Prime chiller help, fan not spinning........Help!

gavij012379 · 04/05/2010, 10:23 PM

I have a 1/10 hp prime chiller by current USA (rated for 40 -90 G ) that I am trying to use for my 34 gal tank. Today is the second day that I have used it and the fan no longer seems to work. I got it from someone and tried yesterday and seemed to work. But today I see that it is not cooling down the tank. The compressor comes on but the fan is not spinning. It only spins very little. I opened it up and the fan is hot but it's only 80s now for ambient temp and I am only trying to keep the tank at about 82. So I am not overworking the chiller. Without the chiller, the tank will get to 86F. I am totally stumped. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

v8fla · 08/01/2010, 06:34 PM

The fan motor shaft rides on bushings on the front and rear, they have gotten dry from sitting unused. You can remove the fan assembly remove the two small bolts that go thru the assembly and slide the bushings back, use some 3in1 oil or similar and lube them up. worked for mine (same chiller).

gavij012379 · 08/02/2010, 06:09 AM

I tried all different kind of oil and spend quite a few hours and frustration trying to fix it. Looks like the problem was the fan motor was over heating and shutting down safely (maybe a safety feature built in). Also the inlet was covered with maybe a 1.5mm of dust ( I got it from someone and thought that's how it was

). This is probably the reason why it failed in the first place.
Finally I got a fan assembly for it for $40 from marineandreef and it has work like a charm since then.
Also when changing it, I noticed that the connecter had almost burned out (fire hazard). So lesson learned : give it a try and fix it a few times but don't spend 20 hours trying to fix something and save $40

04/05/2010, 10:23 PM	#1
gavij012379 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 173	Prime chiller help, fan not spinning........Help! I have a 1/10 hp prime chiller by current USA (rated for 40 -90 G ) that I am trying to use for my 34 gal tank. Today is the second day that I have used it and the fan no longer seems to work. I got it from someone and tried yesterday and seemed to work. But today I see that it is not cooling down the tank. The compressor comes on but the fan is not spinning. It only spins very little. I opened it up and the fan is hot but it's only 80s now for ambient temp and I am only trying to keep the tank at about 82. So I am not overworking the chiller. Without the chiller, the tank will get to 86F. I am totally stumped. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

08/01/2010, 06:34 PM	#2
v8fla Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Chattanooga TN Posts: 31	The fan motor shaft rides on bushings on the front and rear, they have gotten dry from sitting unused. You can remove the fan assembly remove the two small bolts that go thru the assembly and slide the bushings back, use some 3in1 oil or similar and lube them up. worked for mine (same chiller).

08/02/2010, 06:09 AM	#3
gavij012379 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 173	I tried all different kind of oil and spend quite a few hours and frustration trying to fix it. Looks like the problem was the fan motor was over heating and shutting down safely (maybe a safety feature built in). Also the inlet was covered with maybe a 1.5mm of dust ( I got it from someone and thought that's how it was ). This is probably the reason why it failed in the first place. Finally I got a fan assembly for it for $40 from marineandreef and it has work like a charm since then. Also when changing it, I noticed that the connecter had almost burned out (fire hazard). So lesson learned : give it a try and fix it a few times but don't spend 20 hours trying to fix something and save $40