How to oil electric fans

[jimbaud]

good day to everyone!
great site!!!

we have 3 fans gathering dust here at home, they stopped working a few months ago. i think the bearings need to be lubed, but i have no idea how to dismantle the fans, which parts need to be wd40'd (or do i need to use some high temp grease?), and which parts i should avoid tinkering with.

pics and details would be greatly appreciated! :)
maraming salamat!

[Hot Daddiy]

The bushings on electric fans are the self-oiling type and normally do no need to be oiled.

The most common fault of electric fans will be open windings on the motor. I will post some photos of what to look for to troubleshoot electric fans in a few days, or ask my friend, who repairs electric fans for a living to give us some pointers.

[jimbaud]

that would rock hot daddiy! salamat! :)

[junn2006]

this is interesting.

have some old fans here myself

[incus]

got a couple of fans that doesn't run either :(
it would be great to know how to repair these things..

[happy_gilmore]

depends on the condition of your old electric fans, if they have a busted motor or not.

[peklat]

NOTE: be carefull putting oil in the fan.... hindi talaga nilalagyan iyan ng oil..... unless iyung mga shaft lang niya. it's a simple thing to dismantel.... ang bale nasisira lang diyan ay ang bushing ng motor... aside from that .... complete or i can say na alikabok lang ang problem niya..... dipende kung digital ang electric fan mo..... kapag ganoon malamang nasira na ang tinatawag nilang system control.... but kung hindi naman.... punas lang iyan..... take care

[peklat]

onething more hindi basta-basta nasisira ang motor niyan.... unless nag over heat..... at pinabayaan mo.... kahit ang motor ng sasakyan napapagod din di ba? pero kaya nga tinawag siyang electric kasi ang nagpapatakbo ay electric so walang liquid na nasa loob ...... kaya wag ninyong basta lalagyan ng oil in any part....... again take care..... baka makoryente pa kayo......

[smalltimer]

We got a dozen electric fans (floor fan, wall fan) in our shops, most of them heavy duty types of 3D brand. Normally its either the bushing and the capacitor that gets busted. We just take it to the small electronic repair shops around town and they would usually charge Php150, good as new na pagbalik ng electric fan

[jimbaud]

i've brought fans to repair shops before, and 150 bucks isn't so bad for the fan's new lease on life.

i wish someone would illustrate how to check the capacitor or replace the bushing...a few bucks saved, and invaluable knowledge for DIYers. :) share naman!

[2diy4]

I promised to ask my brother in law who repairs fans to give me a how to. Actually, I think that there are three things that will go wrong with a fan: the bushing, the capacitor and the windings. All of these are readily available.

For the bushing, a simple test is to check if the fan rotates. There may be instances, although rare, for the shaft to freeze on the bushing. The more common reason for a shaft to be tight on the bushing is if some foreign matter gets into the bushing.

The more common problem with the bushing should be that it is worn out. In this case, the shaft should be loose. Disassembly of the fan is simple as normally, just one crosshead screw holds the rear and several screws the rear fan grill and case. The front fan grill is normally held in place by clips or a screw that tightens a band.

Removing the fan itself from the shaft is easy. But the screw that holds the fan is reverse threaded. Meaning, to loosen the screw, you turn clockwise.

Castings hold the shaft in place, and the bushing is just a press fit. Remove the four or so screws that hold the front and rear casting, and the shaft should be slid out. Use a soft piece of metal to tap out the old busings and tap in the new ones. A very light coat of oil can be put on the shaft.

I'll post another message when I get the procedure on how to test the coil and capacitor. But you will need a tester (multimeter or volt-ohm-milliameter or VOM) for the test, and a soldering iron to replace the parts. But all parts are readily available, Rewinded coils are available; bring your old one and exchange for a rewinded one.

[Hot Daddiy]

Another thing that could go wrong is the thermal fuse. Some fans have a fuse that burns out if the windings reach a certain temperature. This is a safety feature that normally prevents a fan from burning out and taking the whole house with it. All too often, we read in the papers about houses burning down because of an overheated electric fan.

The thermal fuse is buried among all the other wires near the windings. The thermal fuse, like all the other connections to the coil, is kept inside spaghetti insulators. Feel the wires inside the spaghetti. The one that has a lump inside is the thermal fuse. Check the thermal fuse for continuity. If there is no continuity, meaning that the fuse shows an open circuit, then that is the culprit.

I will try to do a step by step article, the moment I get my hands on a busted fan.

[peklat]

Another thing that could go wrong is the thermal fuse. Some fans have a fuse that burns out if the windings reach a certain temperature. This is a safety feature that normally prevents a fan from burning out and taking the whole house with it. All too often, we read in the papers about houses burning down because of an overheated electric fan.

The thermal fuse is buried among all the other wires near the windings. The thermal fuse, like all the other connections to the coil, is kept inside spaghetti insulators. Feel the wires inside the spaghetti. The one that has a lump inside is the thermal fuse. Check the thermal fuse for continuity. If there is no continuity, meaning that the fuse shows an open circuit, then that is the culprit.

