WD40 On My Exhaust Fan to Quiet It Down?

bad or idea to spray a little WD40 on my exhaust fan? shits been running really loud. i think i either need to re-lube it or fix my connections. because there is this ungodly humming noise that can be heard all the way out in the living room. PLEASE HELP!!!

There is a way to eliminate almost all the noise. Build an MDF box right around it and it will reduce the sound dramatically. You can even line the inside of the box with sound proofing material to make it even better...works great. If you want a pic of the 'box" message me and I'll forward it to you.

A fan in proper working order will only be noisy if it is over working. One way to quiet it down is to add an intake fan to accomodate the exaust fan. Rubber mounts help eliminate rumbles that are made from fans that aren't quite balanced. I use car heater blowers to make cheap blowers and a battery charger to run them.

A load humming isn't normal. Ether it was a cheap fan or alot if dust got to it. WD40 would only make the dust worse. Blow it out with air or take it back.

WD in WD40 stands for "water displacer". It is not a lubricant, if you want to oil something like a fan use a light oil. I don't know how old you are, I guess its irrelevant, but I call it "sewing machine oil". Gun oil is the same thing, its also used on fishing reels.

Grease will last longer, you could also try graphite from a pencil lead (just scribble away on the surface with pencil assuming its dry and you can write on it)

Somebody probably makes a graphite lubricant, but I can't think of a name


I like warlock's? idea about blowing it out too. Here are a couple of other things you may want to check:

Are the blades dirty with dust? if so clean them
Check all the fasteners for tightness
check the blades and make sure none are bent or broken or something else that would make it spin out of balance.

Im a little leery of anything electrical that isn't functioning perfectly. I would rather replace the fan than try to go to sleep wondering if the fan motor was going to catch fire . . .

I agree with blowing it out with compressed air if you can and clean it as best is possible. Don't use wd-40, it doesn't last as a lube and attracts dirt. Graphite spray is a better lube, but again, it attracts dirt. I believe there is a formula that isn't supposed to attract dirt, but I can't remember off the top of my head. I really like silicone spray for a lube. It works well and won't attract dirt. There are many makers of all these different lube, like P.B. Blaster and liquid wrench for example. I would clean that sucker and see what's going on though, it should have sealed bearings and not need any lubing.

I left out an important quality of wd40 - it evaporates - thats why many people use it as a lubricant me thinks. When they first spray it, it is indeed oily and slick - give it an hour or two, maybe even overnight, you won't find much of anything left of that application when you come back.

And (I cant see that comment right now I think it was "Hydro" or something) was right about most ac electric motors are sealed. If the seal has failed an lost any grease, could be the damage is done. Ove never tried it on a fan, but on some motors you can check the runout on the shaft by wobbling it. I dont think that shaft should move of it does thats an indicator of a problem. Hope you solve it, take care . . .

nah man, age is frankly irrelevant...

and i dont think most of you understood my question. i am super busy atm, or i would debate what i posted. but basically, i may have also worded it wrong, so no biggy...

BUT!! i was wondering if ducting can get dirty? can dirt make a can and i say this cause i have had my fan since Sept. CAN THEY ALL A SUDDEN MAKE NOISE, due to dirt? i also think my set up is flawed. may not be properly installed due to a dumb hydro shop employee. i think with my set up its basically fucked! but it was never whisper quiet. but never vibrated into the living room. so i was thinking dirt build up. either in the ducting or on the motor of the fan. i have fixed the problem by using my fan controller and getting some new ducting.

and for the record dude who asked about age...I KNOW LUBING IT WOULD WORK BETTER THEN WD40. BUT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO TAKE IT APART AND REGREASE EVERYTHING, DUH!!!! i dont know if that age comment was a way of insulting my intelligence or what that was about...but ill take it with a grain of salt.

thanks for all the helpful replies. it is appreciated. now, im going back to the garden. i have to water my kids!

plus oil is making me UBER slow today. i have to get my gears situated to sit online all day. so, ill be back tomorrow.

THATS A HORRIBLE IDEA. people dont seem to understand WD40 is made to break up nasty oil and rust from assorted diffirent thing. it will ruin the current lube on it already. always get something thats specified for a certain thing. there is a reason why it excists....100% of the time. wgwn i was young i used to wd40 my bike chain idk why maybe because it is what folks suggested. i used to think after doing that my stuff would just move like lightning.......til one day i went to do it and my buddy a ex pro biker smacked me upside to my head then said to me
" ARE YOU KIDDING ME" he exclaimed " THATS THE FASTEST WAY TO RUIN YOU " Idk remember the name of the parts but you get my point. pretty much just tlld me what i told you. get fan grease and DONT EVER USE WD40 FOR ANYTHING THATS STUCK AND NOT MOVING ALREADY



PEACE!!!

holymungdiver said:

THATS A HORRIBLE IDEA. people dont seem to understand WD40 is made to break up nasty oil and rust from assorted diffirent thing. it will ruin the current lube on it already. always get something thats specified for a certain thing. there is a reason why it excists....100% of the time. wgwn i was young i used to wd40 my bike chain idk why maybe because it is what folks suggested. i used to think after doing that my stuff would just move like lightning.......til one day i went to do it and my buddy a ex pro biker smacked me upside to my head then said to me
" ARE YOU KIDDING ME" he exclaimed " THATS THE FASTEST WAY TO RUIN YOU " Idk remember the name of the parts but you get my point. pretty much just tlld me what i told you. get fan grease and DONT EVER USE WD40 FOR ANYTHING THATS STUCK AND NOT MOVING ALREADY



PEACE!!!

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Sorry dude 5 years too late

oHsiN666 said:

bad or idea to spray a little WD40 on my exhaust fan? shits been running really loud. i think i either need to re-lube it or fix my connections. because there is this ungodly humming noise that can be heard all the way out in the living room. PLEASE HELP!!!

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The most common cause of noise from a fan is that is dirty. The easiest, and best, way to clean it is with an air compressor. Just be sure to let it dry out completely before powering it up. There are water traps for compressor lines too.

Whatever you do DO NOT use WD-40. It eats plastics. I learned this the hard way at a young age. I found out that it's a popular attractant for fishing so I thought I was being extra clever by doraying some in all of the compartments that held rubber worms in my tackle box. The next morning I was all excited to see how well it worked until I found a box with separate compartments full of jelly. My mom recently tried to fix squeaky hydraulic pistons on the canopy of her truck with WF-40 and now that it ate the seals away she has to use a stick to prop the canopy open.

As far as your issue with the fans noise there are number of good articles and videos about saving fans. Just do a search for something like "How to save old box fan". The same tricks to save them are what you need.