The most amazing balancing act ever was when Nik Wallenda of the famed tightrope walking family crossed the gorge of Little Colorado River Navajo Tribal Park near the Grand Canyon. The 2-inch cable stretched about ¼ mile and was 1500 ft above the ground. Much less awe-inspiring are the balancing acts we face every day. We try to live a balanced life, eat a balanced diet, and try to find that perfect balance of work and family life. Our cars must have a balanced frame and suspension system with perfectly balanced tires to avoid uneven tire wear and reduced fuel economy. Another place where balance is vital is in the compressor unit of HVAC units where large fan blades help get rid of the heat from inside the house. Some noises are expected when the unit comes to life and the fan begins to rotate. When the fan is out of balance, those noises turn into rattles, vibrations, and clanging noises if a misaligned fan blade impacts other metal components in the housing. The good news is that the HVAC compressor fan can be easily cleaned and re-balanced. One trick is to tape a dime to one of the fan blades to add a bit of excess weight. Then, a series of comparison tests can be run using gravity to determine any differences in blade weights. Some tweaking and bits of well-placed duct tape should restore the fan’s balance and allow it to run quietly. That is until your amateurish balancing efforts fail, and you end up with a damaged compressor fan. That is when you can call your qualified HVAC technician who can simply replace the fan and balance the unit professionally without those strategic duct tape additions.