Oiling a fan?

[herbage11]

Think I saw in a thread once that you can use oil to quiet fans down. Removeing sticker etc. Mine are not loud but I am curious what oil do you use? Where do you get it? Thanks all.

 

[DukeChestnut]

most ppl use wd-40

 

[herbage11]

cool thanks....got some slick 50 that should work well.

 

[erikiksaz]

WD40 is not a good idea, as i've heard. I heard it's a de-greaser. It might work temporarily, but that's about it. Use some real oil.

 

[Jerboy]

<< cool thanks....got some slick 50 that should work well. >>




Use high stress ball bearing oil. I use skate bearing oil(got them at sports store). If they work for my blades, it should work well on my fan too.

 

[Blain]

I use 3-In-One oil (light). I reseal the bearings with some aluminum foil duct tape. The foil duct tape also works very well attaching fans to heatsinks, in case you can't use screws.
A huge roll of the stuff sells for around $7 at Home Depot & Lowes.

Yes, Walmart has the foil tape too It's in the paint department, with a bunch of other tapes.

 

[herbage11]

Anyone ever found some at Walmart? I dont have a Home Depot, Lowes, or skateboard shop around. Thanks

 

[herbage11]

<< WD40 is not a good idea, as i've heard. I heard it's a de-greaser. It might work temporarily, but that's about it. Use some real oil. >>



And what edactly is real oil?

 

[DukeChestnut]

i thought wd-40 was a lubricant tho...

if not that then maybe packing it with grease. thats wut i think would work. like a grease for car joints. the steering mech gets grease.

 

[conlan]

A very small amount of sewing machine oil has worked for me in the past, however, when fans start making noise, usually you are just delaying the inevitable.

 

[Woody419]

WD-40 is not straight oil, it also has other volatile chemicals that make it penetrate deeper and quicker than pure oil. When the other chemicals evaporate it leaves a sticky gunky film that attracts dust and dirt.

Sewing machine oil, air tool oil, electric motor bearing oil, are all high quality oil you can use on fan bearings. If a fan starts to get noisy the bearings are already shot and you need a new fan. The oil will extend its life so it won't freeze up, but it will never be as quiet as when new. If a new fan has noisy bearings, oil it, then replace it soon.

 

[herbage11]

That is what I had heard. Now I remember. Sewing machine oil. May have to see if Walmart has some of that. Thanks for your help all.

 

[herbage11]

Actually my fans are fine and new. Was thinking down the road or about oiling them now for preventative maitainence. Necessary?

 

[greeneagle79]

I tried it using 1 drop of motor oil, dont see any difference.

 

[WarCon]

Probably not going to quiet them down any, but as preventative maintenance "who knows". I oil noisy fans with prolong (got a microlube with a prolong kit and I love the fine point oiler) and that really helps and if you mean by "prolong"ing the inevitable that it stops the noise and makes them run like new again then yes....... I haven't ever had a fan that I prolonged fail or make noise again. Maybe I have just been lucky.

I have heard some people get some level of noise reduction by using rubber washers between the fans and whatever you mount them to.

 

[Howard]

I once used canola oil. It worked!

Grommets, my friend, grommets. If you are a dumbass and don't have any on hand, you can use glue gun to attach fans.

 

[Floydian]

Where do you find grommets? I can never find them

What section of what stores?

Thanks!

 

[Woody419]

<< Where do you find grommets? I can never find them

What section of what stores?

Thanks! >>



Grommets=rubber washers
Look in the plumbing department of your local hardware store.

 

[Skawttey]

Radio Shack also sells gromets. Or you could cur a fan-shaped gasket out of an old mouse pad.

 

[herbage11]

Cool...there is a use for those junk mousepads....lol

 

[Olias]

FYI: The WD in WD-40 stands for water displacement and is better for cleaning caked-up greese and oil. I would NOT recommend using it as a lubercation solution. More than likely, it will remove what ever oil is left in your fan bearing.

 

[herbage11]

OK thanks for the heads up....Was not too sure on WD-40...thanks

 

[Blain]

Thanks for the info Dan

 

[sodcha0s]

BTW, just because a fan starts to make noise does NOT mean the bearings are shot, at least not on these little dinky computer fans. Dirt is usually the culprit. I have had a few of them get loud on me and have never had to replace any of them, just blew them out and added a drop of 3in1 light motor oil. Fixes 'em right up...