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Yeah.. I dont know if this belongs here, I coulnd´t find a proper stack exhange site for this but it sort of involves physics I guess so... yeah.

Basically, I have a ventilator, that after a few mins of functioning starts making this weird noise, like if the air is somehow trapped, and indeed the air flow is reduced considerably.

Feels like if something like a curtain got glued behind the fan, however there is nothing there.

No idea how to even approach this problem, all I know is that this sound comes along with an air flow reduction of about 75%, which sucks.

Any suggestion is very welcome.

Thanks.

This is the ventilator model: https://http2.mlstatic.com/D_NP_627075-MLA29187536462_012019-Q.jpg

Also if I turn it off and wait until the blades stop spinning, then turn it on again the problem goes away for a few seconds/minutes. It´s like it resets.

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    $\begingroup$ Might be caused by the motor heating up. Turn it off so it stops spinning but doesn't have time to cool down then turn it back on again and see if it still does it. $\endgroup$ Feb 8, 2019 at 3:23
  • $\begingroup$ If I turn it off and wait until the blades stop spinning and turn it on again the problem goes away, for a few mins until it comes back. $\endgroup$
    – Artemix
    Feb 8, 2019 at 13:46

2 Answers 2

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When a fan with a small AC motor in it like this one develops a "squeal" and slows down after running for a short time, it indicates that the motor bearings (usually porous bronze bushings saturated with oil) are worn out or that they need to be cleaned out and relubricated with oil.

You will find a piece of felt surrounding each motor bearing which is soaked with light machine oil (SAE 10 typically) at the factory. The felt feeds oil into the porous structure of the bronze bushing to maintain the space between the motor shaft and the bushing wet with oil. When the oil is all used up, the bearing goes dry and begins to squeal or "chatter". If you stop the fan, it gives the remaining oil a chance to seep into the bearing which lubricates it for a short time; the fan then runs normally for a short time and then starts squealing again, etc.

Using a small oil can full of SAE 10 motor oil, carefully drip some oil onto the exposed portion of the felt block or (if you are lucky) into the oil fill pipe sticking out of the bushing (on more expensive types of motor). Continue adding oil until the felt wick no longer soaks it up, and test the fan.

If the squeal stops, you are good. If it does not, the bushings are worn out and the motor must be replaced.

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  • $\begingroup$ This makes sense but it kind of goes against 2 things, 1, the change in airflow happens immediately, not a split second passes after I hear this "turbulence" sound. Second, doesn't seem like the RPM of the fan are getting lower, feels like its the same speed. $\endgroup$
    – Artemix
    Feb 9, 2019 at 13:26
  • $\begingroup$ then I cannot guess what is happening. are you running the heat at the same time as the fan? $\endgroup$ Feb 9, 2019 at 18:24
  • $\begingroup$ What do you mean by running the heat?, like if the fan is to distribute hot air? in that case no. $\endgroup$
    – Artemix
    Feb 11, 2019 at 12:34
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Possibly it stalls, an aviation term. It means the angle of attack of the fan blades is too much and they creates turbulence as opposed to blowing the air.

You can try to gently reduce the blades' pitch by bending the attack edge of the blades slightly flatter.


Edit

A prominent symptom of stall is delayed vibration. All the signs points to the fan stalling and because of worn bushing going into a wild vibration. If you can open the safety cage, try to reduce the angle of attack of the blades as in my answer.

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