Fan motor bearings

I know of two fans that need lube. One is a friend's bathroom exhaust fan, a Nutone, which is fairly old. Second is a small table top oscillating fan that I use.

Both have dried out hearings. The exhaust fan got slow, then noisy, and finally quit. The table top fan stopped spinning.

Ideally, pitch em out, buy new ones. The exhaust fan is $60, and the table top fan is about $10. Who's got money? I've had them both apart, spray cleaned with solvent, and lube with Zoom Spout Turbine oil. The exhaust fan is making bearing noise, and the table top fan stopped.

I'm thinking next, to mix in a puff of powder graphite with the zoom spout turbine oil. Keep the graphite away from the electric.

What is the tried and true lube? Has to be inexpensive, don't want to spend more on a can of lube than the price of a fan.

Ed Huntress Inscribed thus:

Fine sewing machine oil works well for me ! Applied in the same way, a drop or two from a redundant ink refill syringe.

I tried a blast of good silicone spray, with the LRT. Lasted less than an hour. So, I took the motor apart. Very simple bearings, with no ball berrings. Clean that out with spray of brake cleaner, and cotton swabs and spray oil.

Relube with zoom spout oil, and a pinch of powder graphite. A couple hours later, it's still running. Time will be the test.

Oil or graphite, not both. I tried oil/graphite mix on a weathervane that wouldn't turn freely. That didn't work well at all, it became a thick gummy sludge.

Weathervane is outdoors. Which may need different lube than indoor table fan, or a weather proofed bathroom fan.

Did you find a lube for your weathervane?

Graphite needs to remain dry. Oil was exactly the wrong thing for it to meet up with.

Nope. 90mph wind tore it off the roof anyway. Tore entire roof off the greenhouse, actually. Tore concrete roof tiles off house and sent them flying too, smashing Mercedes windshield.

I'll let you know, in a couple days how my graphite plus oil fan is doing.

Sorry to hear your weathervane was the insturment for smashing your car. Gee, that's a shame. Hope your insurance helped.

A concrete "Lifetile" hit the car. They're very heavy. A patch of them got sucked off a low-pressure area of the roof, downwind of a ridge. Happens about every other winter, always a south wind tearing up the north-facing low-pressure areas. A professional roofer argued with me about which way the wind blows to cause the damage.

Boy, they are right proud of that stuff (Starrett oil), ~$7 for 4 oz bottle. I'm always watching for good types of oil for all sorts of different use. Seems there is always a catch, but for, temp... Still I'll keep an eye out for it and if placing an order will probably get some.

I blow out sewing machines with compressed air too, as long as you aren't blowing in a bunch of moisture I certainly won't fault you for it. I don't like working on dirty equipment so end up blowing out lots of things with compressed air. Besides, dirt, dust, debris holds moisture and will most likely lead to corrosion if left very long. First you should figure out what is wrong/going on with it though. Poking around before duplicating, diagnosing the problem is a BIG no-no in my book.

I'd be tempted to use hydraulic fluid like Mobile DTE24 or DTE22.

Joe Gwinn

Hardest part is getting the old bearings out, but putting in new ones is cheap and easy. They are oilite type, so cleaner/solvent screws them up, and just plain "oiling" is a short term fix, unless you do it weekly, and then you'll have oil "someplace" you don't want it evenutally.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario

Boy, they are right proud of that stuff (Starrett oil), ~$7 for 4 oz bottle. I'm always watching for good types of oil for all sorts of different use. Seems there is always a catch, but for, temp... Still I'll keep an eye out for it and if placing an order will probably get some.

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Yeah, it's pricey, but I only use it in applications that require a drop or two. It's made for lubricating micrometers, dial indicators, and the like, which is what I bought it for in the first place. A can lasts me for years.

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I blow out sewing machines with compressed air too, as long as you aren't blowing in a bunch of moisture I certainly won't fault you for it. I don't like working on dirty equipment so end up blowing out lots of things with compressed air. Besides, dirt, dust, debris holds moisture and will most likely lead to corrosion if left very long. First you should figure out what is wrong/going on with it though. Poking around before duplicating, diagnosing the problem is a BIG no-no in my book.

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Yup.