On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:07:05 -0400, Jeff Thies
wrote:

On 8/22/2010 10:43 PM, mm wrote:
On Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:51:14 -0400, Jeff
wrote:

On 8/22/2010 5:34 PM, PE wrote:
I have an oscillating table fan that recently stopped working. I'll
probably just buy an new one, but wondered if anyone here might have any
useful suggestions. The fan's performance didn't degrade over time; it was
working properly and then suddenly it just wouldn't turn on. I've tested
the 4 way switch (Off-1-2-3) and it's working properly. And when the
control is switched to any of of the "on" settings, the motor doesn't even
make a humming sound and rotation can't be started by giving the fan blades
a shove, so I assume the problem is not with the motor starting capacitor.


Actually fans almost never have motor start capacitors, they have a
"shaded" winding to give them a kick in the right direction. The
starting torque required needs little more than that.

This is sort of related. I have an old 8 or 10 inch fan, -- to judge
its age, almost everything that shows is plastic -- and I use a remote
switch on a cord to turn it on and off, and a light dimmer to have it
run a little slower than speed 2 iirc. (at full speed 2, the noise
bothers me) When I had tried setting the dimmer below the current
setting, it wouldn't run at all, but it's been running at this setting
almost every day for hours all summer for 5 or more years.

Early this year, after I turned it, on it would run a quarter turn,
then slow to a stop, and could take up to a half hour before it got
moving again, first slowly and within a couple minutes the normal
speed.

This went on for 2 or 3 months, even on cool days, but about a week
ago, it stopped and now it turns on correctly right away. Like it
used to.

AFAIK, fans aren't supposed to run on ordinary light dimmers. They are

Yeah every time I bring this up, someone, or more, here brings that up
-- you're more tactful than most --, but I've been doing this with
several different fans for more than 20 years. Of the 6 or 8 fans I've
tried this with, only one of them wouldn't work, and for that one I
eventually got a fan speed controller, like would be in the wall for a
ceiling fan, and put that in a little box to control the table fan.
I have fans in 3, sometimes 4 rooms that I run this way.

designed to run at some slippage (more slippage, more torque) off the
synchronous speed. You are sort of fooling with the slippage needed to
generate enough torque to run the fan by reducing the "power" in. I'm
rather amazed it "works", but what do I know!

There are special motor speed controllers, not that I know how they
work, but you may wish to try one.

They were harder to find, came unassembled for my purpose, maybe were
much more expensive than light dimmers, and had to be disassembled
from the wall plate they were always mounted to. OTOH the lamp dimmer
was all set up for me with a pretty little box and a slide control, a
cord with an end that both plugged into the wall and the lamp/fan was
plugged into it. The little box was meant to be put on a table near
one's chair.

After about 10 years I came across the fan control all by itself for a
surplus price. By this time I had the other 2 or 3 rooms set up and
running, but I made up one for fans that required it.

Never hurts to work a little oil into the bearings (probably SAE 20
or 30 non detergent), perhaps it got a little gunked up and worked
itself free.

Maybe, but the plastic is getting brittle too and I'd rather not touch
it, let alone take the case apart.

Then again, why argue with 5 years of working?

Just my take on it.

I appreciate it.

Jeff

LIfe is so strange.