Life cycle of small fans.

[AngelofDarkness]

I have a setup of two portable fans for my wood stove. The stove is located in a side porch adjacent to my kitchen because it was the only practical place to put it. The larger fan is a 20" multispeed fan that blows cold house air into the room with the stove through a window from the dining room. This keeps the room under positive pressure and keeps a lot of the hot air away from the 9 foot ceiling. The smaller fan is a 10" Lasko that blows air directly across the stove to increase heat transfer. The setup seems to work well, I can circulate heat into my home fairly efficiently, the only concern I have is I am putting a lot of hours on these fans, they run all the time, and I am afraid of one dying on me mid winter. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, they're not expensive new, but most stores here do not carry fans in January, so I would be a bit out of luck. I thought maybe a squirt of WD-40 might prolong their life.

 

[chowdozer]

I have a setup of two portable fans for my wood stove. The stove is located in a side porch adjacent to my kitchen because it was the only practical place to put it. The larger fan is a 20" multispeed fan that blows cold house air into the room with the stove through a window from the dining room. This keeps the room under positive pressure and keeps a lot of the hot air away from the 9 foot ceiling. The smaller fan is a 10" Lasko that blows air directly across the stove to increase heat transfer. The setup seems to work well, I can circulate heat into my home fairly efficiently, the only concern I have is I am putting a lot of hours on these fans, they run all the time, and I am afraid of one dying on me mid winter. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, they're not expensive new, but most stores here do not carry fans in January, so I would be a bit out of luck. I thought maybe a squirt of WD-40 might prolong their life.

Those fans probably have bushings in them which is going to be their downfall. It might be worthwhile to look at industrial fans with actual bearings. I have the little Stanley squirrel cage and I like it. Small and moves alot of air.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

I have seen that little fan it would be good for moving air across the stove itself. It's a bit pricy but may be worth it. The little Lasko I have now is over 10 years old and has been use and abused, the larger one was new on clearance this fall at Lowes. I thought about replacing the larger one with a furnace-typo blower and control it with a Tstat and relay setup but I am afraid it would use too much electricity.

 

[JackD_ME]

Start looking for another 20" right off if you have concerns about a failure. I was recently running two, one in- one out-, and one of mine just quit!
I told the wife to keep an eye out, like you said...they don't cost much!

 

[Ole Farmerbuck]

I thought maybe a squirt of WD-40 might prolong their life.

I used wd-40 on the end of my electric string trimmer once. And once was all!! It caught fire when i pulled the trigger-so much for the trimmer.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

I have seen the Stanley blower, it is quiet and moves a lot of air, but I don't think any of the "box" stores carry them right now. They're only about $30, not as much as I had thought. The propeller fans that move decent air are noisy, the little 10" I have on High is quite annoying and on Low doesn't move enough air to make it worthwhile.

 

[JackD_ME]

I used wd-40 on the end of my electric string trimmer once. And once was all!! It caught fire when i pulled the trigger-so much for the trimmer.

That's some funny shhhtuff right there!
Amazing the don't warn you WD-40 has propane in it.

 

[Locoweed]

If you have any mechanical skills, take them apart at the end of the heating season, clean out the dust and lube the bushings with oil, not WD40

The fan I use for circulating the heat through out the house is still going strong after 10 years of service.

 

[StihltheOne]

I use the little Stanley fan on the stove with excellent results! I just wish that they had variable speed instead of 3 speed fan switch. Harbor Freight carries a china made fan that is a copycat for about $25. I also use a Vornado pedestal behind the stove for mucho air movement. They are a bit pricey, but very, very quiet and will last for years, I think mine is 4 years of continuous use from Nov to April. Bullet proof

 

[paladin]

I use two house hold fans to move my air around ones a lasko the other holmes a dual window fan, they are about 5-6 yrs old and are still going I blow them out once or twice a yr. On my setup I have them on timers and set them so they arent running all the time. When I go to work I know my burner will make good heat for about 6+ hrs. so I set the timer then it is not running when not need it gives the fans a break. I also keep a extra fan for back up,but if you need a fan in the winter you can go to alot of the big box stores and they might dig one out if they have one. Also you could check your local hardware store if they have one they should dig one out for you but easest to have a back up.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

I looked for the little Stanley blower locally here and they do not stock it until spring. I might shop around a bit over the summer and find a couple fans that really move a lot of air. I might check Amazon too, they should stock that stuff year round.

I have a blower from a gas furnace but I think it would be overkill even on Low and it would start to run up my electric bill.

 

[scottr]

SAE 20 Electric Motor Oil

If you have any mechanical skills, take them apart at the end of the heating season, clean out the dust and lube the bushings with oil, not WD40

The fan I use for circulating the heat through out the house is still going strong after 10 years of service.

3 in 1 has a 20W oil for electric motors that comes in a blue can. http://doitbest.com/Grease+and+Lubricants-WD40+Co-model-10145-doitbest-sku-575407.dib

 

[AngelofDarkness]

I have this Zoom-Spout general purpose oil for motors and bearings, it's quite a bit heavier than WD-40. Both fans I have use shaded pole motors so I can really pour the stuff on without worrying about fouling a centrifugal switch, as long as I keep the oil out of the speed control.

I looked at fans on Amazon, there's this Vornado room air circulator that looks pretty cool, I might just save my money and get the Stanley blower, it's about $65 but would really move some CFM's. At least now I know if a fan goes down in February I can get one in a few days from Amazon.

 

[gtstang462002]

how about one of those convection fans that actually uses the heat energy to power the fan itself. It sits right on top of the woodstove for optimum performance.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

I have seen those convection fans, but I don't think they will move enough air to do much, and they're about $100. I don't just need to circulate air, I need to move it in a certain direction.

 

[aokpops]

those little motors use 3 an 1 oil .I got 1 thats going 20 years .just give it few drops a year . don,t use wd 40 as permanent lube .its just for breaking rusty metal loose .

 

[AngelofDarkness]

those little motors use 3 an 1 oil .I got 1 thats going 20 years .just give it few drops a year . don,t use wd 40 as permanent lube .its just for breaking rusty metal loose .

Only problem is they all have sealed, maintenance-free bearings. There is no easy way to get oil into them.

I had always thought that bearings you have to lubricate will always outlast sealed bearings as long as you maintain them.