Fan Repair
 

Nothing to do with my bike, but I figured you guys could lend me a hand...

I have a nice 3 speed standing fan, with a knob that you pull up to not oscillate, push in to oscillate. The knob is broken off, and so the fan always oscillates - which can be very annoying. I was able to pull up the end of the knob, which is inside the fans housing, with a pair of needle nose pliers stuck into the hole where the knob went. But, as soon as I turn the fan back on, the motion of the fan pulls the end down (I could feel it tug against the pliers if I held them), and it oscillates again. Apparently, the knob was needed not just to pull it up, but to keep it up.

Can you think of anyway I can keep the end up, so that the fan doesn't oscillate?

Don't turn it off.

You might want to try www.fanforums.com.

Those guys talk about fans like we talk about bikes.

Try using a longer straddle cable. This decreases mechanical advantage but will give you a firmer action. Oscillation should come to a complete halt.

You could put the fan on a lazy susan, and brace the edge of the fan against something that doesn't move. Then, the fan could oscillate all it wants, but it would just spin the lazy susan. It might also work if you put little wheels on the bottom.

Fixer - what is a straddle cable?

Pull the knob up, and stuff something in the recessed hole to KEEP it up. Maybe a Viagra capsule.
Or, if you don't have one of those, perhaps some caulk, or cheap epoxy.

Ever hear of Google?
http://www.google.com/search?q=Strad...en-US:official

Fans are nearly disposable every year, bunch of sh*t made in some cesspool over in China or India. Buy a new one for $25.

This made my day. I'm so easy to please.

Ray

I totally fell for it. I'm such a sucker for ***forum anything.

I think buying a new fan is the weenie way out. The thing's working fine in its basic function. I pulled someone's castoff box fan from the trash two summers ago, brought it home, took it apart and cleaned it up. As far as I could tell, the only reason it had been cast out was because the original owner had been too lazy to clean the thing. That's so fricking ridiculous. Americans create over 50% of the world's solid waste in the WORLD; it's getting so bad that we've begun sending it to other countries to pollute their land. Don't encourage a disposable society.

All you need is some kind of extension for the oscillation button? Have you tried some duct tape with a used pen body, maybe a highlighter or other marker cap and some glue? Actually, for this kind of thing, I think that clear packing tape would work better--you can kind of tie it around the two elements and then wrap it more, something like that.

I think I could use a pic or two of the button to really explore ideas further, though.

The button is deep into the casing, and there doesn't seem to be anyway to open the casing. With a little effort, I can manage to raise the button with a pair of needle nose pliers, but it is still too deep within the casing for me to attach anything.

And I agree with you - saying buy a new one is the equivalent of saying "Why get yourself all dirty with that bike, man, just take a cab..."

I'm thinking that the original knob had a shoulder to hold it up against the fan housing. If I didn't care about the oscillating, I'd pull up the stub with pliers and press a blob of kneadable two-strip epoxy into the recess. Seriously.
And your philosophy is one I agree with: fix if at all possible. My wallet heartily concurs.

drill a hole and put a screw in the recessed knob. If you don't drill, it will probably crack. Then you can tape/glue it in the "up" position. Then again I hope you have come to a resolution by now.

P.S. My roommate bought a cheap box fan, we've had it less than a week, and it is now dead. :( no more wind for us