Nah, give up, buy a new fan.

Ok, who else has been taking their fan apart and cleaning it today? 

 

 not much help to you, but note to oneself, finger tight when assembling will do 

21 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

Did you ask on you tube? Since discovering you tube for tutorials I have built a gaming pc, became my own plumber and fixed my fridge..

Try it

 

What I would do is use a fine tooth saw to cut a slot in the retaining cap ( never heard them called a "lug" before ) and insert a long item such as a machete into the slot to make it turn. Long enough implement, it's either going to undo or break. You did mention that you have a replacement.

When replacing, spray with WD45 to avoid similar in the future and don't overtighten.

I think the machines are winning

 

I have already tried all of the obvious things and also most of the your suggestions but still no movement 

 

Problem with heating the lug / retaining cap, which I have already tried, is that there is a gap between the outer cap and the inner thread section as seen on this spare Hatari cap, so heating the outside will not really help. 

  

 

The fan is actually not that dirty and can be quite easily cleaned with the blades still in place, a bit more fiddly but it will work.

 

I am not giving up on this, I have never as far as I can remember ever been beaten by a stuck nut, thread, stud or whatever, though they were all the usual metal on metal types and conventional tricks worked eventually.

 

This plastic on metal is something different but I will persevere. To that end I shall be buying a new replacement fan and that will give lots of time to work on it. The machines shall not win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What I would do is use a fine tooth saw to cut a slot in the retaining cap ( never heard them called a "lug" before ) and insert a long item such as a machete into the slot to make it turn. Long enough implement, it's either going to undo or break. You did mention that you have a replacement.

When replacing, spray with WD45 to avoid similar in the future and don't overtighten.

Is there a steel sleeve inside the nut? There could be. It seems strange that if it's only plastic it wouldn't have come off using grips.

Have you always "owned" that fan? If not it could be possible that someone ruined the thread in the cap and decided to glue it back on after cleaning?   

When in doubt,give it a clout.

1 hour ago, Carib said:

Have you always "owned" that fan? If not it could be possible that someone ruined the thread in the cap and decided to glue it back on after cleaning?   

Now that's a possibility 

 

I don't know where it actually came from it's just been here a long time, could have come with the wife , so it could well have been subject to a local "repair" at some time in the past 

10 hours ago, Daffy D said:

Now that's a possibility 

 

I don't know where it actually came from it's just been here a long time, could have come with the wife , so it could well have been subject to a local "repair" at some time in the past 

Buy a new fan 

12 hours ago, farmerjo said:

When in doubt,give it a clout.

Or as the 2nd Engineer used to say when i was in the "real" Navy. "fix it or kcuf it"

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Or as the 2nd Engineer used to say when i was in the "real" Navy. "fix it or kcuf it"

Ah but only deck counted as the 'real' navy 

Guys in their fancy white tropical uniforms know nothing!

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Guys in their fancy white tropical uniforms know nothing!

Nothing wrong with 'whites', on the bridge or saloon. Even the ginger beers wore them after work.

Red Sea rig