We’re always looking for ways to make life easier for the people who install, maintain, and rely on our equipment every day. That’s why we’re excited to highlight our lubrication system designed specifically to reduce friction, both literally and figuratively, for service and maintenance teams.
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Bearings are crucial for industrial centrifugal fans, supporting the fan shaft and minimizing friction. Proper bearing selection ensures efficiency, longevity, and reliability in high-performance ventilation systems.
The Role of Bearings in Centrifugal Fans
Bearings hold the shaft in place as a fan rotates. In overhung applications, they are placed in close proximity to the wheel, placed together on the drive side of the fan housing, supporting the wheel mounted on the end of the shaft. In center-hung applications, one bearing is placed on the drive side and the other is placed on the inlet side of the fan as the wheel rotates on the shaft between the bearings.
Introducing AirPro’s new Forever Fan System—a standalone pedestal mounted vibration and temperature monitoring system our engineers developed to help end-users avoid downtime, extend the operational life of their fans, and reduce operating costs.
Reasons for Measuring a Fan
Generally, there are two reasons to measure a centrifugal fan – the user wants to retrofit the fan (or parts) or replace it with a new fan. In either case, accurate measurements are critical to replicating the system currently in place, especially if no drawing is available. If possible, separate or isolate the fan from the system to access key measurement points. If duct work on the inlet or outlet is in the way, this could impact measurement accuracy.
What is a Balanced Fan? Think “Finishing the Job.”
A balanced fan must stay below specific vibration limits for safe operation while running at full speed. Excessive vibration will decrease the life of your fan and can lead to catastrophic failure.
3 Ways to Clear Debris from an Industrial Fan
Sometimes the most simple things like cleaning get overlooked, potentially leading to many more serious issues. It’s important to properly clean a blower wheel, as material buildup on a wheel can cause vibration and damage your fan. Even “clean air” may contain various particles and debris. A simple cleaning procedure can keep your fan healthy and decrease downtime.
Check It Off. Avoid Downtime.
Wear and tear in your industrial fans and blowers is completely normal. In fact, it’s impossible to avoid, given all of the moving parts and the often abrasive or corrosive elements moving through them. But that does not need to lead to catastrophic downtime. We put together this 9-step preventative maintenance checklist for equipment to help you avoid fan failure and save you days, weeks, or more of downtime.
How to Repair a Fan Bearing After Failure
Fan bearing failure is quite avoidable with appropriate greasing, maintenance, monitoring, and end-of-L10-life replacement. Still, bearing failure is the number one issue we get calls about. And on top of that, the number one reason for bearing failures is the lack of lubrication. Because it’s so common, we want to make sure you know how to repair a fan bearing after failure.
Adding vibration monitoring can lead to extended bearing life, and ensure your bearings reach their L10 potential. Vibration velocity measures in inches per second (IPS) how the equipment in question is being fatigued from vibration, ultimately influencing its longevity. The standard IOM (Installation, Operations, and Maintenance) manual recommends keeping vibrations under .124 inches per second for industrial fans operating in the installed state.
Centrifugal fans, with their moving parts and sometimes heavy-duty air processing, require regular fan maintenance in industrial applications. You might need to clean it, you might need to balance it, you might need to repair a part, or even retrofit the fan. At some point, you’ll need access to work on the wheel and shaft. If you’re not sure you’ll be able to get into the access doors in your application, split housings might just save the day.
One of the most important post-purchase questions is how to properly install and maintain an industrial exhaust fan in order to avoid problems. AirPro is an industrial blower manufacturer that considers installation and maintenance even before building your blower fan and takes into consideration the most common causes for operation problems with any industrial blower fan.
Bearing life is a major component in overall fan life. Maintaining proper lubricant levels with appropriate lubricant for the application will extend bearing life and require fewer replacements. A simple preventative maintenance program implemented for your fan can save thousands of dollars in replacement parts over the course of several years. Such a plan would involve such steps as regular lubrication of fan and motor bearings, connection inspections, and vibration analyses.