Vornado fan

[GenesisGuy70]

I’ve got a Vornado fan, I believe it’s a 633, that we use at night for the ambient noise. I’ve noticed recently that it’s started to speed up and then slow down and repeat. It’s almost like it’s getting a surge of power and then it draws back down. It’s not dirty and I clean it regularly. If it wasn’t a $50 fan I’d just toss it and get a new one but it wasn’t cheap so I’m trying to figure it out before I go through the hassle of trying to get it warrentied. One thing online said that the switch for hi-med-lo could be arcing?

 

[wrcsixeight]

Open it up.

Check the splices on the 3 wires. Crimp nuts or wire nuts are widely employed in these applications, and somebody in Asia could have been having a bad day on the day it was assembled.

Get some Caig Deoxit on the switch contacts and cycle them a few times. Caig DeOxit is magic electrical juice. Nothing else in the contact cleaner world compares.

http://caig.com/deoxit-d-series/

Try some on your phone's chargng port. Egad it now clicks into place and charges faster!

It often works when it seems impossible that it could possibly do anything to solve a specific electrical issue.

 

[Nick1994]

Try another outlet on a different circuit?

And if you live in an apartment complex, is there another plug somewhere else you can try?

 

[Audios]

Ive thrown 3 of these fans out recently, I really think quality is going downhill. I had a small bookshelf fan by them, about the size of 2 books together, and the motor did the same thing. I took it all apart and the motor housing was completely filled with dirt and dust, no grease on the bearings. Fan was only about 3 years old also. Tried lubing and no change. Might be the windings in the motor, or play in the bearings. The screws are very cheap, I stripped the heads right off of the 2 on the motor case, pretty much crumbled in my hand.

 

[Tahoe4Life]

I am using a WindMachine and a Cyclone fan for ambient noise. The WindMachine is 12 years and runs every night of the week. I take at least one of them when I am on the road as it helps me sleep better in hotels.

 

[circuitsmith]

It might just need oiling.
The "lifetime" bearings have wicks that eventually dry out.
The oil can thicken.
This Vornado has been in my family since 1959.
No problems other than a new cord in the 1980's.

 

[Rand]

how much is a 5oz can of that deoxit d? looks like $15 is a good price?

 

[IndyIan]

Added a new fridge or freezer to the house? Maybe they are on the same circuit? A significant amperage draw on the same circuit(or maybe for your whole house, if you've got a lower amp service) will lower voltage a bit and change the speed of the fan.

 

[Audios]

Originally Posted By: circuitsmith
It might just need oiling.
The "lifetime" bearings have wicks that eventually dry out.
The oil can thicken.
This Vornado has been in my family since 1959.
No problems other than a new cord in the 1980's.




I want this!!!!! So classy

 

[JamesBond]

We have a Honeywell 8 inch fan in a similar configuration that will change speed slightly when the microwave is on so maybe the fridge or window ac or something is dragging it down a little. If it's not that you may need to clean it out and oil the bearings. This basically involves taking the whole thing apart and adding some oil to the felt things around the bearing (or bushing or whatever the correct term is.) I clean and oil ours at least every 6 months and it always seems to move much more air afterwards.

 

[sleddriver]

I have a Vornado 610 3-speed with a similar issue. On medium, it'll start very slowly, then gradually speed up, then sometimes slow down. RPM can also vary with tilt angle. Low & high are fine.

I called to inquire and was told the motor was defective. That's odd. Some AC motors use capacitors to vary speed. Not sure if this one does it or not. They wouldn't warranty it so I didn't send it back.

I also have a large Vornado floor fan with a lifetime warranty. The motor finally seized after my lub'ng it. I sent it back and they did install a new motor. However, it looked very different from the original one.

 

[RTexasF]

Quote:
Ive thrown 3 of these fans out recently, I really think quality is going downhill.


I agree. The old large floor fans used to move huge amounts of air and do it for decades. I have a smaller floor fan they call an "air circulator". No problems with it but it doesn't move much air. For the money spent on the fancy design I could have purchased 5-6 box fans with a larger surface area. Lesson learned.

 

[DBMaster]

I had a Flippi that I used in my office. What a piece of junk. It started rattling after only a few months. I disassembled it and replaced the plastic washers on the motor shaft with bronze. That got me about a year out of it before it started getting noisy again. Garbage.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Quote:
Ive thrown 3 of these fans out recently, I really think quality is going downhill.


I agree. The old large floor fans used to move huge amounts of air and do it for decades. I have a smaller floor fan they call an "air circulator". No problems with it but it doesn't move much air. For the money spent on the fancy design I could have purchased 5-6 box fans with a larger surface area. Lesson learned.
If you look at the older Vornados, the fan guards were much less restrictive, thus allowed greater CFM and lower noise.

I've wondered just how much one could be improved by removing every other 'swirl'.

Aerodynamics Matters.