Test your bearings!

[organist89]

The ball bearings in your ceiling fan are a vital component to operation. The quality of the bearings is of upmost importance. Good bearings (common in Laskos) provide quiet, efficient, fast, and SAFE operation. Bad bearings (usually found in el-cheapo spinners and indoor fans used outdoors, also fans that use oil -Hunter Original- that haven't been oiled) are noisy and dangerous. They can be a fire hazard, in certain situations.

If your fan is noisy (like, a metal-on-metal rubbing or screeching sound), or if you just suspect bad bearings and want to test, here's how you can test those bearings!:




Test #1: For fans that use oil, like the Hunter Original:

With the fan off, stand on a chair at eye level with the ends of the blades (in other words, you are next to and not under, the fan). Give a blade a LIGHT shove with your hand. If the blade coasts to a nice slow stop, you are fine. If the blade just goes a little bit and stops very suddenly...or, if you KNOW that the blades and blade irons are in alignment and the blades appear to go up and down, you probably have bad bearings. See troubleshooting #1.


Test #1A: For the Hunter Original with the old-style motor

With the fan off, and you standing below the fan, give the blades a GENTLE shove. If the blades stop suddenly, you might have bad bearings. See troubleshooting #1. If the blades seem to "take off", and go for a good little while and GRADUALLY wind down to a stop, you are fine.


Test #2: For fans that do NOT use oil (permanently sealed motor)--UNLIKE the Hunter Original:

With the fan off, stand below it. Give the blades a medium-force shove with your hand. If the blades coast nicely for a little while, and then SLOWLY speed down to a graceful, gradual stop--your bearings are fine. If the blades spin for only a very short time, and/or if the stop is sudden and not gradual, you probably have bad bearings. See troubleshooting #2.


Test #2A: For fans that no NOT use oil (permanently sealed motor)--UNLIKE the Hunter Original AND have an on/off wall switch:

Turn the wall switch on for about 1 second, and then right back off. If the blades stop suddenly, you might have bad bearings. See troubleshooting #2. If the blades seem to "take off", and go for a good little while and GRADUALLY wind down to a stop, you are fine.





Troubleshooting #1: Try adding oil to the fan. SAE 10 non-detergent electric motor oil. Run the fan for a while. Then repeat the above tests. If there is no change, or if fan is already full of oil, contact Brian Hicks--he works with Hunter Original fans.

Troubleshooting #2: Part out the fan...or, just use it for display.

[Deleted]

organist89 said:

Test #2: For fans that do NOT use oil (permanently sealed motor) . . . see troubleshooting #2.

Troubleshooting #2: Part out the fan...or, just use it for display.

Pierce, fans that have "permanantly sealed motors" and/or are not equipped by the factory to be oiled STILL can be oiled. Sometimes you cana apply a liberal amount of oil to the visable part of the bearing and allow it to seep in (much of the oil will run off and go to waste) or you can dissasemble the motor, remove the shaft from the bears and clean and oil them by hand. For that matter, if your bearings are shot they can in fact be replaced.

Instructing someone to part out a fan because it needs oil . . . I almost "puked in my suit" when I read that. We're trying to SAVE fans from being junked and thrown away, not contribute. I maintain that ANY FAN can be fixed, the question is, how much trouble are you willing to go to. But dry bearings is usually not a lot of trouble to deal with. Open windings is a different story, unless you have a spare. But dry or even bad bearings . . . Andrew was just posting the other day about how spare bearings from motors he collects fit into his fans.

Pierce, your testing advice is good. But your "troubleshooting advice" (and troubleshooting is not the right word, troubleshooting is when you're finding out what the problem is.) . . . I've said this before, and I'll say it again . . . if you dont know something, dont post as though you're an expert on the subject. And even experts can be mistaken.

[Matthew]

I oil sealed bearings all the time. Allthough its a pain to do some of them. Also they might need to be re-greased.

An interesting fact:
Caribbean Breeze fans bearing's DONT have seals. The oil will just go to the bottom of the motor. I had to use grease on thems' bearins' to make er' nice and quiet

[brian H]

contact me shure.... i'll have the dern thing apart and back together faster n' anythin' you ever saw pierce!

[organist89]

DAN: You are correct...I did misuse the word "troubleshooting". Stop trying to start silly arguments (you know I'll reply to an attack on my English). Remember "Arguing over the Internet is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded." This thread is about bearings, silly goose.

MATTHEW: Glad to know you do work on perma-seal bearings all the time. That little bit of knowledge just changed my life.

BRIAN: Lay off, bastard! I've never had a deal with you--never let you down, never was mean to you--and I explained and admitted like a man and patched up with your friend Adrian Parrado.

If you proceed to insult me, I will find out where you live, you little Christian co*csucker, and daintily shove your holy book of lies bible and a beautiful tin Nazard pipe up your anal cavity so far, you'll have a puctured lung.

Then I'll proceed to skewer and bar-b-q you. While singing arias to blue, shaved penguins wearing bikins and kicking a paraplegic Nazi tied to Edgar Allan Poe's grave marker.




Love,

Pierce

[Deleted]

Pierce, what the hell has gotten in to you? I dont think Brian ever said a word against you, he's probably the least offensive person on this site . . . and you lay into him with graphic, immature threats? Is that because he's the only person who wont point out how stupid you sound?

Rest assured I, your friend or not, WILL point out how stupid you sound . . . and you sound HELLA stupid, getting all defesive because everyone pointed out how you ignorant you were in your original post. Take your medicine like a man and COOL DOWN. No one's here trying to start silly arguments but you.

[brian H]

:-/no comment........