Sudden, loud, 'whirring' noise? Elephant model I have the elephant version of this model. I used to love this product but recently, it will wake me up in the middle of the night with a loud 'broken fan' noise (like if your fans in your computer are dusty) i.e. a 'whirring' sound. Has anyone else had this issue or found a method of fixing it? I am hesitant to open the unit to inspect it for dust, etc. Thanks! Sudden, loud, 'whirring' noise? Elephant model I have the elephant version of this model. I used to love this product but recently, it will wake me up in the middle of the night with a loud... » Read More Sudden, loud, 'whirring' noise? Elephant model I have the elephant version of this model. I used to love this product but recently, it will wake me up in the middle of the night with a loud 'broken fan' noise (like if your fans in your computer are dusty) i.e. a 'whirring' sound. Has anyone else had this issue or found a method of fixing it? I am hesitant to open the unit to inspect it for dust, etc. Thanks! « Show Less
80080
We have the Hello Kitty model. A week ago, ours started doing the same thing, making a very loud whirring fan noise. At first i was able to move it around and i got the sound back to the original "whisper quiet" sound level. Turned it on tonight and the fan is dead. Got it November 2010, so we're two months out of warranty... :(
80081
You can fix the fan yourself. This user posted a video showing how to do it:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjRDjOL8nCYMy penguin model started to develop a whirr, so I followed the instructions in the video and it's now back to quiet. If your fan is totally dead and you're out of warranty, it's easy to replace. It's just a standard 2-pin 80 mm computer fan. They run about $5 on eBay. Unscrew four to six screws on the bottom of the basin, lift off the top or bottom section, unscrew four screws holding the fan, disconnect the fan connector (it's not soldered, just attaches to a pair of pins on the control board,) plug in the new fan and replace the screws. Seriously, a monkey could do it. You can fix the fan yourself. This user posted a video showing how to do it:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjRDjOL8nCYMy penguin model started to develop a whirr, so I followed the instructions in the video and it's now back to quiet. If your fan is totally dead and you're out of warranty, it's easy to replace. It's just a standard 2-pin 80 mm computer fan. They run about $5 on eBay. Unscrew four to six screws on the bottom of the basin, lift off the top or bottom section, unscrew four screws holding the fan, disconnect the fan connector (it's not... » Read More You can fix the fan yourself. This user posted a video showing how to do it:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjRDjOL8nCYMy penguin model started to develop a whirr, so I followed the instructions in the video and it's now back to quiet. If your fan is totally dead and you're out of warranty, it's easy to replace. It's just a standard 2-pin 80 mm computer fan. They run about $5 on eBay. Unscrew four to six screws on the bottom of the basin, lift off the top or bottom section, unscrew four screws holding the fan, disconnect the fan connector (it's not soldered, just attaches to a pair of pins on the control board,) plug in the new fan and replace the screws. Seriously, a monkey could do it. « Show Less
80082
Yes I'm having the same problem also with the elephant model. tried to get the bottom off to look inside but it was not detatching around the feet and I couldn't figure out how to get it off. Unfortunately I'm a little past my warranty.
80083
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Daic5iodsEg - This video show the exact problem described and a solution to it. Unfortunately the hello kitty model I got do not have any screw to open it. May be I have to pry open it and try.
80084
I have the Hello Kitty model and the same thing happened. For some reason the fan gets misaligned even though I have it on a flat surface and it hardly moves. I called Crane and if you are under warranty they will replace it. I think it may be a flaw in most of their humidifiers, I have gone through 3 of them already due to the same problem every time.
80085
Great video. That's the same sound. Perfect too as I was just thinking about doing something like this and inspected the bottom of the unit. The hello kitty model must be sealed shut in the factory as it's quite a different shape compared to some of the other animals.... There are no screws or openable areas at all! I even removed the four rubber feet, thinking there would be a screw underneath each one- no dice. Absolutely no way to get inside. I am tempted to cut it open with a dremel. "if you can't open it, you don't own it"
80086
It's 2015 and this is STILL a huge problem! I bought a new one at Target because I had cracked my original Crane humidifier (just the regular blue and white one). I figured that they'd identify and fix the the problem by now, but they didn't! The new one had a bad fan right out of the box, I took the piece of garbage right back to Target and I will never EVER buy another Crane humidifier.
