Odd GE vent - normal looking outside, weird inside

[JW]

Here's a GE vent fan that looks normal from the outside, but the inside looks like a typical Toastmaster spinner motor! The blades attach to a metal disc that is screwed onto the bottom of the motor core. Note the little holes around the edges in one of the "dissected" pictures - they do accept screws, and they appear on both the top and the bottom of the motor.

The top piece, which looks like a mount for a K55, holds the motor in the middle, and the top motor housing plate attaches to the four outer screws of this piece. The switch housing simply screws onto the motor shaft.

The fan is variable speed, with a trim pot (although it doesn't go down extremely low). Its reverse switch is sideways and the pullchain sequence is [on on off off] without a light attached (my other variables are [on off on off]).

I don't know what blades fit it - I got it from a garage sale along with several sets of generic 80s blades (one with Zephyr style brackets) and a small spinner motor. There were two sets of Zephyr style brackets in the box with this motor, but none of them fit.

[Deleted]

I've seen a fan with a spinner motor inside like that before. A lot of Alaskas are similar also.

[organist89]

jw said:

...the inside looks like a typical Toastmaster spinner motor!

jw said:

Note the little holes around the edges in one of the "dissected" pictures - they do accept screws, and they appear on both the top and the bottom of the motor.

I've run into spinner-motor fans with housings, most recently an Evergo last week, the motor of which is painted a nice gold color as though the same motors used for industrial-style fans were just shoved into a housing.

Not surprising. It's very cost-effective to simply make one motor design, and use it in all possible applications.