I will try to do a step by step article, the moment I get my hands on a busted fan.


agree ako sa iyo, pero sabi mo nga hindi lahat ng fans ay may mga thermal fuses..... well iyung mga case na nasusunog na fan.... isa sa dahilang ay kasi ang place na pinaglalagyan ay close door..... sa mga may kaya iyung bahay na ganoon.... o sa mga pabrika na halos wala ng singawan ang kuwarto..... kasi ang kailangan kahit sa aircon ay ang circulation ng hangin.... kung close door ka natural na hindi lumalabas ang init ng fan... ang ang resulta iyung init ng motor na aabsorved din niya... kaya ang kalalabasan iyung init ng motor hindi rinlumalabas ng room.... kaya nag o-over heat ang fan... iyun ang kahihinatnan ng mga nasusunugan ng fan...... kaya dapat kahit naka fan kana buksan mo rin ang mga bintana....

[HoyMicky]

This is very interesting. I have brought our fans many times before to a repair shop and its always the bushing that they replace daw. Ang charge sakin e 250 pesos. Now I'd like to be able to do this myself. I have one fan now na ayaw na ulit umikot ang blades - parang masikip . Magkano ba ang isang bushing and is this a standard size or depende pa rin sa fan size? Available ba ito sa mga repair shops? TIA.

[agamulak]

tama, kalimitan ng nagiging problema ng electric fan ay lumuwang na bushing (most often sa front bihira dun sa likod na bushing) kundi man ay lumiit na rotor shafting at kundi na makaikot magooverheat at puputok thermal fuse, kung meron! mura lang bushing at thermal fuse, hindi lalampas mga P20.00 each.

hello & gooday to all, very informative site!!!

[imported_admin]

Due to popular demand, one of our resident DIYers, Hot Daddiy, just wrote an article on Repairing Electric Fans (http://www.pinoyhandyman.com/repairing-electric-fans-3.html).

Thanks Hot Daddiy!

[HoyMicky]

I finally had time to disassemble my electric fan (the blades are turning slowly like something's stuck up) following Hot Daddiy's article. Based on the symptoms, it appears like a dirty or bad bushing. When I got to the bushing itself, it is clean but is stuck very tightly to the shaft. Is this normal? No matter how hard I twist it, I can't get it loose. In this case, do I just need to oil the bushing directly or the felt washer? TIA.

[boboymanalo]

put some oil and let it settle muna, pag nag-loose na yung bushing sa shafting you can clean the felt cloth that absorbs the oil, check the bushing and shafting for scratches or any damages, you can clean the shafting by placing it to an ordinary drill, use no.240 or finer na sandpaper while spinning it sa drill, don't forget to put oil on sandpaper, and be carefull..

[fake_silhouette]

electric fans and oil?
i don't think it goes together (not 100% sure)

normally you put grease in electric fans

for the bushings (just replace it with new, it'll not cost much)
________
Public german (http://www.****tube.com/categories/935/german/videos/1)

[john-jo]

Except for the box type square fans, which usually on some models-are a pain to oil the front bushing because of the oscillator motor blocking the path.

I need to bend a length of G.I. wire in such a curve as to allow flow of droplets along the wire down into the shaft and bushing. Hard to see how much actually got into the bushing.

BTW. also heard about greasing fan bushings, so which is the right way? Oil or grease? anyone?

[rogin24]

anong oil ang magandang gamitin sa electric fan

[john-jo]

We usually use a - light machine oil. This is easily found in hardware stores, including those in malls, some popular brands are - Singer Oil (because its frequently used in sewing machines) 4 in 1, and 3 in 1, from different supplier/Manufacturers.

Have Fun Oiling. ;)

[feedz1227]

We got a dozen electric fans (floor fan, wall fan) in our shops, most of them heavy duty types of 3D brand. Normally its either the bushing and the capacitor that gets busted. We just take it to the small electronic repair shops around town and they would usually charge Php150, good as new na pagbalik ng electric fan

Saan area mo?

[timber715]

Saan area mo?
feedz, I don't think the guy would reply, his post was dated in 2007. he might have even changed business by now... here is his last sign in:



Last Activity: 07-05-2007 03:24 PM

[jaymz]

hi! new here...
thick oil like motor oil is good... but you have to check first if the bushing or bearing is worn-out (or have play), then you have to replace it.
if the bushing/bearing is fine, you have to disassemble the fan motor (stator assy, rotor assy, & housing) just to properly oil the bushing and the shaft.
the rotor shaft may be corroded, so ready a fine-grit sandpaper to smoothen the shaft so as not to nick the inside periphery of the bushing (soft material).
then proceed in oiling the oil felt & bushing... wipe excess oil. you don't want oil to contaminate the windings.
then put it all back together again.
check for rotor shaft play... max is horizontal play of 2mm.
be very patient in aligning the motor shaft/rotor with that of the housing & the stator.

that's it!

HTH

[virsaphm]

Additionallly, I tried to repair a Standard Electric Fan STD-16. May I know how to check the Thermal fuse and where is it located?