Beverage air fan/motor squealing

[Intrigued]

Hi, yet another question on the old bm23 I just recently picked up. Every once in a while, it apparently just starts squealing like crazy. It seems like this has to be coming out of the inside of the unit, where the fan is. If I give it a little fonzie-knock, it will then run fine for a while, until it happens again. The fan appears to keep spinning fine while making this noise.

Is there somewhere in there that I can get some wd40? It sounds like it could just be something rubbing against something else like that. It also seems like it happens more if I just plug it in, or possibly when the compressor flips off - does the fan normally change speed at that point? I'm thinking maybe it's happening more when it's slowing down.

For what it's worth, it is getting right down to the temps that it needs to be very easily when testing with a cup of water at temp settings around 3-5.

Again... any advice/help is very much appreciated.

[THE ICEMAN]

WD40 would be a 'band-aid' type of fix. If you are lucky, all it is would be a small amount of rust on the motor stator after sitting for a time in a high humidity environment.

More than likely the bearings in the motor are starting to go bad. In that case you would need a new motor.


THE ICEMAN

[Intrigued]

Thanks for the info, any idea which part that is? Or is it just a standard motor I can get to replace it?

[THE ICEMAN]

Try these guys... Beverage Air 501-137B, Beverage Air Fan Motor 5w 115/60


THE ICEMAN

[Intrigued]

Now that i've opened it up, that's definitely the part. Your suspicions have been confirmed, the whole thing is looking pretty rusted over. Is there any way to do this motor replacement without taking off the service panel/cover?

I'm attaching pics, the screws circled in red are extremely locked in, and I have no idea how I'm going to get them out. I can't get any leverage because they are in the uppermost spot possible, and I'm being blocked to the top and on the side on either one.

I took the fan off and the motor bracket down, but I'm wondering how/where the things circled in blue actually disconnect. It seems like the replacement models (like the one you linked) may be hooked up different. These seem like they're actually going into that white tape part.

Also - the thing in yellow, what exactly is this? Is it ok to disconnect it, and, if so, how? I'm thinking maybe this is the hose going down to the drip tray, and it looks like there's some rust around it that was home-sealed, so i'm guessing that's right. Just not sure if I want to pull the sealing off if there's water getting around there.

Thank you so much for all your help.

[aspinallar]

$41 for a fan? Really? There's got to be a less expensive way to do this. $41 is just silly.

the fan that I installed in my Kenmore (summut) cost $4. not hidden behind some sheet metal though.

[THE ICEMAN]

Those screws can be a real bear sometimes. Try hitting them with penetrating oil/WD40 & letting it soak for a time. Sometimes hitting them with a torch will loosen them as well. All you need is to get them hot, not cherry red.

The wire connections on the motor look to be spade connections. They just slide on & off. It does not matter if you cross up the wires.

The tube at the back should just slide onto that drain fitting. If you are seeing rust, and should you be able to get those screws out, it would be a good time to seal that pan up. You would need to get it down to the bare metal & apply some type of sealer. See what your local hardware store has available.


THE ICEMAN