Not long ago, I made a shop fan from squirrel cage fan out of a
residential air handler. Last weekend was particularly hot, and I had
the fan running most of the day. When I went out to turn it off, the
fan was running but there was a puddle of oil underneath it. Now, or
course, it won't start. I assume the capacitor blew up or leaked.

Can a fan such as this be used for continuous use, or is it only suited
for on and off operation, as occurs in the normal cycling of an air
conditioning unit? Was this just the capacitor's time to go? If I
replace the capacitor, am I just throwing money away?

Gary Brady
Austin, TX