Old Brent identity

[Rolf]

Hi!

 I was just given an old Brent wheel from the community center where I take classes.  It’s got the plastic top cover over the iron deck, 2 thin belts, a serial number “CO 522 703719” hand etched on the faceplate of the controller, and a gear potentiometer in the unbranded foot pedal. Inside the pedal says MOD 602 and the date “September 6, 1972”. What model is this? And what can anyone tell me about it? I’m curious about the history of such an old wheel. Also curious if there are replacement potentiometers for this old foot pedal, just in case that goes out.
i had to replace the severed terminals to the fuse holder because students kept twisting the fuse to try to turn the wheel off. Lol! Otherwise everything’s working great! 
thanks!

Rolf

p.s. sorry for the terrible image quality

[Pres]

You may find this strand on the forum of use:

@Mark C.has been helpful in identifying these wheels. I would say you have  an A or B model when looking at the size of the motor. As in Marks post your controller looks to be original and no parts exist. Best of luck with this. I have had my CXC for many years and it still runs great with very little maintenance.

Welcome to the forum!

best,

Pres

[Rolf]

Thanks, Pres! 
@Mark C.’s responses in that post answered my question about the pedal - looks like that’s not repairable. My wheel came with the same pedal from the original post in that thread. And the plastic deck coming on in 1972ish adds up with the date stamped on the inside of my  pedal. 
what are the different models of that era? A, B, C?  What’s the difference between them? 
thanks for the warm welcome!

 Rolf

[Callie Beller Diesel]

The difference is mostly in motor size. A and B models are for lighter duty, and C or CXC are more heavy duty. It refers more to the amount of clay you can put on them, rather than the amount of time they’ll run for. My college had Brent B and C models, and once you replace the pedal and get it running again, it will likely outlive you.

To give you a frame of reference, in the linked thread where Mark speaks about the wear and tear on his wheels, understand he’s been ordering clay by the ton every year for the past 40+.

[oldlady]

rolf, welcome to the forum.  you will find lots of good info here.  and opinions.  you have been given good advice now you can hear an opinion.  

you mentioned "old" because the date was 1972.  i felt insulted since that is the year i bought my wheel, not a brent, a pacifica.   i deliberately chose the one i bought instead of the other one which was a brent.   there was a man pacing back and forth until i decided and he was happy to get the brent.   in my OPINION, the brent is noisy and i did not want to listen to that whine.  i guess the man with the brent had a different opinion.

no, i do not use my wheel like mark has used his, but i can hear the radio when i use it.  only servicing has been the rubber belts and replacetment of the pedal after lightning hit a tree 30 feet from the house and blew out lots of appliances that were in use at the time.

[Rolf]

23 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

The difference is mostly in motor size. A and B models are for lighter duty, and C or CXC are more heavy duty. It refers more to the amount of clay you can put on them, rather than the amount of time they’ll run for. My college had Brent B and C models, and once you replace the pedal and get it running again, it will likely outlive you.

To give you a frame of reference, in the linked thread where Mark speaks about the wear and tear on his wheels, understand he’s been ordering clay by the ton every year for the past 40+.

Thanks for the info, Callie!  And nice to hear that these early Brents are so tough!  I looked on the motor and couldn't find any markings other than the sticker not to hose it down.  Still curious, even though it doesn't matter.  

[Rolf]

2 hours ago, oldlady said:

rolf, welcome to the forum.  you will find lots of good info here.  and opinions.  you have been given good advice now you can hear an opinion.  

you mentioned "old" because the date was 1972.  i felt insulted since that is the year i bought my wheel, not a brent, a pacifica.   i deliberately chose the one i bought instead of the other one which was a brent.   there was a man pacing back and forth until i decided and he was happy to get the brent.   in my OPINION, the brent is noisy and i did not want to listen to that whine.  i guess the man with the brent had a different opinion.

no, i do not use my wheel like mark has used his, but i can hear the radio when i use it.  only servicing has been the rubber belts and replacetment of the pedal after lightning hit a tree 30 feet from the house and blew out lots of appliances that were in use at the time.

Thanks, @oldlady! 

Noted - I'll check myself and be more careful with my word choices in the future.  Just because I'm new to pottery doesn't make things that have been around for 50 years "old".  

And I have to agree with you on the Brent vs Pacifica!  We've got Brents, Pacificas, Thomas Stuarts, and a couple kick wheels at the studio where I take classes, and my choice is the Pacifica  in the corner for the exact reason you chose yours!  It's quiet!  I love hearing stories like yours of these wheels that take lickings and just keep ticking!  I'm impressed.  

