fix my fan!

May 3, 2006 7:14 PM

Why do all my table fans eventually stop working?

The motor hums, but the blades stop turning. I think it's a waste to buy one or two fans every summer.....can I fix this myself (so long as it's relatively easy, of course)?

posted by ashbury to home & garden (7 comments total)

Maybe this is the answer.
posted by tellurian at 7:34 PM on May 3, 2006

If you're controlling the speed with a lamp dimmer, those can ruin the motors, but I don't imagine you're doing that :)
posted by -harlequin- at 7:56 PM on May 3, 2006

If you end up buying another fan, buy Vornado. They're more expensive than most fans, but well worth it in reliability and the amount of air pushed. I'm not associated with them in any way, though I do sound like it.
posted by stavrogin at 8:58 PM on May 3, 2006

Stop buying cheap Chinese fans? I mean less snark than my text-centric tone may convey. I fix guitars and amps. If you buy a cheap Chinese one, it will break. Soon. And you will never be a rockstar. Or cool sitting at your table, for that matter.

Most cities will have a small, locally owned upscale business that sells lighting, fans, and other home comfort items. Go there instead of Wal-Mart or Target. If it should break, they will help you out to keep you business. Let them learn your name. Pony up for their product. Likely their product won't break on you. If it does, they know your name and will want to make you happy.
posted by sourwookie at 12:20 AM on May 4, 2006

Cheap fans use lousy plastic for the bearing between the fan shaft and the electric motor casing. After a while the heat from the motor permanently deforms this bearing, rendering it useless.

Another thing that happens is that if you live a dusty or cat-hair-rich environment, over time this debris gets mixed with the warm lubrication in these bearings and gums up the works, and the thing stops turning. Sometimes a spray of WD40 onto the bearings at both ends of the motor will get it turning again.
posted by Nicholas West at 5:51 AM on May 4, 2006

Third on avoiding cheap fans. You get what you pay for.
posted by JJ86 at 6:04 AM on May 4, 2006

Planned_obsolescence
posted by saragoodman3 at 3:28 PM on May 8, 2006