Why Does My Grease Exhaust Fan Hum But Not Turn ON When I Flip The Switch?

Busy kitchens cannot afford equipment breakdowns…but unfortunately equipment does seem to breakdown or wear out at the most imoportune times. If your fans does not spin but just hums (or clicks) when the switch is turned on, then here are some things to check (be sure all electrical equipment is off and locked out/ tagged out prior to service):

1) you may have bad bushings in the electrical motor. It takes twice the power to start an electrical motor as it does to keep it running. Bad motor bushing may let your fan run but they won’t start the motor. Sometimes this problem is initially indicated by a clicking sound when the fan starts. The fan may click and start for a period of time before the bushings fail completely. Bushings can be replaced at a shop that services electrical motors but it is typically wiser to replace the motor with a new one. Be sure to match the voltage, horse power, RPM’s, and arbor (pulley shaft) size.

2) A foreign object may be wedged in the fan that prevents the fan blade from spinning.

3) On one fan we serviced there is a very difficult place to clean and grease will build up and keep the fan from turning. This was the area above the fan cage but below the fan bowl. The design of this fan allowed grease to collect and harden in this are and it is practically impossible to reach with a pressure washer. The customer was a very high volume fast food restaurant who elected to clean semi-annually instead of quarterly. The customer claimed his previous hood cleaners did a bad job. Maybe because I am a hood cleaner, but I disagree. We have serviced thousands of hoods since 1993 and we have only ran into this situation once. The restaurant hired us and stupidly, we took the account. Within a year or two of fairly regular cleanings the fan ceased again. It required disassembly to access and remove the caked up grease. They fired us and moved on to their fourth hood cleaner – what they really needed was a different fan. Please view our web site page showing poor grease exhaust system installations.

Please contact Hood-Pro, Inc. for more information on kitchen grease exhaust system cleaning. Hood-Pro, Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta GA, with sister offices in Indianapolis, In, McAllister OK, and Greely CO. Call 888-569-3914 for your quote.