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FRONTPAGE Keep 'Em Spinning: How To Lubricate PC Fans

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There's no value in trying to extend ball-bearing life? Or, are these bearings sealed so the oil would just sit there or wind up in the motor? I was thinking sewing machine oil could seep in slowly and extend life. Not that I'm against your input. Hell, it could save me a few hours of peeling stickers and oiling :)

Thanks :)
 
There's no value in trying to extend ball-bearing life? Or, are these bearings sealed so the oil would just sit there or wind up in the motor? I was thinking sewing machine oil could seep in slowly and extend life. Not that I'm against your input. Hell, it could save me a few hours of peeling stickers and oiling :)

Thanks :)

Ordinary fans, we should oil them. Gentle Typhoons, for example are moderately priced fans that often seem to function more smoothly with some added oil, perhaps some heavier grade stuff. OTOH, with Delta and San Ace, the list prices are double that of GT's. They are simply better-manufactured fans. If you can get at the oil pits, go for it. If not, don't sweat it.

You could get a nice pointy Xacto Knife and slice a partial circle through the label around the pit. Then drip a tiny bit into the well. Then cover it and seal the lesion with a carefully-cut patch of packing tape. Heat guns cause label shrinkage on plastic labels, so I disrecommend using one of those.
 
Thanks for posting this up. I have 4x yate high speed 140s in my main rig and 2 of them very clearly are not turning as freely as the others so this is just what the doctor ordered!
 
Ordinary fans, we should oil them. Gentle Typhoons, for example are moderately priced fans that often seem to function more smoothly with some added oil, perhaps some heavier grade stuff. OTOH, with Delta and San Ace, the list prices are double that of GT's. They are simply better-manufactured fans..

I ended up doing my Deltas last night with a TW25-B lithium gun grease. Oh wow they seem to run a bit better now.
 
If you had a lot of fans you might find one with a plug that fit. Alternately, you can use 91% alcohol or acetone or fingernail polish remover to clean the surface of the fan, then lay the label down with rubber cement. Fill up the reservoir before you lay down the label. The leakage is a feature of many sleeve bearing fans.

I don't have any other fans, but I pulled out the plug and found a little red o-ring that was just sitting to the side, obviously out of place. I didn't know what to do with it, so I put it back directly in the middle after I refilled with oil. I then pushed the plug in as hard as I could, maybe it is in tight enough to stop the leaking. I cleaned up the excess oil and stuck the sticker back. I do hear a very, very faint clicking noise on occasion when listening directly to the fan (ear is literally right in front of it). It's not even as loud as my HDD, and no, I am not hearing the HDD, this was definitely the fan. It's not loud enough to be heard from any distance, and it's not constant, it will only happen once every 5-10 seconds and has no pattern at all. I don't know if it will get worse, but I will keep an eye on that fan... or an ear... and will check the oil often and refill it. I'm hoping it won't become any more of a problem. Thanks for the tips ehume!
 
Doesn't always work

Hi,

I had some Scythe Gentle Typhoons. One AP13 and one AP15.

I applied sewing machine oil to both of them and they both became noticeably louder :(
 
Hi,

I had some Scythe Gentle Typhoons. One AP13 and one AP15.

I applied sewing machine oil to both of them and they both became noticeably louder :(

Very interesting. One could speculate that the difference is between sleeve bearing and ball bearing fans.

I would recommend trying motor oil. It is thicker. If the fans don't get quieter, we will learn something.
 
Hi,
Very interesting. One could speculate that the difference is between sleeve bearing and ball bearing fans.

I would recommend trying motor oil. It is thicker. If the fans don't get quieter, we will learn something.
Thanks for the quick reply. It would be really great if I could rescue the fans! :)

I don't have any motor oil handy as I don't service my own car, but a previous post said something about using vegetable oil.

I have olive oil and sesame oil, the sesame oil being thicker than olive oil. Not knowing the difference in viscosity between motor oil and vegetable oil. Do you think I should try the thicker sesame oil or the 'medium' olive oil?

Would the thicker sesame oil mix with the lighter machine oil and create something in between?
 
Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. It would be really great if I could rescue the fans! :)

I don't have any motor oil handy as I don't service my own car, but a previous post said something about using vegetable oil.

I have olive oil and sesame oil, the sesame oil being thicker than olive oil. Not knowing the difference in viscosity between motor oil and vegetable oil. Do you think I should try the thicker sesame oil or the 'medium' olive oil?

Would the thicker sesame oil mix with the lighter machine oil and create something in between?

Although I have seen another person or two recommend vegetable oil, I wouldn't use it. It will eventually decompose. It's organic, after all.

