question about fan lubricant..

i read a thread a few mos back that talked about using fan lubricants on older fans. some guy sugested wd-40 but he was opposed because it supposedly turned into a goo after a few months.. so anyone here know what would be a good lubricant/spray for fans? some electronics lubricant or something ? names please if u kno nething

tnx

Yeah, dont use WD 40 thats not good at all. Use pnuematics tool lubricant or something, I think like WD-5 or something may be fine also

I've been using the lube from my R/C car racing day's, works great, it's designed for miniture high speed bearing's. Can found at most hobby stores that deal with R/C cars, planes, and heli's.

any viscus (think) luricant will do, the thinner ones are usally designed for cleaning rather then lubricaton becuase they run off and evaporate easilly.

I've used both 3in1 oil and motor oil on fans with good success. A reasonably thick lubricant is good, but too thick and your fans will stick when trying to start. I find thicker oils go too gummy after a while. I have tried using WD40 myself and can attest that it is inadequate in this application, it might work good at first, but give it a week or two and your fans will sound worse than before you used it. Continued application seems to bring about rapid death.

It's funny burner mentioned RC car lubricant, I saw the title of this thread and my thoughts suddenly turned to that type of lubricant, slot car fans have special small motor lubricants that may be good also.

Some people here I have seen advocate silicone grease. Now there are special light greases that may do a good job, but just thinking "grease is good" will probably land you with fans that don't start at power up, I think you have to be careful about what type you use. Having tried some greases before I am aware that there are problems with some types, I have not myself used one I can recommend. I think there are light silicone greases in the RC car field that would probably be most suitable. So anyone who has used a silicone grease with success, should please report the exact brand and type.

Road Warrior

Sewing machine oil.

I've had pretty good results from Tri-Flow, which has Teflon particles in it. It doesn't evaporate and get gummy like so many other general purpose lubricants do.

oh cool , tnx for replies, ill go see in the hobby shop(since theres one near here) for some oil.

I have some graphite based oil that is perfect for small bearings. Used it back in my R/C racing days.

I've had really good luck using pure undiluted Slick auto engine treatment additive. Lubed a vacuum cleaner motor a few years back that was squealing it was so dry, and its still running fine. Had similiar good results with smaller motors. And, if you can find an empty bottle of this stuff, there's usually enough residue in it to lube many, many, devices..

teflon based lube for me.

Even if the carrier liquid dries up/wears away, everything is still coated with super slick teflon.

i use dura-lube (as seen on TV)
probly not the best, but does the job