And, I love my Brent wheel for so many reasons.  That it was free, the generosity it represents, that it's all original and still smooth and working so well, and that it's mine and I can use it whenever I want!  I feel extremely lucky and fortunate to have it! 

I appreciate your opinion!  And thanks for the warm welcome!  

Rolf

[Pres]

As I have had hearing problems much longer than the Brent, I don't worry. I was more interested in the torque, and ability to help me center larger pieces of clay. . . those days have passed also. I also drive an econobox as my car leaving the v-8's and V-6s. in my youth.

 

best,

Pres

[Mark C.]

I'm at my last out of state large street fair and just saw this post tonight

Your wheel is a bit of a hybrid as its got the origiunal foot pedal (no parts for this anymore) and the plastic ribbed deck (the earlier models are flat formica on really thick 1/4 to 3/8th steel deck .

Your controller is plastic box not thge orginal metal small electrical box and tghe motor is thge orginal old blue ones. What diameter is the wheel head 14 or 12 inch???>?

My guess is this is model C. That motor can be repaired at an motor electric shop if ever needed.  If the potentiometer goes out you an make ones as seen in that pinned thread at top of page and its a maybe as this foot pedal has less space than modern brent pedals .If the  motor says  1 hp its model CXC but the head. needs to be 14 inch-they made model C with 14 inch heads as well-see my orginal brochure I posted in the Brent section

One last note is that plastic splash pan fitting under a flange or just floating free as that plastic splash pan came in a few years later witgh a flange-

My guess is still a model C-The biggest issue will be the foot pedal down the road

Edited August 11, 2022 by Mark C.

[Rolf]

On 8/6/2022 at 9:51 PM, Mark C. said:

I'm at my last out of state large street fair and just saw this post tonight

Your wheel is a bit of a hybrid as its got the origiunal foot pedal (no parts for this anymore) and the plastic ribbed deck (the earlier models are flat formica on really thick 1/4 to 3/8th steel deck .

Your controller is plastic box not thge orginal metal small electrical box and tghe motor is thge orginal old blue ones. What diameter is the wheel head 14 or 12 inch???>?

My guess is this is model C. That motor can be repaired at an motor electric shop if ever needed.  If the potentiometer goes out you an make ones as seen in that pinned thread at top of page and its a maybe as this foot pedal has less space than modern brent pedals .If the  motor says  1 hp its model CXC but the head nbeeds to be 14 inch-they made model C with 14 inch heads as well-see my orginal brochure I posted in the Brent section

One last note ius that plastic splash pan fitting under a flange or just floating free as that plastic splash pan came in a few years later witgh a flange-

My guess is still a model C-The biggest issue will be the foot pedal down the road

Thanks for the detailed reply, @Mark C.

so I’ve got a bit of a Frankenbrent? The wheel head is 12 inches. Would you be able to tell the model by the dimensions of the motor? It’s about 4.75” diameter by 8.5” high. I don’t see any markings indicating HP or anything else.

The plastic splash pan does have the flange to mount to, so that’s nice. 

The foot pedal has the gear potentiometer in it, just like the pedal in @Standrew’s post from a few years back. I’ve reached out to him to see if he ever found a replacement potentiometer for that pedal. Or if cleaning it fixed the issue he had long- term.

I have one  last question. One of the two thin belts twists 90 degrees between the motor and the wheel head. In other words, the ridges on the belt are facing out at the motor shaft, then do a quarter turn and are facing up at the wheel head. Just the top belt - the bottom belt is fine. I correct this, but then spinning the wheel head (by hand or with the motor) a couple revolutions twists the belt again. I’m guessing this has been going on for a while, but also assume this’ll wear the belt out prematurely. Are these belts available anymore? 

thanks again! Super excited to be learning more about my new wheel and meeting people in the forum! 
Rolf

[Mark C.]

Lets deal with the belts-You need to fix the flipped belt then tighten them with the motor hinge (that tightens the belts). You can still get these from Brent last I looked. They will last a lifetime. but not if they are flipped.

as to the potentiometer you can buy one and modify it -look at the

Lets deal with the belts-You need to fix the flipped belt then tighten them with the motor hinge (that tightens the belts). You can still get these from Brent last I looked. They will last a lifetime. but not if they are flipped.

as to the potentiometer you can buy one and modify it -look at the the 1st pinned subjest at top of equipment page by Brandon on replacing a potentiometer  -she bought a cheap one and modifided it to work. Since. your old Brent  has a old foot pedal and those potentiometers are long gone this is your only option

The motor is mostlikely a 1/2 hp -no way to tell for sure except a motor shop visit and thats gues. at best

I think you have a 1072. Brent 1/2 hp model C. New style plastic deck and plastric controller-new style. wheel head with flange for splash pan-old style foot pedal and motor.