Day: September 8, 2026

Single-phase and three-phase fan motors side by side on a bench
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Single-Phase vs Three-Phase Fan Motors

Above about 3 kW the choice makes itself, and below 1 kW it usually do...

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Fitting a VFD on any fan starts with checking the motor nameplate
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Can You Put a VFD on Any Fan?

A drive will spin almost any induction motor, though that is not the s...

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Wiring a fan speed controller to a single phase motor terminal block
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Wiring a Fan Speed Controller (Step by Step)

Speed controllers are not interchangeable, and fitting the wrong type ...

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Soft starter and VFD panel controlling a large industrial fan
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Soft Starter vs VFD vs DOL for Big Fans

Large fan wheels have serious inertia, so how you start them matters. ...

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Ball bearings and sleeve bearings from fan motors compared
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Ball vs Sleeve Bearings: When to Replace

Sleeve bearings are quiet and cheap until they dry out. Ball bearings ...

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Thermal overload protector inside a fan motor winding
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Fan Thermal Overload Protection Explained

A tripping thermal protector is doing its job, and it is also telling ...

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Fan motor nameplate showing voltage, current and insulation class
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

How to Read a Fan / Motor Nameplate

A nameplate contains everything you need to order a replacement and di...

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How to reverse a fan motor by swapping two supply leads at the terminal
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

How to Reverse a Fan Motor’s Direction

Reversing rotation is straightforward on some motors and impossible on...

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EMC for EC fans: earthing and screened control cable at a fan terminal box
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Grounding & EMC for EC Fans

An EC fan is a switching converter bolted to an impeller. That makes e...

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Modbus RTU RS-485 wiring connecting a network of EC fans
By longwell / September 8, 2026 / Fan Engineering Guides

Modbus RTU for Fan Networks — Basics

Modbus turns an array of fans into a set of visible, individually cont...

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