Fan Bearing Grease

Nlgi 3 is about the consistency of vegetable shortening.

Fan bearing grease.

Fan bearing maintenance helps increase longevity and potential to reach the fan bearing s full l10 life. By avoiding three common mistakes when greasing bearings you can predict the right time to grease know how much grease to apply and be confident in the bearing s overall health. On some early models like turek friction drive fans a single ball bearing packed with grease was used to suspend the vertical rotor. You want to find 10 15 or 20 weight non detergent motor oil.

Dow molykote g 0010 multipurpose bearing grease is a polyurea thickened material used for electrical motors water pump and fan bearings and dryers. Oil lubrication is preferred over grease for bearings. Stated as a number of hours l10 life indicates the life expectancy with 90 confidence that the bearings will meet the expectation. Seasonal shutdown and start up when shutting your unit down for an extended period and before starting up after an extended shutdown always purge the fan shaft bearings with new grease.

Able to handle light to moderate loads at high speeds this grease is often used on electric motor bearings for fans pumps and dryers. During rotation of a bearing the grease is mechanically worked and a change in consistency may result. Greases that soften may leak from the bearing cavity. Bearings depend on grease to reduce friction levels.

Mistake 1 lubricating is based on time instead of condition. Using the wrong type can clog up the bearings and ruin the fan oftentimes requiring a full replacement. Nlgi 2 is about the consistency of peanut butter. This property is known as the mechanical stability of the grease and is measured in standardized tests astm d217 and or astm d1831.

Fans and blowers are simple pieces of equipment yet require a lot of maintenance particularly for bearings. Typical ceiling fans like emerson s use oil immersed ball bearings mounted a race. Nlgi viscosity grade is a rating of a grease s consistency. Oversized bearings can be lightly loaded and fail.

Proper pillow block and seal selection help avoid bearing problems. Some primitive fans like belt drive fans and very early electric models used grease packed babbit bearings. Induced draft products lubricate the bearings at least every three months. On the same note lubricant systems in ball bearing fans which are based on grease channeling can fail slowly over time causing a gradual increase in noise particularly at high temperatures.

The oil to use in lubricating a ceiling fan s bearings is very specific. It offers a wide temperature range shear resistance corrosion inhibitors and extreme pressure lubrication.