Repairing burned-out house fans?

[barry]

Can't see enough from here to say. What sort of fans are they, and can you describe the damage? What could have gone wrong- shaft stiction, bushing/thrust bearing worn so that armature rubs, overheated wiring.

Modern motor wiring insulation, it should be noted, is rated for much higher temps than in "old days", so if it's fried you really had a problem.

Reasonable concerns: you might start a fire, or electrocute someone, as a result of having a go. For such basic safety reasons, I'd suggest that you take them to a professional for repair.

HTH, J

[shoppa]

You don't say what type of fans they are or what the failure mode is. If it's, for example, bad bearings or burnt-out windings, then most medium-size or larger towns have shops that will repair/rebuild as appropriate.

Tim.

[anoldfart2]

If you are talking about window fans, they are not all that expensive. However, if you hear the motor humming. you probably just got tight bearings. Dissassemble the motor and oil the bearings. If that dont fix it. buy a new fan.

[Rich Heimlich]

I have two fans that have stopped working and both of them cost enough that I'm thinking of having a go at repairing them. The key question is, when a fan burns out, what generally is the problem and is it easily repairable? Power is still getting to the fan. It just isn't turning any longer.

[C & M]

If you don't believe the suggestions to scrap 'em and buy new, take the info from the side of the motor and call a rebuild shop, but sit down when you make the call.

[Chris Lewis]

According to :

As Barry says, MUCH depends on the type of fan and type of motor.

If you can describe them (ie: "ordinary fractional HP induction motor driving squirrel cage"), and what the symptoms are (seized? grinding? hums?) we can make some suggestions.

[tony]

[Joseph Meehan]

Unless they are large expensive fixed fans, I would suggest replacing them. They are just not worth the effort.

[John_B]

I have several $15 or $20 "two motor" fans which go into double hung windows up to 30 inches wide. They accumulate enough crud in the motors and blades that I take the motors apart every spring and drop some oil on the bushings. It would probably be simply to toss them and buy new ones, but I am retired and need to find things to do.

[Rich Heimlich]

They're pretty basic fans I picked up from Home Depot. Floor stands. Hampton Bay. They show a model on Home Depot now that looks like a better version of what I got. That one is $149. I think I paid $99 2 years ago. Mine are white with 3 speed settings and came with remotes which I don't use.

[Rich Heimlich]

They just stopped turning on. I push a "digital" power button and it beeps, as usual, but the fan doesn't move. It doesn't make any sound either. No hum. Nothing.

[Heathcliff]

It might be the switch is bad. If you are comfortable working with wiring -- and that is a significant if -- you could try bypassing the switch and see if the fan then works. I would bypass it temporarily (so that the fan should start as soon as its plugged in), plug it in and see if it starts. If it does then you would need to decide whether to replace the switch with something similar, or with some other kind of switch. You could wire in a simple line switch if you are willing to forego the multiple-speed aspect. As others have said, consequences can include electrocution, fire, etc. so be careful and ask yourself whether you are confident about doing it. -- H

[Chris Lewis]

According to Rich Heimlich :

Seldom repairable in any meaningful way. You might want to try disassembling them, and making sure that shaft turn freely and lubricate it. The electronics may have fried, in which case you _might_ be able to repair it by bypassing it.

[anoldfart2]

Oh, jesus christ, the fans are around $20 at most. A pro is going to charge $20 just to enter the shop. No one is going to get electricuted as long as it's unplugged when you do the work, and fires wont start if the circuit has the proper breaker.

[anoldfart2]

Remotes for a fan? That's just plain stupid..... Like others said, oil the bearings. Turn the blade by hand (unplug cord first), If it feels tight, oil oil oil,,,,,, until it is easy to tuen by hand. Plug it in and enjoy the cool. Fans should be oiled at least once a year.

[George E. Cawthon]

I totally agree about the remotes. But I'll bet the problem is in the controls, not in the actual fan motor. Maybe somebody punched something on the remote, maybe the remote receiver failed and just shut the fan off, or maybe the switch for the speeds failed. The only way you are going to tell is to wire directly to the fan motor and bypass the controls entirely. If nothing is found then move to the motor and see if it turns freely. If it does, dump the fan as too expensive to fix.

[~^Johnny^~]

[anoldfart2]

I agree about the controls, but do it the opposite. Spin the blade first and see it is spins easily. If it's tight, oil it. That's just the simplest thing to test for, and there is no sense tearing into the wires if the bearings are tight. If you spin the blade with your hand and it keeps spinning for a few seconds the bearings are probably fine. If it is an electrical problem and you do fix it, STILL oil the bearings. Fans should be oiled yearly of more.

I still can't figure out why anyone would need a remote for a fan. Just another remote to lose and/or clutter the table :) Not to mention more things to go wrong....

PS. Since you DON'T use the remote, be sure it's not sitting somewhere with an object on top of it pushing one of the buttons. I once had a VCR go bonkers on me. I forget what it was doing, but it was all screwed up. I spent an hour or more trying to figure out why it was screwed up, only to eventually find the remote had a weight on it which was pushing a button. Talk about frustration over nothing !!!

[George E. Cawthon]

Uh, you didn't follow the thread. "do the opposite?" Not really, I agreed with the previous poster that said to oil the bearings and the first thing to do is spin the fan. Of course, the first thing to do is to spin the fan by hand.

I hate to say I agree with you about remotes as you might say you think the opposite. Never, ever, put anything on top of a remote.