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Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 12:57 pm
by mobylette
I have a vintage desk fan I was hoping to rewire. It was working but when I got into it the insulation was completely shot. I have stripped it down but cant see any way to remove the stator from the case. there are no visible fixings. Does anyone have an idea how to proceed? Thanks

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:05 pm
by svenedin
I don't know really but if I was playing with it.......See the 4 cutouts in the gold coloured metal? What are they for? Do they rotate clockwise or anticlockwise, what happens if you gently lever at these points? The cotton wrapped windings are easily damaged so exercise extreme caution! Also what is going on at the end that it is sitting on in your photo? You're only just up the road from me but I'm 24 hour a day nurse to my dog at the moment after he had spinal surgery.

Stephen

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:12 pm
by geoberni
It could have been a shrink fit, either applying a heated casing/bodyshell, inserting a cooled Stator, or a combination of both.

Is there room for you to cut the original cable to 2 short tails and then solder a new flex to it, with heat shrink sleeving over the jointsj

You can actually buy heat shrink sleeves with solder joins inside.
Search "heat shrink solder joints" on Fleabay.

Safety Note: It looks to me that it only has a 2 core flex. I'd want an Earth connection on a metal framed Fan unless it had the Double Insulated symbol on it, but I suspect that fan predates such notions.

Image

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:26 pm
by svenedin
Absolutely agree it needs an earth!

Also is it designed for UK mains electricity or is it for USA use?

Stephen

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:34 pm
by 59Elva
Any sign of spot welding? A close slip fit with an adhesive ( varnish predates Loctite and epoxy) would probably result in a permanent joint that would be impossible to break without breaking the stator. Leave it alone and solder to the shortened pigtails. Provide a good strain relief. A ground wire is a good idea but the open wire guard is the more imminent danger to lost digits.

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:38 pm
by mobylette
No, its UK.

I did cut back as far as possible and soldered fresh flex however when I tested it the chassis/casing was live!! :o . That's why I wanted to remove the stator.

I think it is probably shrunk in , maybe with some shellac as well, it definitely doesn't want to move. Perhaps best left as an ornament. Pity though.

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:42 pm
by mobylette
Thanks everyone for your thoughts, and Stephen, I hope your lovely dog makes a full and speedy recovery.

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:05 pm
by svenedin
mobylette wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:42 pm Thanks everyone for your thoughts, and Stephen, I hope your lovely dog makes a full and speedy recovery.
Thank you very much. He had 2 slipped discs and had spinal surgery in Sevenoaks. We are only on day 3 post-op and everything so far is highly encouraging. He is a wonderful dog who would walk through fire for me so it is the least I can do for him.

Stephen

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:41 pm
by geoberni
svenedin wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:05 pm
mobylette wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:42 pm Thanks everyone for your thoughts, and Stephen, I hope your lovely dog makes a full and speedy recovery.
Thank you very much. He had 2 slipped discs and had spinal surgery in Sevenoaks. We are only on day 3 post-op and everything so far is highly encouraging. He is a wonderful dog who would walk through fire for me so it is the least I can do for him.

Stephen
Sorry Stephen, I missed that final line in your earlier post. Hope he recovers soon.

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 4:10 pm
by svenedin
geoberni wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:41 pm
svenedin wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:05 pm
mobylette wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 1:42 pm Thanks everyone for your thoughts, and Stephen, I hope your lovely dog makes a full and speedy recovery.
Thank you very much. He had 2 slipped discs and had spinal surgery in Sevenoaks. We are only on day 3 post-op and everything so far is highly encouraging. He is a wonderful dog who would walk through fire for me so it is the least I can do for him.

Stephen
Sorry Stephen, I missed that final line in your earlier post. Hope he recovers soon.
Thank you. He's doing well. I'm bankrupt now of course! :lol:

Stephen

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 4:24 pm
by geoberni
svenedin wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 4:10 pm
geoberni wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:41 pm
svenedin wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:05 pm

Thank you very much. He had 2 slipped discs and had spinal surgery in Sevenoaks. We are only on day 3 post-op and everything so far is highly encouraging. He is a wonderful dog who would walk through fire for me so it is the least I can do for him.

Stephen
Sorry Stephen, I missed that final line in your earlier post. Hope he recovers soon.
Thank you. He's doing well. I'm bankrupt now of course! :lol:

Stephen
Thankfully that's the nearest we get to experiencing the cost of USA healthcare.
Not wishing to stray too far from the topic, have you seen the report from the CMA earlier this year about Vet Costs?
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma- ... ary-sector

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 5:24 pm
by Bill_qaz
Hope your dog makes a full recovery Stephen :tu1:
Money well spent no matter the cost, as he means more to you than the money.

