What Causes Fans to Stop Working?

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NExUS1g

Gawd
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This even applies to desk and box fans as well as CPU and GPU fans -- pretty much anything that uses an electric motor that drives it. Eventually, no matter how clean you keep them, it seems like every fan in the world simply eventually stops working. It will go through a period where it starts having a bit of an issue getting started, then it'll need a little push to get it going, and eventually, it just won't go anymore. No amount of WD-40, axle grease and cleaning will ever get it working again.

So I pose the question to anyone out there who may know: What causes these electric motor fans to suddenly lose the strength they once had?
 
Araxie

Araxie

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The Coil thats the simply answer.. it eventually lose the magnetic properties.. also depending on the type of fans get just the bearing hard-locked preventing the the blades to spin, thats why with a little manual push it work for a while. the Oil and grease are only to help the blades to spin smooth in the bearing or bushing.. but in generally its the coil who "kill" the fan, they are designed for a certain life.. generally 100.000hours, some 120.000 hours and so on, in that time the coil will just lose some of its capacity.
 
N

NExUS1g

Gawd
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Araxie said:
The Coil thats the simply answer.. it eventually lose the magnetic properties.. also depending on the type of fans get just the bearing hard-locked preventing the the blades to spin, thats why with a little manual push it work for a while. the Oil and grease are only to help the blades to spin smooth in the bearing or bushing.. but in generally its the coil who "kill" the fan, they are designed for a certain life.. generally 100.000hours, some 120.000 hours and so on, in that time the coil will just lose some of its capacity.
Click to expand...

I can't say I've ever had a fan using an electric motor last that long without having issues. That being said, how exactly does copper lose its ability to carry a current? I've never heard of this before.
 
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stormy1

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bearings going out is the number one killer of all electric motors either wear or dust.
Bad power is second.
heat is third even in fans because of poor design.

Brushes used to be the number one but they are much better these days in the designs that still use them.
Junk capacitors are also an issue in some types.

number one way to make a fan last much much longer?
Balance the blades to put less stress on the hearings and vibration to the motor.
 
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stormy1

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re coils.
I worked for a while at a company that rebuilt motors and generators from 3\4hp to 1000hp.
The reasons coil fail:
Gets too hot and melts the insulation
A lose wrap that vibrates over the life of the motor wears through the insulation and shorts out.
Where it comes off on the first or last wrap breaks from getting brittle combined with vibration is the number one cause.

I have seen wire from shot motors that would shatter when you bent it.
 
T

TekRok

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WD40 is a water displacer, NOT a lubricant. It doesn't help the fan in any way.
 
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evilsofa

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WD-40 may appear to give temporary relief because, besides being a water displacer, it's also a solvent. The temporary lubricant effect is from the solvent dissolving a small amount of what it's been put on, so using WD-40 will just kill the fan faster.

silentpcreview has a good comprehensive article on how PC fans are constructed; while it was written in 2006 it's not outdated, though some of the premium fans being made are rated to last much longer - up to 200,000 hours. The article points out that many (probably even most) fans used in PCs are sleeve bearing instead of ball bearing because they cost less.
 
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stormy1

[H]ard|Gawd
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best oil:
Remington Rem oil with teflon for small bearings and bushings.
Synthetic water resistant bearing grease for big bearings.
 
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stormy1

[H]ard|Gawd
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Honestly with the low price of computer fans compared to the cost of failure I do not oil them and do not recommended anyone else do so.
Just replace them with quality fans and be done with it.
 
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