Bought a house with ceiling fans. All work, but some are a little noisy. Are there places to lube them? Some meay date to 1991.
Lou
- posted
15 years ago
Lube a ceiling fan?
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- posted
15 years ago
Never saw a place to lube them. If they are cheap fans they started out that way. There was a period that fans were being imported and they were rather poor quality.
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- posted
15 years ago
I'll second that. Ceiling fans are not generally user-maintainable. They're mostly disposable. I've never seen one with an oil cup.
Mandatory rambling story: My father-in-law decided to oil his fan because it made noise. He apparently put two quarts in a one-quart fan, because he then had a fan that made noise and dripped oil. It dripped for a looong time. Ten years later, he still had to wipe the occasional drop off the light fixture. Moral: Don't oil your fan.
If the fan makes ticking or creaking noises when it turns, it's time for a replacement. They're cheap. Get a new one. You can even get the one with leopard-skin trim and dangly crystals. (Don't laugh--I just removed three of these for a client so they could take them to their new home.)
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- posted
15 years ago
Thanks to both of you.
Lou
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- posted
15 years ago
"SteveBell" wrote
LOL!
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- posted
15 years ago
All the Hunter "Original" (and other brands) had/have an oil cup.
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15 years ago
You mean like "sometime in the last 20 years until the present?" Even Hunter fans are made in China, at least the ones sold in the Big Boxes are. I agree with your point though if they are noisy just replace them with new ones of a recognized name brand, that means Hunter, Casablanca, etc. that doesn't mean that they won't be made in China but at least you know they'll be around if you have problems and you won't get the "well, you bought a $30 fan, what do you expect?" line when you go to return it.
nate
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- posted
15 years ago
Very interesting. Where on the fan was the oil cup? Maybe I just haven't recognized them.
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15 years ago
You can *tell* me not to laugh, but it's not entirely a voluntary action.
nate
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- posted
15 years ago
Hunter Originals require a light non-detergent oil and have a reservoir that should be checked each season.
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- posted
15 years ago
On Fri 05 Sep 2008 02:37:08p, SteveBell told us...
I owned several Hunter "Original" fans at one time. IIRC, there is a small hole (approx. 3/16" diam.) on top of the housing where the oil is inserted. When a new fan is purchased, it comes with a bottle of oil to completely fill the reservoir. There are instructions as to how frequently to add amounts of oil. If you have one of these and have no instructions, you should really contact Hunter for the specs.
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- posted
15 years ago
In the portion that contains the switch. The wires ran downward thru a pipe to isolate them from the oil. The whole thing unscrewed if needed (after disconnecting wires at ceiling).
As someone said, there was a filler hole in the upper part of the bell shaped motor housing....tip the fan, add oil until it runs out the top of the cup. To check oil level, stick a pipe cleaner or similar down the side of the cup. I haven't added any oil for at least 10 years to my 32 year old fans.
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- posted
15 years ago
OK, I feel better. I was afraid I'd been missing something and advising clients poorly. My guess is that oil cups are mostly on older fans. I have seen exactly one of those, and the job on that one was replacement due to complete failure.
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- posted
15 years ago
I have 25-30 year old Sears 52" ceiling fan (model 292.905500) which uses a felt pad oil wick lubrication system. This fan has a side-ways mount motor, with a drive wheel that turns a cast hub, to which the blades attach. The felt pads lubricate the interface of the hub to the hub shaft.
Parts illustration can be seen at:
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which is shorthand for
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Any ideas about how much oil one should put on the pads (cylinder around hub shaft and felt washer at the bottom).
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- posted
15 years ago
On Sat 04 Oct 2008 12:55:59p, l, not -l told us...
I'm guessing no more than 1/2 teaspoon. The felt should fully absorb it. If the pad doesn't seem saturated after adding the oil, add a bit more. If it seems excessive, absorb any over amount with paper towels until no more readily comes off.