2166738
Hi Patricia...I had the same thing happen to mine but the high pitched noise eventually occurred on all of the speeds. It was not constant...it would come and go but it was very annoying. Couldn't figure out a way to get into the unit to see what was going on. Seemed to me to be some sort of lubrication issue. In any event we really liked the air purifier so we just purchased a new one. It works great and it's one of the least expensive on the market.
1913646
I have no fan noise. My old HP fan sounded like a dying hard drive. The laptop heated up to painful levels. The biggest thing I notice about this is there is no sound, no heat. I wouldn't mind some heat this winter. :) Perhaps you can return that one and get a new one. I think you have a dud.
732027
I have the larger model. I have cooked White and GABA brown on this. It is not very loud. There is a low hum while it is cooking/prepping from the internal fan, which sounds like my laptop when it isn't working very hard.If yours sounds like a grinding noise I would suspect that either something is in your fan causing it to grind, or you otherwise have a faulty fan. I don't think there are other components in there which are capable of making loud noises. Unless there is some process of induction cooking for which I am unaware that might cause this.
128881
Thank you! That was definitely part of my problem. One last question: when opening, I hear a pleasant ratcheting sound, which I don't hear when closing. Does yours also not make that sound in one direction?
932718
I only got to use mine 3 times before it went in the shop but I dont recall a sound like that. I did find out my noise is from a bad hepa filter and roller brush...neither of which were replaced before I got it or are covered under the warranty. I am really wondering now what gets replaced on these "reconditioned" units. Knowing that, you may want to have it checked out. Good luck :-D
1910553
I hear no such noise in mine, however, I always leave mine in standby mode. I suspect you have a noisy cooling fan.
76219
Does anyone who installed windows 8 have trouble with a very loud fan noise? I contacted acer support about the fan noise and they said windows 8 might be the problem.
1996039
"Very loud"? I owned two of these after trying out three different brands/models in the last five years, and both were average noise level of a desktop computer fan. I would say if the noise you're hearing resembles something louder than a desktop computer running, then some thing is up. Good luck!
646043
I have only had the unit one night, but the fan noise does seem a little loud. Which is unfortunate because I kept reading how quiet it is and that is one of the main reasons I bought one. Not sure if it is just my unit, or if this is just how normally loud it is for others? Also, my fan ALWAYS seems to be running, even if I am not pushing it hard at all.
732026
I have the larger model. I have cooked White and GABA brown on this. It is not very loud. There is a low hum while it is cooking/prepping from the internal fan, which sounds like my laptop when it isn't working very hard. If yours sounds like a grinding noise I would suspect that either something is in your fan causing it to grind, or you otherwise have a faulty fan. I don't think there are other components in there which are capable of making loud noises. Unless there is some process of induction cooking for which I am unaware that might cause this.
306467
We never shut ours off.... however it goes into sleep mode and when I pull up the the part to release the pod it dooes make a hissing noise which is the extra pressure being released and then is sounds like a slight whining sound while it prepairs itself for the next use. However er have had 2 machines and for several years (gave one to my sister because I wanted a different color) and both did the same thing since the first use and one machine is 3 and the other 1.5 years old. If the sound is very loud I would call customer support. Hope it helps.
1815748
Well, there is a certain element of noise as the motor works to turn the fan, but it's a white noise, a quiet noise if you will. There are certainly no ticking or whizzing or whining noises. I put it on and forget it's going. I've been quite happy with mine.
607927
I have had the biocube 14 running in my living room for almost 2 years now and I don't think i have ever noticed the sound of the fan. It is possible yours is rattling in place or you have a faulty fan? If it is actually loud I would contact the manufacturer.
1515268
No. I've had mine over 2 years and I've never heard anything like that. I only hear the fan and air blowing.
36311
Thanks Wagner. I will set it that way and see if anything changes over the next day or two and post back here.So much for a day or two, I just tried it and it is very loud now. Mine wasnt refurbished, I bought it new in the package. Werid bug for sure.
1289050
Mr. Heater seems to keep improving these units. I just bought mine in September of this year, and it was manufactured in May of this year (2013). I bought it at a local big box store.The fan on this unit seems pretty quiet. Certainly not noisy as others have reported in the past. You will hear the fan, but is smooth sounding an not obtrusive. My guess is that they've improved the fan quality in these current units.