Introductions and Tower Fans

Like my intrepid wife, I've decided to embark on a blogging quest. While I'll likely begin a blog to talk about whatever I choose to talk about at any random time (expect a lot of football, or soccer as lame people refer to it, when I get around to writing that one) at some future time, this blog is dedicated to the pursuit of a specific goal.

Namely, to become the ultimate handyman.

Plenty of people probably hear that and think "What's so hard about doing some repairs and light construction projects around the house?" These people have never met me. The extent of my tool knowledge comes from working a 3-year stint in a factory, where a screwdriver was just a device that was used for dislodging automotive parts that had gotten stuck in the machinery. When I was growing up, my Dad would frequently say "Come outside and learn something!" and then proceed to try to teach me what he knew about cars. It only half worked...if you need somebody who knows how to kick a tire, throw some tools around, and scream curse words until they turn blue, I'm your man! And I learned from the best in the business.

For whatever reason, I never had the interest in learning to fix things while I was growing up, but becoming a father, living in a down economy and (frankly) learning that there is potentially money to be made at it has made me keen to learn. And let's face it: like it or not (I'm guessing a lot of 'not' from most of the guys I know) knowing how to fix and build things is basically a crucial part of being a man.

So in that spirit (and because I am a longtime reader of Art of Manliness and am finally putting myself on the line here) I begin my tinkering in an attempt to become a better person with some practical skills.

Disclaimer! The way I do things is not necessarily meant to be a guide on how to do them properly. In many cases, I am making it up as I go along and trying to puzzle things out on my own. As the jobs get more complicated, I'll probably be going by guides and information found on the internet. If you too decide to start doing some simple repairs around the house, just try to remember basic safety rules. Caution and common sense go a long way!

For my first repair project, I chose to stick with something that seemed fairly easy, as well as being practical. The Hawaiian Breeze tower fan in our room is a few years old now, and had been making some strange noises as it rotated. It also had a curious jingling noise whenever our son Jasper knocked it over, which is a frequent occurrence.

The Hawaiian Breeze FZ10-9HB, known to our son as "Punching bag"

So the first step is really quite simple. Just unscrew the plastic ring on the bottom and remove the base. I'm not sure it's strictly necessary, but the entire job would be a massive pain if you didn't. Plus, it takes about 2 seconds.

This is literally the most repair work I have ever done at this point. 

With that done it's on to the next step, which is removing the screws on the back. There are two near the bottom:

Fairly easy to find.

And then two in the holes under the handle:

A bit harder to get at, but still nothing too taxing.

Next, if you are me, you spend about 15 minutes trying to get the back off. A quick investigation would lead one to believe that you merely needed to pull downwards and the case would slide right off. Checking the internet for info seemed to suggest that this was indeed the case, but it just wasn't going to work. Assuming I was just a massive weakling, I continued trying everything I could to slide it off before accidentally bumping it into the table and having the side pop off.

Latches. Of course.

Each side had a number of latches that just needed to be squeezed, it turned out. After it popped open, I got the brilliant idea to make sure it would go back together, and that I hadn't broken something. It DID go right back together, and then it took me another five minutes to pop each of the latches and get it apart again.

I think it's a little dirty inside...

Yeah...disgusting.

It's clear that this thing is going to need to be cleaned. No problem, a can of compressed air can make short work of the dust and grime that have built up inside this thing!

But I don't have a can of compressed air. There's an actual air compressor somewhere in the garage, but A) It isn't mine and B) I have no idea where it is anyway. Time to find an alternate solution! I take to the closet to find something, anything that might help blow some of the dust out of this thing. After a minute, a specialty tool appears. Ex-NASA tech, if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, I thought it was a Death Ray at first too.

I take the whole works outside and use the blow dryer to blow as much of the dust and grime out of it as I can manage. It works better than I expected, but it's nowhere near clean enough. I'd say there's a fine line between MacGuyvering and trying something stupid, but this works well enough that I'd say it's right on the line. (Not like the time I tried to patch a hole in a radiator hose by tying a thick gardening glove onto it with a length of Cat5 Ethernet cable that I cut to length with a ball-point pen...the whole thing worked about as well as you might expect, which is to say, for less than one second.) Luckily, I do manage to to find the source of the mysterious jingling!

So THAT's where my 2 cents went.

Looks like Jasper also decided to use the fan as a piggy bank at one time or another. So there's one problem solved! Now to remove the actual fan cylinder and clean this thing up a bit. There are two screws at the top, and one at the bottom, holding it to the motor:

I'm...not sure this photo needs a caption.

As I take the top screws off, I realize that there is a loose plastic piece with a couple of detached clips. I didn't take a picture of it, but after snapping the clips back on, I am working under the assumption that this was the reason for the strange clicking noises as the fan rotated. I would turn out to be right, so victory number 2!

Time to clean!

Nice to know this has been blowing delicious dust particles into the air for years.

Without any other real option, I grab a damp cloth and wipe out the inside of the case as much as possible. Then I take the fan cylinder over to the sink and just spend a few minutes spraying it down until it's sparkling and new looking.

Much better.

Now it's just a matter of putting it all back together and making sure it works. If you somehow have the exact same fan and are following along at home, I'm confident that you don't need me to tell you how it all goes back together. If I can do it, ANYONE can.

So, reassembly goes smoothly, and I plug it in, hoping for the best.

You can't tell from the still photo, but this fan is working. Like a boss.

Mild repair job #1 complete! Not only did I manage to stop the clicking noise and make the air this thing has been circulating around the bedroom a little cleaner, but I made 2 cents on the deal. Not half bad for a backwoods super-nerd from Newaygo, MI, huh?

Now to figure out what my next project is. Unless I am mistaken, there is a VCR/DVD combo that won't play VHS Tapes somewhere in this house. If you happen to have old/broken appliances that you don't want or would be willing to part with for a very low price, leave a comment and we'll work something out. My dream of being a repair maniac isn't going to get very far without some old junk to mess with!