Fix Your Tower Fan Squeak - EASY! How to turn trash into functional treasure.

Welcome back! Today I look at tower fans. I've owned a few of these in my life, and I've seen dozens in the trash. Why throw them out? Because they start getting loud and ultimately stop spinning. This is all due to a dried out bearing and dust accumulation.
LET'S FIX IT!
Keywords:
#diy Do It Yourself #repair repair #appliancerepair appliance repair tower fan repair lasko omnibreeze dyson bearing grease squeaky fan squeaking fan grinding noise baring stop spinning noisy fix my fan how to fix pedestal fan vertical fan squirrel cage fan vertical fan loud fan
Chapters:
00:00 - Chapters Coming Soon

[@lovebirde]

Really appreciate you calling out why not to just spray some WD-40 through the cage because I was JUST about to stop the video and do that 😂 Probably not doing this because the company sent me a new one (but it’s annoyingly less powerful) but I think I might give this one away and share your video!

[@thejoyoffixing]

Please do! Glad you found me! Seriously, just glean up your old one. It doesn’t take long. You can do it!

[@MrDblA]

Well done! Thanks for taking the time to show us how this is done. Pretty simple!

[@thejoyoffixing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lavette8803]

Genuinely appreciate your how-to video. Thanks for posting!

[@thejoyoffixing]

So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for commenting. Please subscribe and like.

[@sdlindow]

Great information. Always fun to watch these vids😊

[@thejoyoffixing]

Thanks

[@Genex107]

Yep. when I saw that little remote control still taped to the top rear of the housing, I knew it was the exact fan I have, with a little remote control taped to the top rear housing. Also, leaf blower blasts that dust right out of there and keep going til the dust is all outside the garage.

[@thejoyoffixing]

I actually took it back apart and pressure washed it. Very glad I did.

[@Blue-Gel]

wow this was the exact same omnibreeze fan that I have! This video is a lifesaver knowing I can just fix my fan rather than toss it because it just started to squeak. What was the brand of that first cleaning lubricant that you used? I wanna make sure I do things just like your tutorial.

[@thejoyoffixing]

It was PB Blaster. WD 40 would be fine too

[@thejoyoffixing]

I’m super excited you had an omnibreeze too. It’s great when these videos find the people they were intended for

[@desert_rat_88]

I have this exact fan and it developed some noise which I traced to the bottom bearing. I disagree with how much grease this guy packed into the bottom bearing. If you use so much that it makes it out the top bearing, you will have completely filled the motor cavity including the coils and the armature. Not good! I used an amount equivalent to two small peas about 1/4" diameter and that did the job of packing the bottom thrust plate. The top bearing is a simple sleeve and does not have a thrust plate. I added a very small single drop of high quality spindle oil to the top bearing and even that was probably not necessary. I used Tri-Flow synthetic grease for the bottom bearing which is about the same thickness as automotive chassis and wheel bearing greases. It was a bit too thick since it slowed the fan down a tiny bit on low speed. I actually prefer that as it makes the fan very quiet on low. The drawback is that it will now draw a bit more power due to the extra load. Unfortunately I did not measure the power draw before packing the bearing so I can't say how much extra wattage is being used. If you want to maintain the original performance of this fan, I recommend taking a look at the residual grease inside the top squirrel cage bearing and try to match the consistency of that grease, which is lighter than wheel bearing grease.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Thanks for your input. Fan is still working great months later. No issues. Guess we will have to disagree a little bit. I, in no way, packed out the motor cavity. Total grease used was about 2 peas, as you stated.

[@desert_rat_88]

@@thejoyoffixing First, thanks for posting the video. I found it helpful in confirming the disassembly process. It made no sense to me that your red grease would have made it up to the top bearing as you suggested in the video. It would have to somehow creep around the large rotor portion of the motor shaft and/or through the gaps between the stators mounted to the housing to reach the top bearing. Perhaps it migrated enough to do that but it seemed unlikely.

[@thejoyoffixing]

Yeah I’m not sure but it sure did! The grease angels shined down on me.

[@pensionat60]

Thanks for the video, very informative. I just purchased one (white). Oddly enough I do have a squeak but only when on the middle speed and when it moves to the left! I purchased it on the 'returns' rack. It looked great but now I know why it was returned. Any suggestions? Oh by the way thanks for not using rock music in your video!

[@thejoyoffixing]

If you open up the fan, the way I show the video, there’s another motor there just for the rotation. It has a little arm on it that causes the fan to walk back-and-forth. That probably needs some sort of lubrication. If you pop the cover off the way I showed in the video but don’t take anything inside apart, you should be able to see where that little motor is that makes it walk back-and-forth. It should be pretty easy to detect what squeaking at that point and lubricate it. if it’s a plastic part, I wouldn’t lubricate it with grease because it might deteriorate the plastic. Maybe use something like Vaseline or even ground up pencil graphite might work. Hard to say because I’m not looking at it myself, but use your best judgment.

[@pensionat60]

@@thejoyoffixing Thanks from Cornwall, Ontario, Canada for the quick response 'Joy of Fixing'. This morning I loosened the collar that fastens the two parts of the plastic stand and so far so good. Your suggestion does make a lot of sense so if it acts up again I give it a go. I just have to wait until my wife steps out before opening it up....she will kill me!!!!

[@thejoyoffixing]

I totally understand

[@Shibi_TKE]

Thank you for this video. I appreciate your instructions (so easy to follow!) and your commentary (yes, I can do this!). I have a question about the pink "automotive grease" that you used. I would like to order some of this online but I am overwhelmed by my "automotive grease" options when I searched. Can you tell me what I should buy? Thanks!

[@thejoyoffixing]

Something like this would be fine. a.co/d/0ex2fww0 Thanks for watching! Please subscribe.

[@Shibi_TKE]

@@thejoyoffixing Thank you for the link. I am a happy new subscriber... I'm sure that I will continue to learn plenty of useful things from you. :D

[@thejoyoffixing]

I’m no expert! But it’s fun to share! I’m glad you’ll be sticking around.

[@sigmathurtine]

what could you use if u dont have auto grease?

[@thejoyoffixing]

Not sure. I’d get the grease.