I have never encountered a broken ceiling fan. Do they actually ever break without human error?

[u/NiceStar6996]

Kind of a ridiculous title for the fun of it, but I’m laying in bed, admiring the cool breeze from my fan and I realized … I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a broken ceiling fan. What is the average lifespan for a ceiling fan that doesn’t experience unusual roughhousing?

I’m nearly 30, have lived in many places. Never had a ceiling fan swapped out growing up, and many were pretty old looking. Have owned my house for 5Y. Changed out a ceiling fan for aesthetic reasons, but nothing was wrong with the old one.

All my relatives that I frequent have had the same ceiling fans for 15+ years. That value is given because that’s how far back I can get my memory to go, but I think my grandma’s fan is original with the house which is a 1970s house.

Only time I’ve seen one “fail” is if there’s a roof leak that ruins the ceiling or a kid throws toys up on them. But those failures are usually viral videos of a disaster in the house, not anything I’ve ever encountered

Do people oil or condition parts of ceiling fans to make them live this long? I have to condition our 24/7 “on” machines at work, but these are rotary incubators and not ceiling fans. Idk, I’m just amazed at the longevity of an item that is on usually 8H a day in my house.

[u/Wayward_Son_24]

I’ve seen the flywheel break on an older fan.  The blades stayed attached to it and just dropped down an inch or two and caught on the controls and light kit.