VP2 6163 24-Hour Fan Failure Experiences

[philbertp2]

All,

When received my VP2 6163 in April 2014 I noticed the fan made some noise. No fan is completely quiet, so I let it go. In early August I noticed a huge spike in my temperatures and sure enough, the fan stopped. I dropped the bee-hive and pulled out the fan, which restarted and made absolutely no noise when it was at a slight angle. It failed again a day later. Ugh. It has been hot here in Oregon too!

Davis sent me a new fan at no charge and said "it should be so silent that you need to hold tissue paper to the bottom to ensure it is working." Well the new fan is quiet, spinning away nicely day and night. One interesting thing I note is that with the new fan, my temperatures appear to be 2-3 F higher than other nearby stations. They used to be within a degree or so. I probably need to find out what equipment they are using. I am a CWOP member and I am passing the MADIS QC.

So anybody had any issues with fan durability? Did I just get a lemon at the get-go? I am pretty sure that I put the fan in correctly, but am puzzled by warmer temperatures than before. I am going to put together some graphics that show before and after.

Thank you!
Phil

[duke]

It's only a $2 motor in there, I would not expect a long life span. I change mine before each winter. Takes a few minutes if you have basic diy/solder skills.

RF-500TB-18280-R motor

[philbertp2]

Duke,

Very helpful reply. Do you re-seal the fan as shown in the photo of my defective device?

Thank you,
Phil

Photo re-sized.

[duke]

May I suggest you resize your images or if you are not sure how edit your post and delete the over sized image.

Yes, I reseal them. You can either use a hot glue gun as the image details or a good quality silicone. I prefer the silicone and only a small amount to hold the motor in the assembly.

[philbertp2]

Duke,

So you warm the silicone to get the fan out. You are a very creative DIY.
Will either delete or resize. Darn cell phones have tons of resolution now.

Phil

[duke]

How long have you had your VP2? You realize it has a one year guarantee against defective parts from Davis?

[philbertp2]

Duke,

April 2014. They were very good about the replacement. I held my phone next to the bee hive and the person on the line with Davis said that noise is not normal. The only problem was they lost my order and it was delayed a week getting out the door. Always track your orders closely.

Phil

[duke]

Duke,

So you warm the silicone to get the fan out. You are a very creative DIY.
Will either delete or resize. Darn cell phones have tons of resolution now.

Phil

We posted together
No need to warm it up, sometimes if you're lucky the glue has broken away from the fan assembly and you can just push the motor out after pulling the fan off. If it gives you a hard time you can use a sharp knife (or small flat blade screwdriver at a push) to release the glue.

So you have had a replacement, that's good for you. Now you can replace the motor in your faulty unit and always have a spare ready to go

[philbertp2]

Duke,

Yep. You are pretty clever! I now have something to play with.
Want to visit Oregon with your solder gun? Really some great wine around here in the Portland area!

Phil

[duke]

Thanks for the offer but I'm sure you will be just fine.

One bit of advice, for the small price of the motor, I would suggest you order several spares and replace before the start of each winter. You don't want to be doing it in the rain or snow. It's also a good opportunity to clean all the plates in the FARS and the sensor too.

edit: if you have the 24 hour FARS with the screen in the bottom, that may well need cleaning more often.