Working on a fan, what is this part

[philobeto]

I got my hands on an old floor standing fan and started looking to rewire it.

I found this part, I think it's a resistor, but was hoping someone could confirm for me, and maybe suggest a replacement, this thing is kind of crusty, looks like it was covered with layers of something in the past.

Thanks for any help.

The Fan followed by the part in question.

 

[James]

It might be a resistor to give a more gentle startup
or it may be part of a thermal overload device, it would help if we could see what it was a part of, looks like it should be bolted to something.

 

[oscar21]

Rheostats aren't they, I had one as a kid in an electronics set, just some wire wound round a piece of cardboard, acts as a resistance.

 

[DPG]

Rheostats aren't they, I had one as a kid in an electronics set, just some wire wound round a piece of cardboard, acts as a resistance.

Looks like a fixed resistor rather than a rheostat, but yes I agree - it looks like resistance wire wound on a cardboard or fibreboard former.

 

[Marvo]

Yep definately a resistor and it's wound on to a piece of mica which is the same material they use as the waveguide cover inside your microwave cabinet. It will be used in circuit with the fan motor to allow one of the speed settings.