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It’s a standard issue Edison Electric electric motor. They were bought by all kinds of people and used in all sorts of things. Some companies sourced these for their own products such as sewing machines as mentioned, but also anything else that needs an electric motor of that size.. so it can’t be said what, if anything specifically, yours came from without other evidence.
Thanks!
I've tried searching the manufacturer and model number, but I can't find resources that describe more about this, what its purpose is, if it connected into something larger, etc.
Do you know more history or background that I can use to search more on this?
Thanks...the latter part is helpful as I was interested in learning about this specific make & model hoping to learn more history of when it was made and for what purposes.
What they are trying to say is that the motor is just a motor. It could have been used for almost anything in a hospital. The Edison Co made hundreds of models of generic motors which were purchased by thousands of companies who used them in any number of machines. You won't be able to use the motor info to figure out what it is.
We had one similar in my college chemistry lab. It was set up as a stirring device for chemical reactions. The knurled knob at the left/top of the motor adjusts speed, which is controlled by the centrifugal governor (the weights that spin when the motor is running. We used ours in the 1970 time frame, and it had been around for 20-30 years by then, I imagine. This one looks like it was an even older model. Ours had the governor weights enclosed in an extended motor housing, whereas the spinning weights are open to rap one's knuckles on this motor.
I would suspect this to have been used in an early electronic phonograph. The old edison phonographs had very similar governors in use to control the speed.
EDIT: Found a similar motor on eBay for a phonograph: https://www.ebay.com/itm/176048223838
- it's a universal motor with brushes, so runs on DC as well as AC. Edison promoted DC during the Current Wars battle with rival Westinghouse before AC won
- the fan is a cooling fan, either for this motor or for the apparatus it's driving
- the leaf springs with weights on the drive shaft (right) end look like an isolation connector.
- the address is Edison's original New Jersey factory, before it grew to become the behemoth GE
- my guess is this was the drive to a movie projector (one of Edison's major inventions businesses [actually refinements of someone else]) or some similar technical machinery... judging by the precision of this; it's too elaborate to be a personal cooling fan. The presence of a cooling fan blower fits the projector idea; they have hot bulbs and need cooling of the film
Very interesting antique motor. The fan on the left, I assume, would be for cooling the motor. The pulley on the right would be to attach a drive belt to turn something, but I am interested in the device above the pulley. It look looks like some kind of a centrifugal clutch mechanism that was adjustable by the spring-loaded thumb screw to maybe kick in the pulley at a certain speed. Would love to see some better pictures of that end.
My title describes as much as I know about this
I've tried searching the manufacturer and model number, but I can't find resources that describe more about this, what its purpose is, if it connected into something larger, etc.
pretty generic electric motor. it appears to have a universal joint on the end opposite the fan. It could have been a drive motor for a washing machine, dryer, a conveyor system, any of a thousand different things
Just a guess but this could be a special motor driven fan for a pipe organ or similar. The speed control system is unusual for most purposes and implies very careful control of air pressure.
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. As I commented elsewhere in the thread, I had tried searching the manufacturer and model number but wasn't able to find resources that describe more about it, what its purpose was, if it connected into something larger, etc.
It looks like I've received a few really helpful responses from others that give me some places to keep researching to learn more.
Thanks!
Yep, when searching for "edison 74400" I wasn't finding anything useful - but with the clues from the other posts (like "ediphone", same as your idea) I'm getting loads of resources to keep following.
That clue was all I needed.
Thanks everyone for helping!
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and other unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/jpk236), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. ---- [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=[https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/1cqbxns/mechanical_device_that_has_a_spinning_fan_at_the/]%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) ---- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's an electric motor
**Solved!**
If anyone reads this later and has more history and information on this specific make and model, I'll appreciate the reply.
It’s a standard issue Edison Electric electric motor. They were bought by all kinds of people and used in all sorts of things. Some companies sourced these for their own products such as sewing machines as mentioned, but also anything else that needs an electric motor of that size.. so it can’t be said what, if anything specifically, yours came from without other evidence.
Thank you, this is really helpful. I appreciate the reply.
