Increase fan speed for an old fan by replacing its capacitor.

After years of constant use, the capacitors can degrade, and this fan of mine has gotten so slow that I think it is time we do something about it.

The fan in question. Hatari HA-T18M1

The Steps

First we have to disassemble the plastic housing covering the capacitor. The following disassembly is specific to the fan Hatari HA-T18M1. Hatari is a very popular brand of various consumer fan products here in Thailand. (This was a quick unexpected write. If there's enough requests, may take more pictures of the inside later).

Take out the top screw along with the plastic "oscillator switch" extension thingy.

Take off the Hatari circular screw hole cover

You will then find a capacitor like the one pictured here attached to the fan. Cut off the two wires and remove the capacitor along with the spacer right under it.

Here I replaced the degraded capacitor with the following capacitor I got from Lazada.co.th. Tap the picture to buy the item.

My replacement capacitor

Sometimes these are sold under "C พัดลม"; shortened translation for "Capacitor for fans". Replacing these caps are very cheap, less than a cost of a meal if you DIY.

Ensure the replacement capacitor has the following

• Same voltages and frequencies capabilities. Mine is 400V 50/60Hz
  
• Same uF capability. Mine is 1.8uF. Find capacitors for your Fans on Lazada.co.th or Amazon (Affiliate)
  
• Same or lower tolerance percentages for those two specifications. Mine went from +10% ,- 5% to +-5% which is a tighter (better) range
  
• Similar or greater range of operating temperature ratings. Mine is -25 to +70 Celsius.
  

Re-assemble in reverse and viola! As good or even better than new!

See the results on my Instagram!

View this post on Instagram

This fan says no. #diy capacitor replacement. Can you guess which is the old capacitor?

A post shared by Tiger Passawit Kaovilai (@kaovilai) on Jun 30, 2020 at 3:25am PDT