Instead, ask around. maybe a friend or at a gas station. After all, even with two fans, an eyedropper would hold more than enough.
 
i saved my laptop fan by taking it appart and cleaning it and re oiling it, it was completely locked up and had a ton of black chunks that came out of it, the laptop was free :D not bad for a c2d netbook with 2gb of ram :) was also missing he f key from the keyboard so i pulled off the page down and popped it in its place. perfect timing because my acer one just stopped working like two days before :D

a good alternative is transmission fluid thats what i use on the fans at work because our mechanics shop is attached to our offices. i work for a construction company that has their own semi's and large construction equipment. ive also used 75-90 gear lube.
 
Could always take the fan out to your car, pull out the dipstick out like you were checking the engine oil and use that to put a drop on the bearing.
I'd do it fairly soon after you get your oil changed, don't need a bunch of carbon fines in it.
If you're not familiar with the dipstick location / checking the oil on your car, I highly recommend you become so!
(I'm an auto mechanic, a lot of people don't know how to check their oil, or do in theory but don't actually check it. Don't be one of those people!)

I've had excellent luck with automatic transmission fluid (dexron-III / mercon) myself. Largely because that's what I had on hand.
Used 20w50 on my Fiance's laptop, as that's what I had on hand when they fan ate it.
 
Hi,
Could always take the fan out to your car, pull out the dipstick out like you were checking the engine oil and use that to put a drop on the bearing.
I'd do it fairly soon after you get your oil changed, don't need a bunch of carbon fines in it.
If you're not familiar with the dipstick location / checking the oil on your car, I highly recommend you become so!
(I'm an auto mechanic, a lot of people don't know how to check their oil, or do in theory but don't actually check it. Don't be one of those people!)

I've had excellent luck with automatic transmission fluid (dexron-III / mercon) myself. Largely because that's what I had on hand.
Used 20w50 on my Fiance's laptop, as that's what I had on hand when they fan ate it.

I did think of it but the car is about 3 months away from its yearly service so I wouldn't want to contaminate the bearing with any dirty oil from the car.

I have already put 3 drops of the sewing machine oil into the fans. I am a little worried about putting too much oil into the fan and it spewing out inside the fan and making things worse.

But I will see if I can get some 20w50 oil :)

Thanks for your experiences.
 
Hi,

I did think of it but the car is about 3 months away from its yearly service so I wouldn't want to contaminate the bearing with any dirty oil from the car.

I have already put 3 drops of the sewing machine oil into the fans. I am a little worried about putting too much oil into the fan and it spewing out inside the fan and making things worse.

But I will see if I can get some 20w50 oil :)

Thanks for your experiences.

yearly service? :eek: should be 4 services a year or more!

looks like we have something in common bobnova :D i was a semi mechanic fora few years an i still go out in the shop and help every once and a while, mostly with electrical stuff now though
 
yearly service? :eek: should be 4 services a year or more!

looks like we have something in common bobnova :D i was a semi mechanic fora few years an i still go out in the shop and help every once and a while, mostly with electrical stuff now though

I'm hoping the oil is getting changed more often than yearly!
That said, it's a fan thread rather than an oil change thread :chair:
 
Hi,
Used 20w50 on my Fiance's laptop, as that's what I had on hand when they fan ate it.
I've been documenting my build here

Anyway, using an ipad and an app (db meter pro - default settings) to measure the dba levels:

Scythe AP-15 mounted as top fan of Lian-Li PC-Q08 case, at 0cm.

At 750rpm, it was originally 65.5dba, after three drops of sewing oil it was 69 dba, after three drops of 10-40w oil it is 71dba
At 1600rpm, it was originally 73dba, after sewing oil it was 79 dba, after 10-40w oil it is 81dba

So, unfortunately, this hasn't worked for me :(

As a comparison, the Scythe AP-13 was originally measuring 61dba @460rpm and 65.5dba @ 1050rpm, and I was trying to make the Scythe AP-15 match the AP-13 sound levels.
 
Hi,
I've been documenting my build here

Anyway, using an ipad and an app (db meter pro - default settings) to measure the dba levels:

Scythe AP-15 mounted as top fan of Lian-Li PC-Q08 case, at 0cm.

At 750rpm, it was originally 65.5dba, after three drops of sewing oil it was 69 dba, after three drops of 10-40w oil it is 71dba
At 1600rpm, it was originally 73dba, after sewing oil it was 79 dba, after 10-40w oil it is 81dba

So, unfortunately, this hasn't worked for me :(

As a comparison, the Scythe AP-13 was originally measuring 61dba @460rpm and 65.5dba @ 1050rpm, and I was trying to make the Scythe AP-15 match the AP-13 sound levels.

those meters on those apps are terribly inaccurate not to mention all the variables that could be changed by just the angle of the mic / inches of distance. those DB's are more than likely ambient noise, as im sure that is alot higher than those fans do.
 
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