AAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH

I have bought a cheapo fan from OBI. The motor has a spindle (axle ?) with what I would call a locking nut on the end.

To assemble the fan that nut has to come off (or the spindle has to to come out of the motor) It has to come off so that the back half of the fan can be attached to the motor housing and the fan blades attached to the spindle.

The nut wont come off. When I turn it anti clockwise the spindle moves. If I brace the spindle with a pair of pliers and try to twist the nut.. it wont budge. (And anyway that can't be the right method)

Here's the killer.. I bought another cheap fan from Bau und Hobby last week and had exactly the same problem !!!! Different shop, different fan.. same problem. I took that one back and got my money back (the women in the shop tried in vain to replicate my attempts)

Oh god.. the inhumanity of it all....

P.S. The instructions are useless..

I've put up 4 or 5 of them in my place over the years, they can be a little tricky but I don't fully understand what the problem is that you're having with yours. Maybe if you could scan the instructions (at least the part that's the problem) and maybe one of us might see what you're doing wrong.

Talking about fans. I saw a new Dyson gadget in Manor today. No blades - but air blowing out of an empty circle, just like a magic fan. I think the air comes from a screw thing in the base. Looks neat and stylish but at CHF 500, something for fools and their money.

http://www.dyson.com/fans/

"When I turn it anti clockwise the spindle moves"
Try clockwise and I think your problem will be solved. Let me know if doesn't.

I saw that last week too and thought it looks pretty cool, but it didn't *seem* to blow as much air as a normal fan (maybe due to the lack of buffeting, maybe not). So... this almost-fool kept his money.

Dyson fan thing

http://www.englishforum.ch/sale-want...ultiplier.html

c'mon chaps .... focus


it doesn't matter which way I attempt to remove the 'locking nut' .. it wont budge

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Grip the spindle with pliars (or maybe there's a screw driver slot at the back of the head) ad turn the knob anti clockwise.

Oh I thought this was a ceiling fan..! Strange that the thing doesn't come assembled.

Clockwise once more and this time with a little extra strength

I created this for the thread.



CK

Could it be a "push in then turn system"? something like those "horrid/ near impossible for the adults but kids open them easily", child-proof pill bottles.

Do post a copy of the instructions, I have gotten quite good at ciphering those things over the years and I do like a challenge.

Edited to add; alternatively, it could be a pull out and turn number, but I can't possibly help unless I get to clap my little peepers on those instructions.

Looking at it, I don't think it is supposed to come off. Do the fan blades not just push onto it like a compression fit or swage if you will.

What does the picture look like assembled either on the instructions or the box?

That was going to be my next suggestion,,, slow tonight.

Here are the 'instructions' (I have the floor standing fan.. but the issue applies to all 3 models)

As far as I can make out there's no reference to that bloody nut... but as I said.. I had the same problem last week with a different fan so I'm convinced I am missing something obvious

Any help gratefully appreciated (except if anyone else says 'use some pliers to hold the spindle' )

http://picasaweb.google.com/10837110...nInstructions#

Hi ipoddle

OK, so I have one that I got in Spain a few years ago but looks the same and have just taken the guard off to check how the locking nut works.

It has a thread that is opposite to normal, so to loosen you turn the nut clockwise. It should move with little effort and you dont need to resort to Jeremy Clarkson pliers or hammer!

If yours does not budge then it's probably a dud or someone else has forced it by turning too far in the normal thread direction. If that is the case then spraying some lubricant into it from behind might help. Otherwise it sounds like another return, and next time see if you can test the nut in the store before bringing home.

Good luck!

On taking a gander at the instructions ( yes, typically minimal), screwing (no.4: Befestigungsschraube) to screw it tight, is anti-clockwise, so one has to assume clockwise to unscrew.
If you haven't already given up in frustration and taken it back, I still wonder if it isn't a push in or pull out then turn, type of system. I'd be interested to know, just to add to all the other trivia that I like to store up for a rainy day.

Don't go insane. Go back to Obi and ask them to assemble it. When they can't, you should get your money back.

I bought fans (which I sold here once we had our ceiling fans installed) and none required complicated assembly like that.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH HHHHHH

So I take it back to OBI and the nice lady offers my money back. I say I'd be happier if I could make it work.. I show her the problem and she gives me a really nice ' oh you silly foreigner, a child could put it together' look (funny how all foreigners in any society are considered way short of the native's IQ level).. so she twists and grunts and pushes and pulls (on the fan knob) and.. gives up.

So she phones the in house technical wizard who wonders over... and I'm sure.. says.. 'not another one'.... he gets out the biggest monkey wrench in Switzerland and, after a load of effort, untwists the knob...

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH HHHHHHH

So I come home and put it together and ... it's RUBBBBBISSHHHHHH

It's slow, it's noisy, it SMELLS !!!!

I get more disturbed air out of assorted friends and family.

So thanks everyone for your help... and never, ever forget.. you get what you pay for in life... and a 35chf floor standing fan from OBI is never, ever going to be a good idea

I also bought one last week at OBI for CHF20 (the 23cm one, table fan, on sale - is the brand CMI?) and it's saving my life. I put it together - eventually, thank God I brought those weeny screwdrivers from home - and I'm a girl!

Boy do I miss my aircon!!