Lube a noisy fan?

[p_l]

One of my computers has a really noisy fan. I don't think I'd be able to find a replacement power supply (old HP Vectra), so I was wondering if there's a safe way to lube it.

[mh2360]

WD40?

It could be off-balance (caused by dust) or loose, or just waring out.

If you are able to safely open the PSU up, you should remove all traces of dust, or the WD40 will just make it into a sludge...

A replacement fan is another option, just a standard case fan will do, (making sure that the voltage and size matches your old one), probably cheaper than a can of WD40, but most PSU fans are soldered in rather than having a connector.

I suppose you could use a small terminal block if you are no good with an iron...

[nic2k4]

You can grease a fan bearing and it will magically become quiet again. Just peel the sticker off the fan hub, but don't remove it completely. There may be a rubber cap covering the hole, just lift it off. Use wheel bearing grease, anything else won't last more than a few weeks. Pack the hole full. If there was a cap, allow for the space taken by it. Make sure you remove any grease smears from the fan base and be carefull not to smear the sticker either. You can use alcohol to clean.

Now, you've taken the time to open a PSU and pull the fan out, why not go all the way and replace it? That way you won't have to do this again in two years. If you want to, youcan grease up the new fan before installing it.

Replacing the fan, you really don't want to try and solder it like the original. The easy way is to cut the wires near the fan and splice in the new one. You can solder the wires and use shrink tubing to insulate, don't use electric tape. Or you can use crimp connectors, you'll need 18-22 gauge kind. What ever you do make sure no bare metal is showing.

[redwudz]

You can lube them, but that just postpones the inevitable, a failed fan. What you do is to carefully feel around on the paper label side of the fan. Usually in the middle there is a slight depression you can feel through the label. If you punch a hole through the paper, you should be able to put a drop of oil in there. 3-in-one oil or WD-40 will work. 3-in-one works better, as you don't shoot oil everywhere.

Oil collects dust, so you don't need any extra on the exterior of the fan. Clean off any oil showing on the surface of the label with a dry paper towel, then isopropyl alcohol and a Q-tip or paper towel slightly damped with it. Then put a small piece of tape over the hole in the label to seal up the hole. I use a paper punch to cut out a small circle of tape. Electrical tape works well for this, as long as there is no oil on the label. Be gentle when touching the rotating part of the fan. You don't want to damage the bearings.

This will fix the fan temporarily. But only temporarily. I would order a replacement fan to have handy when it fails.

Most PS fans are 8CM, same as case fans, very common. Most use 2 conductor cables, some 3. If you replace it, use one with the same number of wires in the cable. As mentioned, you will usually find it would be better off replacing it instead of going to all the effort taking the PS apart and oiling it. You can cut the old wires and splice and solder the new fan to the old wires. I recommend using small pieces of 'shrink tube' to insulate the wire connection where you have soldered it. A few fans use a plug in connector, then the project becomes a little easier. Soldering irons, solder and shrink tubing are available at most any electronics store.

One note of caution when working in a power supply. It may be unplugged and there are no dangerous high voltages there, but there is the possibility of high currents from undischarged capacitors. Enough to melt the metal end off a screwdriver and destroy your power supply. Don't stick any metal objects in there.

[lordsmurf]

3-in-one oil or WD-40 will work.

As one of my friends likes to point out, WD-40 was made to prevent and treat rust. It is NOT a lubricant, and it will actually make matters worse as the WD-40 ages. You need to use OIL if you want to lubricate something.

All that said, ball-bearing fans used in electronics were made to be replaced, not repaired.

[redwudz]

A good point about WD-40, lordsmurf. I stand corrected. It has a solvent with it. (Probably kerosene and some rust preventatives) It also turns to gel at low temps. 3-in-one is a light machine oil. Neither is the best for fan bearings, as they probably originally used some sort of synthetic lube.

But light machine oil is readily available and will work for a short while. It will also penetrate into the small bearings better than a solid grease. The common reason bearings are noisy is that they are damaged because the oil leaked out. You can't fix that. Replacement is really the best option.

[LOWTECH]

I put a drop oil on my noisey fan every 2-3 months and kept it going for over a year, before finally getting a new fan .. but I could have kept it going longer, worth doing if you can`t replace the fan.

[ahhaa]

just fyi - noticed that Circuit City is now carrying a $20 Power Supply tester, dunno if its any good...

[Dr_Layne]

Sourece for HP Vectra PSU's if this helps any.

http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/HP,Computer,Power-Supply.aspx

A_L

[fritzi93]

If I may summarize:

1) Dirt can indeed unbalance a fan and make it noisy. (I have a regenerative air filtration system in my cabinet shop. It's when dirt builds to the point that clumps fall off that trouble starts, as it comes off unevenly). Cleaning is worth a try.

2) WD-40 is a decent solvent, fairly safe. (WD stands for Water Displacement). Useful for crud busting. But it's a lousy lubricant. As noted, it gels at low temperatures, but more to the point, it forms a varnish-like coating at high temperatures.

3) Plain old lithium grease is fine for packing bearings. It's doubtful however a fan as small as 80 mm can be practicably serviced. Dunno, seems like an awfully fiddly job.

[nic2k4]

Don't use lithium grease it gets thicker and gummy over time. I use plain bearing grease, the brown stuff, it works. I've used it on a CPU fan that runs 8 hours a day five days a week and it's been two years. I was rushed and figured that would buy me time to get a new fan. I thaught I'd wait until it started acting up again to replace it, I'm still waiting. Worked so well, I do it to new fans too.

redwudz, good point about the caution, sometimes I just take this stuff for granted.

[jagabo]

Fans are only a few bucks (unless it's a really odd size). Just replace it.

[p_l]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try, in this order:

1. Replace just the fan, if I can find one.
2. Replace the entire PSU, if I can find one in Canada.
3. Grease the fan. What kind of grease, lithium grease? Where do you get that?
4. Good old 3 in 1 Oil, carefully, to avoid splatter.

I agree that WD-40, from my experience, works better as a deruster than a lubricant. It lubes things up well in the short run, but it lasts a lot shorter than with 3 in 1.

How about graphite, like they sometimes use in door locks?

[ahhaa]

powdered graphite or spray silicone; if you can figure how to deliver it!:]

[nic2k4]

Microbyte has fans and they're all over the city, but any computer shop will have them too. Check Addison, Maddison or Add-tronic too. Don't bother with chains like futureshop unless you're into throwing money out the window. Canadian Tire has grease; get the wheel bearing kind or just go to your local garage and ask the mechanic. You can get used computer parts from "le PC recycle" (I think that's the name), they're on Begin near Cote-Vertu.

[p_l]

Thanks everybody, and thanks nic2k4 for the local info.

Turns out it wasn't a fan or the power supply at all. Upon closer inspection, it was a screechingly loud 100 GB WD HDD. It was functional, but it had just become so metal-on-metal loud in the past months it was driving me nuts. I just removed it as it wasn't the OS drive but a secondary drive for data backups and a Ghost image of the main drive.

But it's got me wondering: What causes an apparently functional drive to become so unbearably screeching loud?