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.

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

According to :
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.

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.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Rich Heimlich wrote:
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.

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

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

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.


"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message
...
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.

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.

It all depends on how comfortable you are taking the motor apart. Many fans
have a temperature activated fuse that blows when the motor gets too hot. I
have fixed many fans by replacing that fuse(which is often soldered in),
after first determining what made the motor hot to start with. It's usually
bearings that have not been oiled and the shaft is not free to turn.
"Rich Heimlich" wrote in message
...
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.

Rich Heimlich wrote:
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.

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.

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:58:04 -0000, (Chris
Lewis) wrote:

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.

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.

On 26 Jul 2005 12:40:27 -0700, wrote:

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.

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.

According to Rich Heimlich :
On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:58:04 -0000, (Chris
Lewis) wrote:

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.

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.

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.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Rich Heimlich wrote:
On 26 Jul 2005 12:40:27 -0700, wrote:

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.

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.

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

wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 21:24:06 -0400, Rich Heimlich
wrote:


On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:58:04 -0000, (Chris
Lewis) wrote:


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.

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.



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.

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.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:13:59 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
wrote:

If it does,
dump the fan as too expensive to fix.

Perfect examples are Shania Twain and The Dixie Chicks.
They had no trouble dumping burned out fans.

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Version: PGP 7.1

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=SPCx
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--
-john
wide-open at throttle dot info

wrote:
On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:13:59 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
wrote:


wrote:

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 21:24:06 -0400, Rich Heimlich
wrote:



On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:58:04 -0000, (Chris
Lewis) wrote:



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.

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.



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.


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.


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 !!!

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.