Noisy ceiling fan

[stickshift]

I've got a noisy ceiling fan. Fan is at least a decade old. Can anyone ID the source of the noise by the sound? Motor bearings maybe?

Is this a relatively easy fix? If so, I'd rather fix than put it in a landfill. But fans are relatively inexpensive, so not worth spending a lot of time on.

Anyway, I figure GJ members have diagnosed their share of noisy ceiling fans.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Doesn't sound very loud in the video, but bearings are about the only thing that will make noise in an electric motor. Try lubricating it to see what happens.

 

[rharman]

Couldn't hear well but a common cause is a loose/slipped flywheel. Look at Google. Usually a quick repair.

I have one I need to check but it's on a 2nd floor ceiling in an area open all the way to the first floor floor. I need to rent a big stepladder as it's 18' or so high.

 

[SGKent]

if it is a Hunter it is probably worth repairing, and they probably have parts, but if it is a brand like Hampton Bay it is a throw away fan IMHO.

 

[Innovate1]

As others have noted it is likely either a bad bearing or a loose fan blade hub. I recently had one that I thought had a bad bearing. When I went to take it down I noticed the hub was loose on the shaft and could shift but not spin - the setscrew prevented it from spinning. I replaced the hub and it sounds fine now.

Bearing replacement is easy if you have an arbor press. They are pressed on the shaft. When you press on the new ones press only on the inner race with tubing or socket or similar. You don't want the press force to go through the balls as that can damage the bearing.

If you pull the shaft with bearings on it out and turn the outer race of the bearing by hand it should feel smooth. If it feels gritty the bearing is bad. With the fan assembled there is more inertia (flywheel effect) in the rotating assembly and you may not be able to feel the uneven drag of a bad bearing as it rotates.

 

[yeldogt]

Do you hear the noise when it's running on high? Sounds like motor hum ... electrical. If you hear it on high ... it's most likely the bearing.

What's controlling the speed? Internal or external speed control ?

With hunter they typically have an internal speed control (many fans are set up like that) -- if you have an external wall control -- the fan has to be on high to by-pass the internal. Ours will make a noise if someone uses the fans controller to slow it down.

We also have some fans from Modern Fan Company -- they don't have internal controls and when the wall controller is going they make that hum. New control needed.

Unless a high end fan they are not worth trying to fix