r/vintageaudio would love this

>labeled made in USA or Germany

I'd add Japan to that list, their cars and a lot of their appliances and electronics were and are top of the line. They know what they're doing.

You're not really going to see BIFL brands while second hand shopping any more often than "disposable" brands. Like you said in the second paragraph, for the most part you just go into the thrift store or yard sale or whatever already knowing what you're looking for and picking stuff out from there (unless something catches your eye and it seems cheap).

As for BIFL brands, the sidebar is a great place to start. I can't recommend couches specifically, but the best kind of furniture to get is the stuff that's hand-made from hardwood. And as for my best find, I mostly look for/collect electronics so there's not much BIFL material there lol, but if it can be vintage and still fulfill a modern use case (like a stereo system, pencil sharpener, electric fan, fluorescent light fixture, etc.) I'll always go for that.

It's kind of refreshing to see ones in this kind of outstanding condition considering what so many went through (and still are going through lol).

Bruh, they're all over the eBay! One of the most common vintage fans in existence. They're not BIFL for nothing, they lasted and people kept them!

Maybe it's one of those brandless Taiwanese fans. It might have a make on the bottom label. I wouldn't call tose BIFL because they can get bearing issues but they have good performance.

These are very related to Sanyo fans, they use some of the same parts.

💙 🧡

Yeah zip ties are the ideal replacement.

Should've brought it with you. Tsk tsk.

That sub is too kinky for me, but posted anyway.

Oh hi Frieda, I didn't know you had a big sister!

You may have had it since 1987, but your cat had it ever since you gave it to your cat the day you got him, along with anything else you own. Haha, F for your loss.

The gray one would have been early, possibly mid 90s, then they redesigned it entirely and started switching over to plastic guards and whatnot. Yours is still just as good.

Unusual, but that can be fixed!

They are one of the best fans ever made alongside some Japanese fans of the time, they last forever.

Would love to see, also put them on r/fans!

Well, that's the one caveat: they're kind of not anymore. The plastic clips that hold the guards on have gotten brittle with age, and they'll break if you don't use a specific removal technique. Also the blade can get stuck on there and could shatter if you're not careful removing it too.

Both unintentional age-related issues that wouldn't have affected them back in their day though, and once you get the blade off the first time you can prevent it from happening again.

Precisely everything I like about them. I specifically got the Lasko branded ones instead of the Galaxy ones for that reason, even though the Lasko ones are harder to find.

No you can't, it's too quiet :P

Gotcha.

e: Okay, OKAY, sorry I haven't seen everything. But at least I know about it now and it's better late than never, right?

There's plenty of those around here as well; the good ones are a bit of a hike, anywhere from 30-90 minutes one way. I also have some luck at a particular bi-annual rummage sale held by a charity organization, also 45 minutes away.

I forgot about the gray one. Is yours Lasko or Galaxy?

That's awesome. I did not exist when these were sold but I plan to keep these until I'm your age and beyond.

Might yours have been the Lakewood 1200 and 1200A? Those were indeed much louder and not nearly as efficient, and nowadays the 1200A's plastic is breaking down. Lakewood made some great box fans but not so much table fans.