This model exhaust fan, or one similar to it, was one of the fans that I looked up to as a kid, both figuratively & literally. You see, my kindergarten had one of these in the teacher's room. I think it had several missing shutters, the cover for the pullcord mechanism was missing, it was always unplugged & often windmilled. I couldn't see the brand as long as I could remember, and I always thought it was a Matsushita fan, because Matsushita also sold 16" exhaust fans with a similar blade shape at that time. Only 8 years ago that I learnt that Matsushita never sold reversible 16" industrial vent fans, and this iconic bulky motor shape was always a Sanyo thing. As a kid, I knew I had to have one of those someday, and now I do!
I'm unsure as to when Sanyo started marketing this fan, but I do know that this fan is probably the 2nd iteration, as it's 220v only. The older version is dual voltage, and I think the paint was of a lighter color. I could be wrong though as the paint on this fan is absolutely weathered. The previous gen was a 110v only fan with the exact same blades but with 4 motor braces & a smaller motor cover. I don't think they made a reversible variant of it as I've never seen any.
I got this fan last year, I think I found the ad for it during my morning class. I immediately texted the seller & drove to his place with my little retro 2 wheeler to pick this fan up as soon as the class had finished. Per usual, I couldn't care less about the plus sized load on the rear seat of my scooter as I know people have carried 4 door fridges etc on those vehicles. I have done nothing to this fan except peeling the protective clear sticker that covered the motor label, which motivates me as I know this will be a pretty easy job to do, since all I need to do is a simple repaint.
For a fan with blades narrower than that on my Panasonic 16" industrial exhaust fan, the performance is surprisingly strong! The motor picked up speed very quickly & it moves a generous amount of air both on exhaust or intake. This is a fan that I would absolutely install in a purpose built spot if I were to build a new house for myself, probably alongside my 50's KDK exhaust fan, because these are fans that 99% of people used until they deteriorated into rust, hence making them quite hard to find.
#Sanyo #ExhaustFan