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 5:42 pm
by svenedin
geoberni wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 4:24 pm
svenedin wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 4:10 pm
geoberni wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 2:41 pm
Sorry Stephen, I missed that final line in your earlier post. Hope he recovers soon.
Thank you. He's doing well. I'm bankrupt now of course! :lol:

Stephen
Thankfully that's the nearest we get to experiencing the cost of USA healthcare.
Not wishing to stray too far from the topic, have you seen the report from the CMA earlier this year about Vet Costs?
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma- ... ary-sector
Thank you Berni, yes I was aware of this but I had not read the report. Thanks for the link. I am lucky that one of my school friends is a vet (not my dog's vet) and he has provided invaluable advice and guidance. He used to work with the "supervet", Noel Fitzpatrick. I shopped around for the specialist treatment; there is competition in the South East for this but despite that it is one of the most expensive areas in the country. My local vet has been taken over by a chain and I am going to leave for an independent. The neurosurgeon who did the spinal surgery is an independent.

Stephen

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 5:48 pm
by svenedin
Bill_qaz wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 5:24 pm Hope your dog makes a full recovery Stephen :tu1:
Money well spent no matter the cost, as he means more to you than the money.
Thank you totally agree. It's spent now. Done.

Stephen

One picture and I promise I won't hijack the thread any further. We are in the off topic section though.


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Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 6:12 pm
by les
Wishing your dog a good recovery, Stephen. I’ve recently got another rescue dog after saying goodbye to our last. This one is very wary of men, obviously as a result of past treatment by some [Don't swear or you will be banned - Admin]. He’s fine with my partner, so hopefully he feels at home but I have to take a back seat, it’s a shame but of course not the dogs fault.

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 8:24 pm
by geoberni
les wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 6:12 pm Wishing your dog a good recovery, Stephen. I’ve recently got another rescue dog after saying goodbye to our last. This one is very wary of men, obviously as a result of past treatment by some [Don't swear or you will be banned - Admin]. He’s fine with my partner, so hopefully he feels at home but I have to take a back seat, it’s a shame but of course not the dogs fault.
Rescue Dog... :roll:
My daughter got a Romanian Rescue dog last Oct/Nov time.
Granddaughter named him Albi, after Albus Dumbledore, the Harry Potter Wizard.
He has an issue with Men too but we were getting along, insomuch as he tolerated me.
Long story cut extremely short, I was left with him at their house to mind for the day.
He was at the stage where he could go out for walks on his lead, wearing a very secure harness, one of those with a carry handle on the back.
I had him part way buckled into the harness when he started squirming, knocked me off balance such that I almost fell on him, but instead landed beside him. Which made it worse.
He was getting even more distressed so I had to get him unbuckled.
In the process he nipped me a little on my right hand, but nothing serious, or so I thought.
5 days later, one little tooth hole on the top of my wrist had become infected.
Local hospital refereed me to Regional Hand Clinic
There followed 2 weeks of making several trips from home at the far north of Leicestershire to the specialist Hand Clinic at Derby Royal Hospital, an 80 mile round trip each time, some of which I used my Pensioners Bus Pass for, which was an adventure, 3 buses each way taking all day.
They cut the wound open at the first visit, to wash it out, and then we were having regular checks that it was healing OK.
All good now.
He's a lovely dog, with some real character, who readily tolerates our granddaughter playing with him, he just wasn't ready to have me strap him into his harness.
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Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 8:34 pm
by svenedin
les wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2026 6:12 pm Wishing your dog a good recovery, Stephen. I’ve recently got another rescue dog after saying goodbye to our last. This one is very wary of men, obviously as a result of past treatment by some [Don't swear or you will be banned - Admin]. He’s fine with my partner, so hopefully he feels at home but I have to take a back seat, it’s a shame but of course not the dogs fault.
Thank you Les. I grew up with German Shepherd Dogs and this is number seven. I have had 3 rescue GSDs in succession including the current one. It takes a brave person (or a bit naive) to take on a rescue. This particular dog came with a ridiculous story that he had slipped on the ice and knocked his teeth out which I certainly don't believe. He only has one canine tooth left and I think he probably had a fractured eye socket as well. His behaviour is not ideal but a lot better than it was when I first rescued him. Very devoted but typically neurotic and highly-strung as many GSDs are. These traits can be moderated with proper training as a puppy but are difficult to correct in an older dog. The dog before had been chained to a post in a garden until her choke chain (awful things) had bitten into her neck as she had grown too big for the collar. Dreadful.

Stephen

Re: Any electrical engineers here?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2026 8:46 pm
by les
Sorry to hear your story Berni, although top marks to your daughter and to you Stephen, sad history all too common, plenty of animals need help I have admiration for those who step in.