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geoffr · 31-08-2020, 16:17

Wondering if anyone has found a fix for Hellas turbo fan "squealing" - we have a number which I hate to use as they are so loud at certain angles.

**JPA Cate** · 31-08-2020, 18:59

Have you oiled them? The bearings may be wearing out, depending on their service hours. Neither one of our Hellas fans has ever squealed, but they do like a drop of sewing machine oil on the axle for the blades. Every 6 months or so, beginning and end of fan season, if you live aboard full time.

Ann

wsmurdoch · 31-08-2020, 19:17

Thank you for the suggestion Ann. I have the motor and its circuit board out of my Hella Turbo fan right now. (The 11 ohm resistor in it had burned up making it a one speed fan.) I just took the opportunity, picked it up, and put a drop of oil on each end of the motor shaft.

I have little squares of vinyl electrical tape on my blades to balance them and silence the rattle. I moved them around one night until I found their magic spots.

Bill

Nicholson58 · 31-08-2020, 19:26

If your fans have space add a felt washer between the fan and motor. Wet it with oil and it will lube the shaft for a long time.

**tkeithlu** · 01-09-2020, 04:48

Nicholson, that's a great suggestion that I had not heard before. I have a candidate wheelhouse fan to apply it to today. Thanks.

CarinaPDX · 01-09-2020, 11:39

IIRC the MTBF of the Hella Turbo is 2000 hours, and 1500 for the Jet. Oiling the bearing will help extend it but just keep in mind that they don't last long if used frequently. I used my Turbo to pull the hot air off the overhead and down into the saloon during the winter, and it only lasted two or three years. I have rigged a 120mm comiputer case fan to do the job and it has lasted decades. I buy the ones with bearings instead of bushings and they are rated for 40k-50k hours MTBF.

Greg

wsmurdoch · 01-09-2020, 12:36

When my Hella Turbo had failed, I took it apart and found the 11 ohm resistor that is used to slow the motor burned and the circuit board under it discolored. I replaced the resistor for about $0.50. I wonder what the terminal failure for this fan will be.

I also have a few 120mm 12V computer fans on the boat. One is mounted into a clear acrylic insert that fits into the opened port over the stove and serves as an exhaust fan when cooking. Another is mounted standing up on a 1/8" aluminum disk and is a sort of 'box fan' that goes where it is needed. Three smaller computer fans circulate the fridge and move cold air from the freezer to the fridge side of the box. They are much less expensive than the Hella and Caframo fans that I have.

Bill

singlespeed · 01-09-2020, 15:25

I can't figure out how my wife's and our cat's hair ends up around the axle, behind the blade. I usually pull the fan assembly twice a year and extract the hair and lube the bearing with silicone spray. That said I'm down to one Hella, the circuitboard always fails before the moto and wiring in a simple switch adds some time to the life of the fan.

I have had great success with 12VDC automobile clamp-on fans from auto parts stores. They usually come with male cigarette lighter plug ends. One that runs all night/every night from June to December is over ten years old, the other two are over seven years old and still work great. None cost more than US$17. All are one speed, you can select the option to auto rotate and I have no complaints.

geoffr · 01-09-2020, 15:34

Wow - thanks for all the replies.. my winter project will be to take them all apart and oil them

(I have replaced the cap in one of them as I wired it up backwards and let out the magic smoke

)

Mike Banks · 01-09-2020, 15:38

I use ordinary domestic el-cheapo fans which can be set to oscillate, they do not use much power, and I fit them through a cheap inverter on a common AC set of ducted wiring. the battery powered screamers are loud, hungry on battery and of comparatively short lifetime. The only DC fans I use are computer fans which ventilate the space under the sleeping berths. They use only a very small amount of power.