My used Breckwell Big E was starting to make a squeak from the convection fan last week. So I pulled the fan, and sprayed the bearings with some teflon lubricant. after this the fan spun very free. So free in fact that I could tell the squirrel cage fan had a pronounced heavy spot. I figured it ran like this for three years, so it would be OK.
It's been running for a week, and it's back to normal with no squeak. But this unit as had a slight vibration since I got it. Every now and then it vibrates hard enough that the side panels and cover start to rattle.
Seeing that I have some time off and I'm hanging around the house, I thought I'd see what I could do about the rattle. I suspected the convection blower was the source of the vibration, so I started there. On closer inspection it became obvious that the cause of the vibration was the set screw that holds the fan onto the motor shaft. I thought a zip tie on the fan blade might be a good way to offset the imbalance. First I tried a tiny zip tie on the blade opposite the set screw. A quick spin of the fan blade showed that this wasn't enough weight. I cut that one off, and replaced it with a moderate sized zip tie. Pulled it tight to the fan blade, cut off the excess, and gave it a spin. This looked pretty good, so I buttoned her up, and fired it off.
The improvement is incredible. The vibration is nearly imperceptible, and the fan is incredibly quiet. On my normal setting I can't even hear the convection fan over the exhaust fan. On high it's still quieter than it was on my normal setting.
If you have vibration, or loud fans, and you're a little handy, you should check the balance of your fans. I know I'm going to check my exhaust fan next time I have it out for cleaning.
Ken
It's been running for a week, and it's back to normal with no squeak. But this unit as had a slight vibration since I got it. Every now and then it vibrates hard enough that the side panels and cover start to rattle.
Seeing that I have some time off and I'm hanging around the house, I thought I'd see what I could do about the rattle. I suspected the convection blower was the source of the vibration, so I started there. On closer inspection it became obvious that the cause of the vibration was the set screw that holds the fan onto the motor shaft. I thought a zip tie on the fan blade might be a good way to offset the imbalance. First I tried a tiny zip tie on the blade opposite the set screw. A quick spin of the fan blade showed that this wasn't enough weight. I cut that one off, and replaced it with a moderate sized zip tie. Pulled it tight to the fan blade, cut off the excess, and gave it a spin. This looked pretty good, so I buttoned her up, and fired it off.
The improvement is incredible. The vibration is nearly imperceptible, and the fan is incredibly quiet. On my normal setting I can't even hear the convection fan over the exhaust fan. On high it's still quieter than it was on my normal setting.
If you have vibration, or loud fans, and you're a little handy, you should check the balance of your fans. I know I'm going to check my exhaust fan next time I have it out for cleaning.
Ken