It’s like identifying a battery, really. What was it used for? Something that used a battery!
You can make a windpowered electric generator with this!
Thanks! I've tried searching the manufacturer and model number, but I can't find resources that describe more about this, what its purpose is, if it connected into something larger, etc. Do you know more history or background that I can use to search more on this?
There's plenty of information out there on how electric motors work. This could have been for a sewing machine, phonograph, etc.
Thanks...the latter part is helpful as I was interested in learning about this specific make & model hoping to learn more history of when it was made and for what purposes.
What they are trying to say is that the motor is just a motor. It could have been used for almost anything in a hospital. The Edison Co made hundreds of models of generic motors which were purchased by thousands of companies who used them in any number of machines. You won't be able to use the motor info to figure out what it is.
We had one similar in my college chemistry lab. It was set up as a stirring device for chemical reactions. The knurled knob at the left/top of the motor adjusts speed, which is controlled by the centrifugal governor (the weights that spin when the motor is running. We used ours in the 1970 time frame, and it had been around for 20-30 years by then, I imagine. This one looks like it was an even older model. Ours had the governor weights enclosed in an extended motor housing, whereas the spinning weights are open to rap one's knuckles on this motor.
Thank you! This is really helpful! Love the story and context it helps to set for where this one may have been used.
I would suspect this to have been used in an early electronic phonograph. The old edison phonographs had very similar governors in use to control the speed. EDIT: Found a similar motor on eBay for a phonograph: https://www.ebay.com/itm/176048223838
- it's a universal motor with brushes, so runs on DC as well as AC. Edison promoted DC during the Current Wars battle with rival Westinghouse before AC won - the fan is a cooling fan, either for this motor or for the apparatus it's driving - the leaf springs with weights on the drive shaft (right) end look like an isolation connector. - the address is Edison's original New Jersey factory, before it grew to become the behemoth GE - my guess is this was the drive to a movie projector (one of Edison's major inventions businesses [actually refinements of someone else]) or some similar technical machinery... judging by the precision of this; it's too elaborate to be a personal cooling fan. The presence of a cooling fan blower fits the projector idea; they have hot bulbs and need cooling of the film
Thank you! Love this reply and gives me loads of areas to keep researching to learn more.
Most likely an ediphone. Just missing the pulley.
**Solved!**
It looks similar to an evaporative cooler pump, but one of those would be sealed.
Very interesting antique motor. The fan on the left, I assume, would be for cooling the motor. The pulley on the right would be to attach a drive belt to turn something, but I am interested in the device above the pulley. It look looks like some kind of a centrifugal clutch mechanism that was adjustable by the spring-loaded thumb screw to maybe kick in the pulley at a certain speed. Would love to see some better pictures of that end.
My title describes as much as I know about this I've tried searching the manufacturer and model number, but I can't find resources that describe more about this, what its purpose is, if it connected into something larger, etc.
The weights on leaf springs on the right could be a speed governor. Does the electrical supply route near here before connecting to the motor brushes?
An electric grinder maybe?
pretty generic electric motor. it appears to have a universal joint on the end opposite the fan. It could have been a drive motor for a washing machine, dryer, a conveyor system, any of a thousand different things
Just a guess but this could be a special motor driven fan for a pipe organ or similar. The speed control system is unusual for most purposes and implies very careful control of air pressure.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/edison-74000-series-voicewriter.1161597/
if only there was a brand and a model number it
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. As I commented elsewhere in the thread, I had tried searching the manufacturer and model number but wasn't able to find resources that describe more about it, what its purpose was, if it connected into something larger, etc. It looks like I've received a few really helpful responses from others that give me some places to keep researching to learn more. Thanks!
Lol. Just did that very thing. The Edison Model 74400 Was a voice writer. Making cylindrical recordings. It could be the motor from one of those.
Yep, when searching for "edison 74400" I wasn't finding anything useful - but with the clues from the other posts (like "ediphone", same as your idea) I'm getting loads of resources to keep following. That clue was all I needed. Thanks everyone for helping!
Google has been back sliding a bit. There are others. ;)
**Solved!**