remove aermotor wheel

[augustwest]

Hello, new to the forum. The remnants of an aermotor windmill are on the ground on the small farm I grew up on (there were two functioning windmills when I was there, one fed the cistern for our house and the other a livestock tank). The tower is trashed and the gears rusted. For now I would like to hang the wheel and vane in my shed for decoration. Then possibly in the future tinker with the gearbox. 6' wheel, A786 is stamped on the brake lever(?) arm. Photos attached.

Wondering if someone could point me to instructions or video on removing the wheel from the gearbox and the shaft. Would also be interested in any general info about the windmill - age, model, etc. Any assistance is much appreciated. Thanks, Greg.

[Justineckel]

Welcome to the forum. You have an 8’ Aermotor A702 windmill. The prefix A in the part number signifies the size. X-6ft A-8ft B-10ft and so on. To remove the wheel you unbolt it from the spokes and then unscrew the spokes from the hub. The hub does not come off the shaft easily. You have to disassemble the gearbox to get to it and then it’s pressed. Make sure and save the nuts and bolts as they are all
special thread (13/32). The gearbox you have is fairly simple to rebuild with all replaceable bearings. Myself as well as several others make new parts for theses mills.

[mtblah]

Gregg , Just as easy as Justin explained , well to those of us that have learned from the professionals in the past that Aermotor is fairly easy to dissemble . Oh yah , take PHOTOS of your dissembly , it will come in handy at a later date .
As far as date manufactured look under the "helmet" at the loop the wheel runs up & down inside , in the upper corner there is a flat spot with numbers stamped on it , date , month & year of assmbly and as Justin stated , save everything !

[augustwest]

Thanks. I was picturing that I could remove the wheel, spokes and hub all assembled -- so sounds like that isn't possible? Yes, big believer in photos during disassembly. I plan to get to the farm in a week or two and check it out.

[windybob]

You can remove the 'works' like you say, but you need some experience to know what to remove, or not. It's not like other brands. However, it's possible, but difficult.