I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an exhaust
fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out and then
the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well protected
against overheating?

"james" wrote in message ...
I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an exhaust
fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out and
then the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?

Commercial ventilating fans, try www.grainger.com

"james" wrote in message ...

I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space . . .
Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out and
then
the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Will the UL not tell you if you ask? If not, you could ask the
local fire brigade or Bureau of Standards fire research experts.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

james wrote:
I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an exhaust
fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out and
then the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?

I read of household fans being a fire hazard long time ago. Only reason
I remember is because my hubby likes to leave them running, 24/7, even
when the room is not occupied.

If you are planning a permanent installation, then find a fan built for
the purpose that runs on a timer. Constant circ. seems a waste - just
periodic to sufficiently move the air. Is the crawl space sealed up
with moisture barrier?

james wrote:
I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an
exhaust fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out
and then the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?

It probably depends on the fan. Some of the newer ones I've taken apart
have a thermal fuse in line with the run windings. If the fan stops for a
sufficient enough period of time, the solder inside of them vaporizes off,
and the fan no longer functions.

Jon

"james" wrote in message ...
I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an exhaust
fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out and
then the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?


*You need a fan that is rated for damp or wet environments and is also rated
for continuous duty. The inline fans from Fantech have both of these
ratings. As RBM suggested you can check Grainger for a variety of choices.
You could also take a look at McMaster-Carr's website. They may have
something suitable.

You are using a portable temporary fan as a permanent installation. There
is definite cause for concern over the long term.

Jon Danniken wrote:
james wrote:
I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an
exhaust fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out
and then the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?

It probably depends on the fan. Some of the newer ones I've taken apart
have a thermal fuse in line with the run windings. If the fan stops for a
sufficient enough period of time, the solder inside of them vaporizes off,
and the fan no longer functions.

Jon



Excuse me, I couldn't help a double take when I saw: "the solder inside
of them vaporizes off". This is planet Earth not Mercury. Perhaps you
meant loss of lubricant?

TDD

The Daring Dufas wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

It probably depends on the fan. Some of the newer ones I've taken
apart have a thermal fuse in line with the run windings. If the fan
stops for a sufficient enough period of time, the solder inside of
them vaporizes off, and the fan no longer functions.


Excuse me, I couldn't help a double take when I saw: "the solder
inside of them vaporizes off". This is planet Earth not Mercury.
Perhaps you meant loss of lubricant?

The solder is what is inside of the thermal fuse, and when it vaporizes, the
thermal fuse goes open permanently and the fan is meant to be thrown away.

My apologies for not explaining that a little better first time.

Jon

On Sun, 6 Sep 2009 07:29:24 -0700, "james" wrote:

I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an exhaust
fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out and then
the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well protected
against overheating?


A furnace blower fan is a good choice. Get one with at least two
speeds to help deal with noise/vibration issues.

Jon Danniken wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

It probably depends on the fan. Some of the newer ones I've taken
apart have a thermal fuse in line with the run windings. If the fan
stops for a sufficient enough period of time, the solder inside of
them vaporizes off, and the fan no longer functions.

Excuse me, I couldn't help a double take when I saw: "the solder
inside of them vaporizes off". This is planet Earth not Mercury.
Perhaps you meant loss of lubricant?

The solder is what is inside of the thermal fuse, and when it vaporizes, the
thermal fuse goes open permanently and the fan is meant to be thrown away.

My apologies for not explaining that a little better first time.

Jon


That's a better explanation. The thermal fuses don't always
use solder or more correctly a eutectic alloy sensitive to
a particular temperature. Many thermal fuses use a set of
contacts and a spring held in place by a thermoplastic resin
pellet which melts at a specific temperature allowing the spring
to pull the contacts apart. To vaporize even a soft metal such
as solder would require extreme temperatures. You had me worried
there for a minute. I could just see flaming box fans in homes
around the world.

TDD

james wrote:
I'm using a $20 household fan 24/7 to ventilate a damp crawl space by
sealing it against one of the crawl space vent (i.e. becomes an
exhaust fan).

Eventually this fan is going to fail, perhaps the bearings wear out
and then the fan stop spinning.

Should I worry about a fire, or do all UL listed fan have some sort of
overheat protection?

Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?

See if you can find a power strip with a 5-amp or so circuit breaker built
in.

On Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:47:45 -0400, "
wrote:



Is there some sort of fan that is designed to run 24/7 and is well
protected against overheating?

I read of household fans being a fire hazard long time ago. Only reason
I remember is because my hubby likes to leave them running, 24/7, even
when the room is not occupied.

If you are planning a permanent installation, then find a fan built for
the purpose that runs on a timer. Constant circ. seems a waste

It's not just a waste of electricity and fan-life. It makes the room
warmer. It's only of value when a breeze is blowing on a person and
probably some animals.

- just
periodic to sufficiently move the air. Is the crawl space sealed up
with moisture barrier?

On Sun, 6 Sep 2009 14:24:07 -0700, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:

The Daring Dufas wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

It probably depends on the fan. Some of the newer ones I've taken
apart have a thermal fuse in line with the run windings. If the fan
stops for a sufficient enough period of time, the solder inside of
them vaporizes off, and the fan no longer functions.


Excuse me, I couldn't help a double take when I saw: "the solder
inside of them vaporizes off". This is planet Earth not Mercury.
Perhaps you meant loss of lubricant?

The solder is what is inside of the thermal fuse, and when it vaporizes, the
thermal fuse goes open permanently and the fan is meant to be thrown away.

Well, it doesn't vaporize. The temp for that is in the thousands of
degrees, I think. In a fuse that uses solder, the solder melts, at a
temp a little lower than the rated temp of soldering irons. Then it
falls away from the wires at either end of the fuse and doesn't
connect them anymore.

My apologies for not explaining that a little better first time.

Jon