Oscillating fan problem
 

Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Oscillating fan problem
 

BE wrote:
Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty
models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the
upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand
Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a
typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is
it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Lubricants dried / mixed with dirt turned to gum. Disassemble all of
it, clean the 'goo' out and then saturate the oil pads around the
self-aligning bushings with good oil, put a drop on each end of the
shaft before re-assembling and you should be good to go for more years.
I just did one last week and also found they didn't wire it correctly.
HI and MEDIUM were swapped - not any more.

Never did it before? If you have a digital camera, take lots of
pictures so you can re-assemble it as it is (was).

GG

Oscillating fan problem
 

Thanks! Great idea.

Be


On 8/18/06 9:46 AM, in article
, "
wrote:

BE wrote:
Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty
models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the
upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand
Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a
typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is
it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Lubricants dried / mixed with dirt turned to gum. Disassemble all of
it, clean the 'goo' out and then saturate the oil pads around the
self-aligning bushings with good oil, put a drop on each end of the
shaft before re-assembling and you should be good to go for more years.
I just did one last week and also found they didn't wire it correctly.
HI and MEDIUM were swapped - not any more.

Never did it before? If you have a digital camera, take lots of
pictures so you can re-assemble it as it is (was).

GG

Oscillating fan problem
 

The blade should spin freely when you spin it with your hand. It
should go for several revolutions before stopping. Previous poster was
totally correct in relubing the motor. Be careful to check for free
spinning when the motor is cold. One time I thought I had fixed
things, but it was because the lube had thinned out due to a warm
motor, and when I tried to start it when the motor was all the way down
to room temp it just barely moved. By the way, the reason all (or
almost all) fans start with high and dial down to low is to give
maximum oomph to the fan when it is first turned on to overcome
stickylubrication.

H. R.(Bob) Hofmann
BE wrote:
Thanks! Great idea.

Be


On 8/18/06 9:46 AM, in article
, "
wrote:

BE wrote:
Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty
models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the
upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand
Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a
typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is
it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Lubricants dried / mixed with dirt turned to gum. Disassemble all of
it, clean the 'goo' out and then saturate the oil pads around the
self-aligning bushings with good oil, put a drop on each end of the
shaft before re-assembling and you should be good to go for more years.
I just did one last week and also found they didn't wire it correctly.
HI and MEDIUM were swapped - not any more.

Never did it before? If you have a digital camera, take lots of
pictures so you can re-assemble it as it is (was).

GG

Oscillating fan problem
 

On 8/18/06 9:46 AM, in article
, "
wrote:

BE wrote:
Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty
models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the
upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand
Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a
typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is
it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Lubricants dried / mixed with dirt turned to gum. Disassemble all of
it, clean the 'goo' out and then saturate the oil pads around the
self-aligning bushings with good oil, put a drop on each end of the
shaft before re-assembling and you should be good to go for more years.
I just did one last week and also found they didn't wire it correctly.
HI and MEDIUM were swapped - not any more.

Never did it before? If you have a digital camera, take lots of
pictures so you can re-assemble it as it is (was).

GG

Can WD-40 be used if I don't have another kind of oil?

Be

Oscillating fan problem
 

BE wrote:
On 8/18/06 9:46 AM, in article
, "
wrote:

BE wrote:
Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty
models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the
upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand
Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a
typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is
it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Lubricants dried / mixed with dirt turned to gum. Disassemble all of
it, clean the 'goo' out and then saturate the oil pads around the
self-aligning bushings with good oil, put a drop on each end of the
shaft before re-assembling and you should be good to go for more years.
I just did one last week and also found they didn't wire it correctly.
HI and MEDIUM were swapped - not any more.

Never did it before? If you have a digital camera, take lots of
pictures so you can re-assemble it as it is (was).

GG

Can WD-40 be used if I don't have another kind of oil?

Be

WD-40 is a mix of solvents and thick stuff. The solvents evaporate and
leave the thick stuff, pretty much back where you started. If you were
totally nuts, you'd use Nye Oil II - about the best synthetic light
machine oil there is. The bad news is the Nye oil is about $5/oz. The
latest version of 3-in-1 seems to be OK. You can get it at Home Depot.

GG

Oscillating fan problem
 

BE wrote:

Can WD-40 be used if I don't have another kind of oil?


No, it is not intended as a lubricant. It is intended to displace
water. It will soften thick lubricants for a short time, but if all
else fails, get a couple drops of oil from the dipstick in your car.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Oscillating fan problem
 

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
BE wrote:

Can WD-40 be used if I don't have another kind of oil?

No, it is not intended as a lubricant. It is intended to displace
water. It will soften thick lubricants for a short time, but if all
else fails, get a couple drops of oil from the dipstick in your car.

but its important to clean the muck out first, otherwise youre just
doing a bodge.

NT

Oscillating fan problem
 

On 8/19/06 12:11 AM, in article ,
"BE" wrote:

On 8/18/06 9:46 AM, in article
, "
wrote:

BE wrote:
Hello,

We have an oscillating fan that is one of the more heavy duty
models; the
base is a telescoping pole and all the electronics are within the
upper
portion that sits atop the base's pole. Exact model name: SMC "Stand
Fan"
made in China (of course) and it's 6 years old.

It now hums but will not spin anymore. I would assume this is a
typical way
for these to die. Anyone hazard a guess what part is worn out and is
it
worth the effort to fix?

Thanks!
Be

(in very hot Dallas, TX)

Lubricants dried / mixed with dirt turned to gum. Disassemble all of
it, clean the 'goo' out and then saturate the oil pads around the
self-aligning bushings with good oil, put a drop on each end of the
shaft before re-assembling and you should be good to go for more years.
I just did one last week and also found they didn't wire it correctly.
HI and MEDIUM were swapped - not any more.

Never did it before? If you have a digital camera, take lots of
pictures so you can re-assemble it as it is (was).

GG

Can WD-40 be used if I don't have another kind of oil?

Be



Well, all that work, then it ended up getting thrown into recycling anyway.
There was no much that I could see; the interior was fairly clean; I put oil
on the spindle and it seemed to turn better (not too freely though). Bottom
line: when I reassembled it, there wasn't even a humming noise. This thing
was dead. Nonetheless, it was some father and son time with my 10 year old
son. Bought a smaller unit from Home Depot for $22.

Be

Oscillating fan problem
 

"BE" wrote in message
.. .

Well, all that work, then it ended up getting thrown into recycling
anyway.
There was no much that I could see; the interior was fairly clean; I put
oil
on the spindle and it seemed to turn better (not too freely though).
Bottom
line: when I reassembled it, there wasn't even a humming noise. This thing
was dead. Nonetheless, it was some father and son time with my 10 year old
son. Bought a smaller unit from Home Depot for $22.

If there was a capacitor inside that would be my first thought.