I finally admitted my $45 desk fan was junk after 3 summers, but my brother says keep fixing stuff until it really dies

Shane Bell · 2026-09-21T11:45:05.510768+00:00

Bought a $45 fan at a hardware store in Tulsa three summers back and last week the blade started wobbling and grinding on the housing. I took the cage off and the plastic bushing is chewed up, so I zip tied a rubber grommet in there and it runs quiet again, at least for now. My brother says that is dumb, just toss it and get a new one, because a $45 fan is not worth the headache. I say a 20 minute fix beats adding more junk to the landfill, and the grommet cost me nothing from a parts bin. Where do you all draw the line, do you fix it till the motor burns out or is there a dollar amount that means it goes straight to the trash?

Vivisector

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I finally admitted my $45 desk fan was junk after 3 summers, but my brother says keep fixing stuff until it really dies | Bought It, Broke It - Vivisector