OUsnakebyte March 9, 2004 March 9, 2004 Well, one of my fans that sits in my canopy has started to freeze up. It would take only a little WD-40 to fix it, but after doing a search on RC, I'm starting to think it would be a bad idea. After all, it's a $10 fan vs. all my livestock... Anyone have any experience with this? Any 'reef safe' alternatives...?
Sph2sail March 10, 2004 March 10, 2004 definately buy the new fan. -or- fully remove it from your hood. wd40 it. run it in for several days or so to get rid of any possibility of the wd40 hitting your tank water. re-install it. somehow, I don't think it is worth the time/risk. my 2 cents. s
OUsnakebyte March 10, 2004 Author March 10, 2004 Nah, I don't either. I got home today and added a drop of olive oil (all I could find in the cabinets) and it sped right up. I wiped off all the excess I could, but I am letting it run outside the canopy for a day or two. I'm just gonna keep it as a back up in case the new one I buy ever goes out. Thanks! Mike
xeon March 10, 2004 March 10, 2004 On a hunch... does it have a sleeve bearing? Sleeve bearing fans just don't have the life of a ball bearing fan and are prone to seizing. Depending on the environment a ball bearing fan can run ~ 50% longer. To top it all off the lubrication in sleeve bearing is much more prone to evaporation... which will make your fan seize and need lubing. The only good thing I can think about sleeve bearing fans are low cost and the lower speed fans are actually quieter than their precision cousins. IMO the cost is a wash with life and they get louder with age... before they fail.
OUsnakebyte March 10, 2004 Author March 10, 2004 At the risk of showcasing my ignorance... I don't know. Upon closer inspection, it looks like it is probably a sleeve (just by guessing what a sleeve bearing would look like - again, more ignorance...). It has been a very quiet, effective fan - which is why I have liked it. The first two computer fans I bought sounded like I was running jet engines under my hood. It is just one of those clip on desk fans that I took the guard off so it would fit next to my halides. For the next one I buy, I will specifically check for ball bearings. Thanks!
Grav March 11, 2004 March 11, 2004 olive oil was what I was going to say... you are brilliant for thinking up the same idea I had... go with something more bio-digradable and less petrolium based.
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