FB500 Fan keeps failing…

MaskedMarvel

Greetings friends,

ssia. FB customer service has been good and been replacing. It’s just a REAL bummer for such a well regarded unit, and a bummer to wake up to cold meat. 

Hope you’re all rockin’…
8-D

lkapigian

What kind of issues ? They replaced my first on, no questions asked and for the life of me, o d ont remember what was wrong with it 

Other than probes, zero issues since, and the probes are my abuse issues

I d I keep spare probes and fan just fir back up

nolaegghead

Hey Damien, good to hear from ya brother.

Hope all is well.

I haven't had any direct experience with that particular fan, but in general they fail when the bushings dry up and the friction causes excessive current and heat until the motor windings short.  If you can get a little oil on the bushing without dousing the whole thing, that can go a long ways for longevity.  If the squirrel cage doesn't pop off, drill a very small hole in it to get the oil in there.  If you have an old burned out fan, you can dissect it and learn how to lube it.

If it still turns freely when it burns out, that's not the problem.

caliking

If you think the fan build is the problem, maybe a different brand will work better?

I use a BBQ Guru Pit Bull fan with my FB200. Yes, I know its too much fan for a BGE, but I had bought it on sale 5 years ago, with plans to run my drum smokers, etc. with it. 

The fan internals are probably very similar/same across the board. Just a thought.

MaskedMarvel

The fan mechanism will wobble and intermittently spin, but it doesn’t have any velocity to it. When I had the brain unit replaced before, I sent them the fan along with it. No idea what was done - the unit also had a broken “down arrow” button. This was at the end of March, 2021. 

They’re sending me a new fan. We’ll see if that fixes my problem or if it’s an issue with the controller unit. 

Regardless - I feel like I’m having some bad luck with this. I take REALLY good care of my FB. Wipe everything down with this Clorox wipes, etc. bummer. 

stlcharcoal

Maybe it's the cord or a power issue and not the fan motor itself????  Sold a ton of these and never heard of a fan going out, they're pretty simple and don't have many problems.  Probes are usually the weak point.  Had a few of the controllers lock up after a firmware update, but that's usually something that can be reset then they can remote into from FB.  Sorry for the trouble!  Definitely not the norm.

MaskedMarvel

stlcharcoal said:

Maybe it's the cord or a power issue and not the fan motor itself????  Sold a ton of these and never heard of a fan going out, they're pretty simple and don't have many problems.  Probes are usually the weak point.  Had a few of the controllers lock up after a firmware update, but that's usually something that can be reset then they can remote into from FB.  Sorry for the trouble!  Definitely not the norm.

My guess was something power related to the fan. 

I’ll try the replacement fan (and nola’s oiling idea). 

WeberWho

I was gifted a fan housing from a member here on the forum. I purchased a squirrel fan for under $10 online and put one together. Easy job with some very, very  minor soldering. 

caliking

Its a good idea to relieve the tension at the point where the wiring exits the fan housing. I put a dab of silicone caulk at that spot, and keep the cord wrapped one turn around the fan housing. 

nolaegghead

Testing the fan: Since they are 12V DC, hook up to a 12 volt DC power source like a battery.  If they don't run full blast, there's a problem with it.