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Old 07-29-2016, 03:01 PM   #1
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Noisy Maxx Fan

Our Maxx fan has a very high frequency intermittent squeal that is loud enough to interrupt our sleep when running on low.

Originally I thought that after a break in period that the fan would quite down but, it’s getting louder and more frequent. A quick internet search revealed that these are sealed units and that the only repair is a new motor.

Any easy fixes? Thanks, Scott

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Old 07-29-2016, 04:16 PM   #2
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If it is only on low and intermittent, could it be something mechanical in the vent cap squeaking due to varying air pressure in the RV? Maybe some plastic lubricant or silicon spray or open the windows a little more? Try running the fan in reverse at low speeds to see if it still makes the noise.
Or is it a steady electrical hum which goes away at higher fan speeds? Not sure about DC fans but some AC fans will hum at low speed often because they don't quite get enough current
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Old 07-29-2016, 04:35 PM   #3
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Ours squealed intermittently too. I've heard that if you call Airexcel they will send you a new fan blade assembly that fixes it, but I just pulled the blade assembly off and sprayed a little PTFE on the shaft base area.
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Old 07-29-2016, 05:39 PM   #4
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Ours squealed intermittently too. I've heard that if you call Airexcel they will send you a new fan blade assembly that fixes it, but I just pulled the blade assembly off and sprayed a little PTFE on the shaft base area.
Thanks for the answers.

No I don't think that it is caused by a loose vent part. We run the Maxx fan in ceiling fan mode a lot during early spring and late fall trips. With the vent closed and the fan running on low we still get the noise. Running on high I think the ambient noise of fan covers up the squealing.

I have to admit that I haven’t tried lubrication of the fan shaft, I will give that a try next. We’re leaving soon for a three week trip so I’ll report back if the spray works and lasts. Looking through our Escape binder I see that the Maxx fan has a two year warranty, we are still barely in that window. I read that the Airexcel folks are good to work with. Thanks. Scott

Edit: (Sorry, for some reason my multiquote didn't work).

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Old 07-29-2016, 09:24 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Skool View Post
Our Maxx fan has a very high frequency intermittent squeal that is loud enough to interrupt our sleep when running on low.

Originally I thought that after a break in period that the fan would quite down but, it’s getting louder and more frequent. A quick internet search revealed that these are sealed units and that the only repair is a new motor.

Any easy fixes? Thanks, Scott

Scott, Lori
I like bikes!
We had a squeak/squeal on low speed too. Called Maxx fan and they said to run on high speed for 24 hours. It seemed to help and I have not noticed it again.
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Old 07-30-2016, 08:01 PM   #6
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A quick update on our noisy Maxxfan.

Got home from work yesterday and ran the fan on high for 20 hours. I remember reading on this forum about “breaking it in”, on our way home from picking up the trailer we only ran for about six hours on high.

Pulled the fan blade off and sprayed some 3-IN-ONE dry lube on the shaft and into the housing.

Still have the intermitent hum and squeal. I’ll call Airxcel on Monday and see if I can’t get a new motor. But on the flip side, I have a squeaky clean Maxxair. Scott

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Old 07-30-2016, 09:14 PM   #7
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Mine seems to get into a harmonic tone of some sort on the higher speeds. Very annoying to the ears. Don't know if it's a characteristic of the trailer or the fan. Kind of when you open only the back windows on some cars and you get a pulsing hum. To get around it I only run it on lower speeds now, which in the little trailer is plenty for us.

Might be the hum you speak of, definitely not a squeal and not intermittent. I'd be interested to hear what the manufacturer says about it. Was thinking of going to a Fantastic Fan, but then I'd loose that cool vent cover that Maxx Fans use.
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Old 07-30-2016, 09:25 PM   #8
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I remember when opening car sun roofs would cause a harmonic distortion inside the vehicle, then they started putting air dams to control the pulsing. I think the fan hits a certain speed/pitch and whines, I just change the speed until it dissipates.
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Old 07-30-2016, 11:05 PM   #9
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That's what we do too. The highlander cannot be run at over about 25 mph with the back rear seat Windows down. The vibration is deafening
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Old 07-30-2016, 11:41 PM   #10
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There is a label on my RAV4 roof rack showing the position for the cross pieces so that they don't create noise. I've never moved them from the factory position.
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Old 07-31-2016, 12:45 AM   #11
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Sorry to hear the break in run or lube didn't fix it Scott. In that case it's probably the motor bearing, which means a motor replacement. Good news is Airexcel should be able to get you squared away.
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Old 07-31-2016, 01:20 AM   #12
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We have had some noise, I would say, usually at 30, with 10 or 20 usually fine. Seems we have some noise once in a while on something other than 30, and often 30 is fine. We can always use either 10 or 20 or 30 for low. Only one will be a problem at any one time.
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Old 08-02-2016, 03:39 PM   #13
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Just got off the phone with a Airxcel technician, he reaffirmed that you need to run the Maxxfan on high for 24 hours to seat the bearings. The good news is, I have a new motor in the mail. Good company to work with. Scott

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Old 07-12-2017, 09:35 AM   #14
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Does anyone know where and how to oil the maxxfan? Or do you need to at all?
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Old 07-12-2017, 09:39 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by Chapitre View Post
Does anyone know where and how to oil the maxxfan? Or do you need to at all?
It's a sealed bearing fan so no lubrication is supposed to be required. Get in touch with Airxcel. They are really good with replacement parts and standing behind their products.

http://www.airxcel.com/maxxair/contact-us
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Old 05-30-2023, 10:48 PM   #16
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Ours recently developed a squeak - out of warranty so followed this repair. So far so good.


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