Robin2 Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 From a quick search on the Forum Ecofans may not be flavour of the month. My excuse is I bought it hen I thought I had money, and it does seem to move the warm air around. A week ago it seemed to be running as normal but recently it has become very sluggish. Turning the fan by hand does not suggest any obvious friction but I think it would take very little to have an impact. As far as I can figure out there are 3 possibilities: I have been burning dirty housecoal and dust and soot may have gone into the motor, though it looks well sealed. The motor may be near its end - its about 2 years old The electricity generator may be worn out. In view of what it cost I hope neither 2 nor 3 are correct. I wonder if any forum members have had a similar problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blodger Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 From a quick search on the Forum Ecofans may not be flavour of the month. My excuse is I bought it hen I thought I had money, and it does seem to move the warm air around. A week ago it seemed to be running as normal but recently it has become very sluggish. Turning the fan by hand does not suggest any obvious friction but I think it would take very little to have an impact. As far as I can figure out there are 3 possibilities: I have been burning dirty housecoal and dust and soot may have gone into the motor, though it looks well sealed. The motor may be near its end - its about 2 years old The electricity generator may be worn out. In view of what it cost I hope neither 2 nor 3 are correct. I wonder if any forum members have had a similar problem? I have seen replacement ecofan peltiers on sale on Ebay for just under 15.00. I seem to recall having seen the motors as well for about the same price so much cheaper than buying a new fan. I chucked one that had stopped working but the wife had me replace it; Did not then know you could get parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Have you tried switching it off and on again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Pink Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 [*]The electricity generator may be worn out. Probably the strain of charging 2 batteries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Probably the strain of charging 2 batteries P*** Off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heffalump Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Is the stove on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Is the stove on? More to the point is it making good contact with the stove top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 It may need dusting, apparently the female gender are good at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 It may need dusting, apparently the female gender are good at that. Does dust seriously affect it? I need to know because I will have to clean it myself and I don't want to waste any energy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyranger Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I just replaced the motor....5 minute job.....if it runs backwards reverse the leads........around £10....job done......! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 I just replaced the motor....5 minute job.....if it runs backwards reverse the leads........around £10....job done......! What were the symptoms in your case? My motor is definitely working a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Do you have a dog (or a shedding human)? Check the spindle for any hair wrapped round it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 I tend to find my fan running slowly is an indication that more fuel is needed on the fire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 (edited) I just replaced the motor....5 minute job.....if it runs backwards reverse the leads........around £10....job done......! The motor that you require is a Mabuchi rf500t. I can't find a source in the UK but I ordered 10 from the US when I broke mine at about £1.50 each. I still have a couple and if you care to PM me I'll send you one in exchange for a donation to a childrens' charity. Another member of this forum got one from me and he says that it runs slowly. I didn't notice the difference when I replaced mine. Still think that the Ecofan is and expensive toy though. Edited December 22, 2010 by AlanH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb Innisfree Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 I've played around with our EF, dismantled it and cleaned and oiled the motor, sometimes it spins like a good 'un and sometimes it slows and nearly stops, no rhyme nor reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 The motor that you require is a Mabuchi rf500t. I can't find a source in the UK but I ordered 10 from the US when I broke mine at about £1.50 each. I still have a couple and if you care to PM me I'll send you one in exchange for a donation to a childrens' charity. Another member of this forum got one from me and he says that it runs slowly. I didn't notice the difference when I replaced mine. Still think that the Ecofan is and expensive toy though. That's very kind, thanks. However I don't think the motor is broken and I'm inclined now to agree with your last sentence. I have been thinking of a more extensive air circulation system and I think I will now try it out - ducting warm air back to the bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 The motor that you require is a Mabuchi rf500t. I can't find a source in the UK but I ordered 10 from the US when I broke mine at about £1.50 each. I still have a couple and if you care to PM me I'll send you one in exchange for a donation to a childrens' charity. Another member of this forum got one from me and he says that it runs slowly. I didn't notice the difference when I replaced mine. Still think that the Ecofan is and expensive toy though. I had motor from Alan as well and as soon as I bought it the old one stopped playing up, so the new motor is still in the spares draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Ambrose Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 From a quick search on the Forum Ecofans may not be flavour of the month. My excuse is I bought it hen I thought I had money, and it does seem to move the warm air around. A week ago it seemed to be running as normal but recently it has become very sluggish. Turning the fan by hand does not suggest any obvious friction but I think it would take very little to have an impact. As far as I can figure out there are 3 possibilities: [*]I have been burning dirty housecoal and dust and soot may have gone into the motor, though it looks well sealed. [*]The motor may be near its end - its about 2 years old [*]The electricity generator may be worn out. [/list In view of what it cost I hope neither 2 nor 3 are correct. I wonder if any forum members have had a similar problem? Give it a good soak in WD40, it worked on mine. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloggy Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 When ours slowed down i moved the fan away from the main body by a couple of mm and solved the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Have you had it on the 'Hot' setting for too long? If so it will have wound itself up as far as it can go and you should put it on your fridge, so it runs in reverse, allowing it to unwind. I'd wait until spring, though, because the massive cooling effect is something you don't want, in this freezing weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin2 Posted December 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Have you had it on the 'Hot' setting for too long? If so it will have wound itself up as far as it can go and you should put it on your fridge, so it runs in reverse, allowing it to unwind. I'd wait until spring, though, because the massive cooling effect is something you don't want, in this freezing weather. Reading between the lines, you're not a fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heffalump Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Reading between the lines, you're not a fan No, he's a tri-aerofoil heat sourced Eco friendly air movement device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Reading between the lines, you're not a fan On the contrary, I am currently experimenting with bolting many ecofans to the sides of a squirrel, blades pointing downwards. I believe if this is strapped to the roof of a narrowboat then the hovering effect will enable one to lift the boat out, for maintenance, without the expense of crane hire. Also, below is one of my early attempts to use the larger size ecofan, on a rayburn, to propel the boat along. Unfortunately, owing to the excessive power, of the ecofan, I am struggling to get the boat down to acceptable canal speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloggy Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 On the contrary, I am currently experimenting with bolting many ecofans to the sides of a squirrel, blades pointing downwards. I believe if this is strapped to the roof of a narrowboat then the hovering effect will enable one to lift the boat out, for maintenance, without the expense of crane hire. Also, below is one of my early attempts to use the larger size ecofan, on a rayburn, to propel the boat along. Unfortunately, owing to the excessive power, of the ecofan, I am struggling to get the boat down to acceptable canal speeds. If you cant find a squirrel would a badger work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 If you cant find a squirrel would a badger work Why not? I prefer them to Squirrels, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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