineapple and an accordian. I can attempt to sketch it if anyone's interested.

I sucked at miniature golf, but of course since this trip I begged to be brought back at every possible opportunity-- not to golf, but just to see the fan. Of course I wasnt willing to admit that, even to my parents (anticipated response: you want to go just to see the fan, what a stupid reason, of course you cant go!) so I had to make do sucking at golf.

As I continued to visit the fan, there were developements. The first: one time I came, it was off! This was a revelation to me. I had no idea what the blades looked like, I had never seen such a fan off before, for all I knew it had three metal blades. The squared wood blades were cool, and I was facinated by the ornate blade irons.

The next development: I came back at the fan was running again, but the unusually shaped light globe had been replaced. The new globe was round, much larger than the traditional round globe light kits, and plastic (you could see the line running down the center). It had a layer of dust on it, someone had drawn a smily face in the dust.

A few years passed and miniature golfing was not on my schedule. When I did manage to return, I was in for a shock: several more fans had been installed, this Encon hugger called the "Elite", sold at Shopko, with rosewood blades and a glass lighted motor housing. The snack bar was fairly small, even as it was connected to the pro shop, and this was a lot of fan for such a small area. But tragedy was afoot: my beloved spinner fan had been replaced by another Encon, one I'd always hated, a white 5 blade fan with no vent holes and a spotlight kit, I believe it was called the Odyssy.

I was maybe in my early teens by this time, and had the presence of mind to ask about the fans.

"Oh, those, they're new, we got them at Shopko"
"No, the one over the counter, what happened to the old one?"
"What old one? That fan's always been there!"

I havent been miniature golfing since.

[Sean B.]

first of all its Sean! secondly what is Shopko?

[Deleted]

lik said:

first of all its Sean! secondly what is Shopko?

I like 'Shawn' better. It's spelled how it sounds. 'Sean'="seeeeeen" and that's just a lousy name!

Shopko is like Target. They sold Encons.

[Andrew G.]

The badges on that "spinner" look like the ones on a corroway spinner in the yahoo group.

[Deleted]

Andrew said:

The badges on that "spinner" look like the ones on a corroway spinner in the yahoo group.

Interesting observation, Andrew. I say that because Shawn and I have already discussed the similarities between two Carroway fans (both the one with the funny light kit and the one you snapped the picture of) and the "spinner".

Here, look for yourself:




I'm sure I dont have to point out the differences between the blade brackets, you surely notice them, after all, you didnt say you thought they were the same, just similar. I like the design of the Carroway brackets better, in fact they're the coolest looking spinner brackets I've seen. I like the "spinner" brackets better for being badge-style and brass.

I wont bother to point out the many other similarities between the "spinner" and the Carroways, perhaps others can suggest some. But regardless of that I dont think there's any indication that they're in any way connected, as far as who made them or anything like that. There are too many fundamental differences, such as the unique paint color of the Carroways, what the motors are made of, etc.

Ironically, there was a time when I thought of attempting to "make" the "spinner" fan, by taking the larger Carroway motor, putting a blenderfan switch housing and Envirofan lower canopy on it. Never got around to it, and I suppose it's just as well. Sean, what did I tell you about trying to modify fans to re-create fans you like?

[Deleted]

Today I was driving around and happened to pass the aforementioned mini-golf course. So I did a U and pulled in, figured I'd go take a look. Too bad I didnt have my camera.

The interior, was just as I'd remembered it, no remodeling or anything of the sort, but they had made some changes. Only two ceiling fans remained, two of the fancy Encons, and one had been moved to where the spinner and subsequently the white Encon had been. The other was directly in front of it.

Now what confused me, I did some looking around, and I was trying to figure out where the other ceiling fans had been. Even if my memory had deceived me and there were in fact far less Encons than I thought, there had to have been at least one other place for a fan, because the Encon that is now where the white and spinner fans had been had to have been moved there from somewhere. I looked around for cover plates hiding outlet boxes, none. There were a few wraparound fluorescent lights, but those had always been there, and were extremely old, being pull-chain operated. Had fans at one time been in their places, there would have been no light. Another thought is that the fan boxes had been plastered over, but not only were there no apparent fresh/painted spots in the ceiling, but this was not the sort of place they would have gone to that sort of trouble. In the adjacent pro-shop, some track lighting had been added, and they used 1/2" steel conduit on the surface of the drywall. Not a polished job.

I was not planning to ask about the old fans, as everyone working behind the counter appeared to be a teenager with a summer job, and would likely be less than helpful. But I suppose I looked suspicious, wandering around in this extremely small area inspecting the walls and ceiling. So one of the teenagers directed me to the manager, who quickly responded "I suppose we replaced it (the fan) and threw it away."

Fan holocaust, as Chris says.

[John "Rockin" Reed]

I like that "spinner" fan...It's awesome! I could've sworn that I saw such a fan no place other than my childhood. Most of the fans I saw back then are a lot better than most of the ones I see today. The Carroway spinner with the bell canopy, and the square-edged blades is one of my favorites of all time. I used to see them in boxes at K-mart in the 1980s. Then there was a brown Carroway spinner like that hanging in a local plumbing store. They added more fans in the later years (I think they were builder fans by the looks of them). The place relocated like a year or so ago, and the fans were removed. I never thought of inquiring about the Carroway in the showroom. As I recall, the fan had some ornate ceiling medalion over it. That particular Carroway was one of my most sought-after fans.

[Deleted]

BigJohnReed02 said:

I like that "spinner" fan...It's awesome! I could've sworn that I saw such a fan no place other than my childhood. Most of the fans I saw back then are a lot better than most of the ones I see today. The Carroway spinner with the bell canopy, and the square-edged blades is one of my favorites of all time. I used to see them in boxes at K-mart in the 1980s. Then there was a brown Carroway spinner like that hanging in a local plumbing store. They added more fans in the later years (I think they were builder fans by the looks of them). The place relocated like a year or so ago, and the fans were removed. I never thought of inquiring about the Carroway in the showroom. As I recall, the fan had some ornate ceiling medalion over it. That particular Carroway was one of my most sought-after fans.

You're right about Carroway's being sold at KMart. As for the rest of the message, I'm confused, are you talking about my spinner or one of the Carroway's pictured, and if so, which one?

Those Carroways turn up from time to time, now Sean has them, maybe you could convince him to trade for the larger one. The spinner I have is very rare.

[Deleted]

What do you think? I'm thinking of refinishing or replacing the blades. Also, assuming I have to have a light fitter on there, what do you think about the schoolhouse? If not, what other globe might possibly look better? I'm really not one for light kits.

[John "Rockin" Reed]

Dan said:

You're right about Carroway's being sold at KMart. As for the rest of the message, I'm confused, are you talking about my spinner or one of the Carroway's pictured, and if so, which one?

Those Carroways turn up from time to time, now Sean has them, maybe you could convince him to trade for the larger one. The spinner I have is very rare.

I was referring to your spinner...by the way, what make is it?

[Deleted]

BigJohnReed02 said:

I was referring to your spinner...by the way, what make is it?

The tag reads "Sonnet-Aire by Weatherite Industries Ltd"

What were your other questions?

[Sean B.]

u want the 52" carroway john?