How to Increase L10 Life through Fan Bearing Maintenance

Fan bearing maintenance helps increase longevity and potential to reach the fan bearing’s full L10 life. Stated as a number of hours, L10 life indicates the life expectancy with 90% confidence that the bearings will meet the expectation. The higher your L10 life, the longer your bearings should last, provided you maintain your bearings.

Your fan’s IOM (Installation, Operation & Maintenance) manual should provide a schedule to keep things running smoothly. The best way to increase L10 Life is to stick to that schedule and pay attention to detail on three key factors, including grease, temperature, and vibration.

Factor 1: Grease. Think Mama Bear

If you stick to the IOM schedule, your greasing level should be just right. Don’t over grease, don’t under grease. Either mistake will reduce efficiency and shorten the bearing life due to added friction and pressure.

Factor 2: Temperature. Keep Your Cool

The temperature inside that bearing should never exceed the maximum temperature for the grease, which in most cases is 225 degrees Fahrenheit.

Factor 3: Vibration. Tap into It.

Make sure your vibration stays below the recommended fan manufacturer’s vibration level for your bearings by tapping in with vibration sensors at certain spots. We’ll cover that in more detail soon.

The Bottom Line on Fan Bearing Maintenance

Proper fan bearing maintenance can help you get the most possible for your fan’s bearings. But there’s one more thing to watch for. No matter how well you maintain your bearings, if they have a low L10 Life, that’s all you’ll ever get out of them even in the best-case scenario. You just can’t take a long life for granted.

Hear it from the Application Engineer

Senior Application Engineer Chet White demonstrates the self-cleaning radial blade pressure blower in this 1-minute video.

When you’re ready to start your project, reach out and connect with one of our application engineers to discuss the details of your specification.

Related Content on Industrial Fan Maintenance

There are many factors to consider in every industrial fan application. We’ve seen it all. Here are related pages and posts that might be of interest as you think about maintenance for your application:

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