Oil to use on fan?

[Dreamstreet]

One of my fans have started to become really loud, and I watched online that you can remove the label on the front of it and apply some oil to make it quiet once again. Any advice on what kind to use? There isn't any specific oil for computers in the stores around me, so I wanted to know if there's another kind of oil I could use for this.

 

[BFG-9000]

Fans use spindle oil, and the easiest way to find that in a store like Walmart is in Sewing Machine Oil or 3-in-1 oil. Bicycles also used to take such oil but nowadays mostly use grease, even in internal gear hubs.

While theoretically a non-detergent oil is better to not hold grit in suspension, motor oil for your car also works fine as fans aren't really picky.

Be aware that some bearing types like FDB are sealed so you can't add oil to those--don't be alarmed if you find no sticker or rubber plug over the bearing axle. For those, if they get noisy the only option is to replace.

 

[Dreamstreet]

Fans use spindle oil, and the easiest way to find that in a store like Walmart is in Sewing Machine Oil or 3-in-1 oil. Bicycles also used to take such oil but nowadays mostly use grease, even in internal gear hubs.

While theoretically a non-detergent oil is better to not hold grit in suspension, motor oil for your car also works fine as fans aren't really picky.

Be aware that some bearing types like FDB are sealed so you can't add oil to those--don't be alarmed if you find no sticker or rubber plug over the bearing axle. For those, if they get noisy the only option is to replace.

Thanks, I'll try and look into that. Unfortunaly I live in a country without a Walmart, so I'll try and figure out where to look for some oil.

However it's a corsair fan, so it should be durable to add some oil to it, so it'll stop making noise. It works very well, I'm just getting annoyed with the loud noise from it.

 

[USAFRet]

Replace it.

Assuming it isn't just dirty, it is 'loud' because the clearance between the spindle and the bearing is now a teeny bit greater than it was. It is vibrating slightly as it spins.

Oil may provide some temporary relief, but it cannot change that metal-metal clearance between the parts.

Also, most inexpensive fans are simply a bronze bushing surrounding the spindle.
Oil-impregnated bronze. The wrong 'oil' might dilute whatever is in there now. Or react with it and gum it up, making things worse.

 

[BFG-9000]

Any hardware or home improvement type store should carry them. Auto parts or gun stores are far more likely to carry detergent oils. About the only kind of oil to avoid is any vegetable based oil because that will eventually polymerize into a sticky varnish that will stop the fan! And gear oils may contain extreme-pressure additives that corrode bronze bearings. Mineral or synthetic both work fine, but a fan is unlikely to see either the subfreezing or searing hot temperatures where synthetics shine.

There may be other considerations as well. For example I've not found anything better to prevent bare steel from rusting outside than Eezox but it's not a particularly great lubricant, plus it's nearly 100% phthalates--an endocrine disruptor. 100 years from now, people may be horrified that we used it for such trivial things, much like how we look 100 years back at how polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used then.

I've found that sleeve bearing fans worn from being operated horizontally (the ends of the bearing have a very small thrust surface area) may continue to buzz/rattle when cold even after oiling, but switching the orientation to vertical allows for continued use with no noise (due to unworn bearing surface along the axle).

Squealing and grinding noises are of course completely fixed by some oil. Some Corsair fans though lack an oiling hole so require disassembly to reach the axle. If I had to do all that, i would grease it with some wheel bearing grease.

 

[Dreamstreet]

Any hardware or home improvement type store should carry them. Auto parts or gun stores are far more likely to carry detergent oils. About the only kind of oil to avoid is any vegetable based oil because that will eventually polymerize into a sticky varnish that will stop the fan! And gear oils may contain extreme-pressure additives that corrode bronze bearings. Mineral or synthetic both work fine, but a fan is unlikely to see either the subfreezing or searing hot temperatures where synthetics shine.

There may be other considerations as well. For example I've not found anything better to prevent bare steel from rusting outside than Eezox but it's not a particularly great lubricant, plus it's nearly 100% phthalates--an endocrine disruptor. 100 years from now, people may be horrified that we used it for such trivial things, much like how we look 100 years back at how polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used then.

I've found that sleeve bearing fans worn from being operated horizontally (the ends of the bearing have a very small thrust surface area) may continue to buzz/rattle when cold even after oiling, but switching the orientation to vertical allows for continued use with no noise (due to unworn bearing surface along the axle).

Squealing and grinding noises are of course completely fixed by some oil. Some Corsair fans though lack an oiling hole so require disassembly to reach the axle. If I had to do all that, i would grease it with some wheel bearing grease.

I found a place that sold sewing machine oil, and that my corsair fan is one, where I could take it the fan from the holder (or whatever you'll call it). I used a few drops into where the fan and holder meet, and now it's stopped making noise and runs more smoothly. Thanks for the help

Although it does run at 1200 rpm as exhaust fan. Is that normal?

 

[BFG-9000]

That's normal for their Quiet Edition fans but the High Airflow ones are rated a bit faster, 1400-1500rpm. Of course it also depends on any PWM or voltage controls too, if they are plugged into motherboard headers.