Dehumidifier suddenly stopped working

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11 Sep 2007
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A few hours ago my dehumidifier was running just fine but all of a sudden it's stopped working (the orange power light is on though). I forget the model, it's in an awkward location so hard to see the make and model, but I recall buying it from B&Q at least 15 years ago .......... maybe time to buy a new one? :)

I am though curious what part may have failed - i should say that it's also feeling warmer than usual towards the top.
 
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Update: Left it switched off overnight and just tried it again - it's working. No idea why it would have shut off yesterday (the water collector wasn't even nearly full). Perhaps it overheated (remember that it felt warmer than usual at the top) - but if it overheated, then why?

Will leave it running and see how it goes.

Edit: Half an hour later and it's shut itself off again.

Hmmmm.
 
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On taking it apart I found the cause of the problem - the fan wasn't spinning (I didn't notice this before as the compressor also makes a noise which tends to mask the fan noise). Gave the fan a flick with my finger and the fan rotated, the cooling "elements" at the rear started to cool (previously they were warm) and now, despite switching it on and off a few times, the fan is rotating okay.

So presumably the fan is on the way out? Not sure where to get a replacement fan motor though.
 
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WD40 or 3-in-1 oil?

BTW, from what I can read on the almost illegible motor label, it says: K3-12-250

Can't find that on the 'net though.

Edit: used some WD40 on the parts of the spindle that i can reach, fan seems to be spinning more freely, will continue to test.

If I do need to replace the motor (assuming I could even find a replacement) I'm not sure if I can, simply because I can't remove the existing motor. The problem is that the cooling "element" is of course in front of the fan, but I can't remove those because the whole unit is riveted in place. And with those in place I can't slide the fan and motor forward enough in order to take it out due to the long bolts that are integrated with the motor.
 
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A few tiny drops of sewing machine oil is better, WD40 tends to dry out, go sticky and attract all the nearby dust.
 
Thanks for the tip, I'll now get hold of some sewing machine oil and apply it when the fan spindle next seizes up.
 

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