I recently purchased a Central Equipment shop fan at Harbor Freight and after an hour the motor housing was hot enough to burn your hand if you touched it. Thinking that possibly it had a bad winding or something of that nature and being concerned that it was a fire hazard I returned to the store and they swapped it out for a replacement when I brought the replacement home I plugged the motor in by itself before assembling the fan and allowed the motor to run on low speed for an hour and again I could not touch the case. Any suggestions as to what may be causing the motor case to become that hot when it is new and not only the first one but the second one as well? Anything that I can do Rectify that? All suggestions appreciated thank you
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Shop fan motor getting super hot
- Thread starter nuname60
- Start date
RandyJ
Member
Probably should not run it without the fan as the moving air helps cool it .. but sounds like that model gets to warm to touch even with the fan.
I don't know how hot is too hot for that motor.
I don't know how hot is too hot for that motor.
the nature of the beast . motors do get hot . what electric motor can you touch after an hour of running and not burn yourself?
The assembed fan also go hot and the motor itself got hot enough to melt the Styrofoam it was packed in. I would say that is abnormally hot. It wasn't smoking by it wasn't far from it. The motor does not appear to have an internal fan to draw air in and the from is sealed anyway air cannot pass through the motor. I can't see the windings lasting very long in a motor that gets that hot.
nadogail
Well-known member
Be glad that your motor is guaranteed. The air flowing past the motor is supposed to adequately cool it. Some motors are rated for a 70 degree Celsius temperature rise, that is 158 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wasn't aware of that. My concern was it possibly causing a fire if left unattended. What causes such intense heat after even a short 20 minutes? The fan pperates just fine but its way past warm to the touch like most electric motors. Its like the exhaust manifold on my truck after a run to the store. Considering the drip in product quality that we have seen since covid, would you recommend something like high temp sickle grease on the shaft internally?
RandyJ
Member
Most of the heat is probably caused by the electrical and magnetic energy being used in the motor, unless there is a defect where some parts are rubbing that are not supposed too or are the bearings tight.
With the fan off, does the fan turn easily by hand or is it binding or do the bearings seem tight?
I looked at some reviews on HF site for what I think is that fan, a couple of reviews did mention that the motor gets hot.
With the fan off, does the fan turn easily by hand or is it binding or do the bearings seem tight?
I looked at some reviews on HF site for what I think is that fan, a couple of reviews did mention that the motor gets hot.
RandyJ
Member
You might also let it run for a bit and see if the shaft spins freely, (that it is not binding up after it gets warm).
It should be completely assembled because the mounting may provide some heat sinking effect.
It is supposed to have a thermal fuse built into the circuit inside the motor in contact with the windings that is supposed to open, (blow), if the temp gets too high .. Sometimes the fuse will fail without an overheat situation, (just age or defective).
It should be completely assembled because the mounting may provide some heat sinking effect.
It is supposed to have a thermal fuse built into the circuit inside the motor in contact with the windings that is supposed to open, (blow), if the temp gets too high .. Sometimes the fuse will fail without an overheat situation, (just age or defective).
RandyJ
Member
If you sort the reviews on the HF site by lowest rating you can see the bad ratings at top, (but that is the way it is for all products).
I did look on Amazon, they have a 30" shop fan, ( K Tool International 77730, but it maxes out at 5,320 CFM).
I don't know, but it seems the fan you have has a much more powerful motor and makes more heat.
I can understand your concern, you wanted a fan not a heater.
I did look on Amazon, they have a 30" shop fan, ( K Tool International 77730, but it maxes out at 5,320 CFM).
I don't know, but it seems the fan you have has a much more powerful motor and makes more heat.
I can understand your concern, you wanted a fan not a heater.
Randy the first fan turned easily and no binding was noticed. Operation was normal and the extreme heat was not noticed until I tried to change the direction of the fan by turning the housing. Wow. Both fans assembled and non assembled got just as hot. There is no airflow through the motor as the front of the housing is sealed. Housing only vented in the back. Guess I put it together and just use it. Just wondered if it is unusual to get hot enough to melt Styrofoam. I was thinking of opening the housing and making sure the bushings are well greased with high temp silicone maybe 650 degree drop point and letting it wear in and was also thinking about the power draw this thing must have. Other than this unusual trait the fan is absolutely kick ****. Thanks for your input. This is a great place to share tech knowledge. Thanks much