Quiet desktop fans?

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ajkalan
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Quiet desktop fans?

Post by ajkalan » Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:43 am

I like to keep a fan turned on in my bedroom, since the white noise helps me sleep and it helps keep me cool in warm weather (obviously!). The problems with this are: 1. most oscillating fans I've found are overly loud, even on the lowest setting; 2. there are no fans to be found anywhere right now, seeing as it's the middle of winter here in Michigan; and 3. my previous quiet fan, a Hunter Century, became unfixably rattly within a year of ownership, and the replacement Century I bought was louder than any cheap plastic fan I've ever owned (poor QC, probably).

Does anyone here know of a quiet desktop/oscillating fan, about 12"/30cm diameter? I'd like to avoid a white noise machine, because that's just an extra expense that a quiet fan should make redundant.

sjoukew
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Post by sjoukew » Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:28 am

I modified a standard oscillating fan. I added extra resistance to the power cord (with a 60 watt light bulb). this allows the fan to spin very slowly. It moves enough air, but I don't hear the fan anymore :D .
So I fixed the problem you described under "problem 1" ;)

vertigo
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Post by vertigo » Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:10 am

You can reduce vibration somewhat by balancing the blades (of a desk fan or ceiling fan typically). If you are interested, I'll tell you how I balanced the blades of my fan.

There was a hub in the center (that turned), so I used an elastic band and a small screw. I put the elastic around the hub holding the screw in various positions. Each time you move the screw around the hub, power up the fan and check the vibration. You should add weight at the position where the screw produces the least vibration.

I used pieces of masking tape. If the screw is next to a blade, add tape to the face of that blade. If it is between blades, add a piece to each blade. Then start again, power it up without the elastic and screw to see if it is better, or move the screw around again to find the new position. In my case, I added about 6 pieces of tape and the vibration was nearly eliminated.

If you do that to a quiet fan that has started to rattle, it should help a lot.

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