Emerson from the "if you had a restaurant" thread

[JW]

Can someone tell me what is up with this fan:

Sept 15, 2012 22:52:39 GMT -5 Rick M. said:

[Picture belongs to Will H.]

It appears to be a K63 Sears Emerson, but it has the newer flywheel and newer switch housing that the K55 version has, and shorter blades like the 2148's have. Is this a legitimate model, a Frankenfan, even Sears at all? Maybe this was the 2048? Maybe it's still 52" and the blades just look shorter because of the design?

Will, if you read this, I'd really like to know where you found this thing, and if there were others there with it.

[Cole S.]

Honestly, I was thinking the exact same thing as you. The thing is WEIRD, like they threw together a bunch of spare parts and called it something. The fact that it appears to be K63 is even weirder.

[Andrew G.]

This thing is legitimate, it can be seen in a 1977 Sears catalog.

It's one of Emerson's very first 'residential' fans (the turn of the century is the other one, it's the same fan with an ornate bottom plate bolted on), it's essentially an off-the-shelf heat fan/blender with a motor housing added on.

I think Emerson was using two flywheel styles by the late 70s, the older tapered one usually (but not always) found itself on the blenders only.

[Deleted]

What Andrew said. I'll find a scan of the catalog pages and post it.

[JW]

Yeah now that I think about it, the ornate one I found at Habitat and sent Dan had the long switch housing and stepped flywheel. HOWEVER -- I still think these blades are 48". Here's why:

The blades on the one I sent Dan are much more triangular and VERY long since they still use the short brackets - pretty much the KB55 ToC blades but an inch longer, with the inch being added to the wide part - I've compared the two back-to-back. If I remember correctly the K63's blades were at least 7" wide.

The blades on the fan pictured here look too short and not wide enough at the tip, at least in proportion to the bracket end. So it would be interesting to see in that catalog, or any other, if a 48" model was listed.

[Deleted]

It's 46" according to the 1980 catalog.

[Deleted]

It's in both 1980 catalogs and both 1981. That's it. Nothing before or after. Andrew is thinking of a different fan.

[JW]

Really would like to see the scan.

The fact that it's from 1980-81 makes it even stranger since Emerson was using the K55 in the regular version of that model by that point.

[Deleted]

What's your email? I'll send them.

They had other K63 models until 1982.

[Andrew G.]

Sept 17, 2012 9:48:17 GMT -5 @spiffy said:

What's your email? I'll send them.

They had other K63 models until 1982.

Don't forget about the possibility of this being a faux-K63, which was essentially a weaker K55 styled like a K63.

[JW]

You mean weaker than a normal K55?

Dan, text sent.

[Deleted]

Sent.

[Andrew G.]

Sept 17, 2012 16:34:35 GMT -5 JW said:

You mean weaker than a normal K55?

Noooo.. I'm just stating the obvious, that the K55 is less powerful than the K63.

In the early 80s, Emerson used the K55 on the blenders (and evidently, a few other fans).. only it used K63-style end-bells for some odd reason.

[Rick M.]

I actually saw the fan in question in person several years ago; I had no camera on me at the time. The fan is in "May's Fudge Shop" on Mackinac Island, Michigan. There were two in the store, the one pictured above and another one missing part of the light kit [again, picture belongs to Will H.]:


When I was there, the one with the complete light kit was on high with the lights on, and the other one was off. I'm not sure if it even works.

But yeah, these are really cool Emersons. I always thought they were just regular Sears Designers/plastic Emersons until I saw Will's pictures. Glad he was able to get a few pictures; I sure was kicking myself for not having a camera when I was there!

[Deleted]

I want one.