Furnace Motor Took A Dump

[peter]

i bought a fan motor for my furnace from a elec motor shop i think it was $80 and i installed it my self ,that was 3 yrs ago and it still humm's along.

hey ,peter have you heard of fairbanks-morse furnaces ??

Nope, never heard of that manufacturer. Pourquoi?

[Southern]

Furnace motor just shut down on overtemp again. I measured the rear bearing cap (56 Deg.C) and the motor windings (37 Deg C). From my previous data the motor bearings are shot. I have the power shut off on the furnace to let the motor cool down. On the bright side I have my wood burning fireplace as a back-up until the new motor arrives.

[tbhager94]

peter , from what i found its about 40 yrs old .

[peter]

Southern, I sure hope you get your motor soon

Flipster, I don't deal in residential stuff, mostly commercial/industrial

[CaptSquid]

I've heard of Fairbanks-Morse. They make diesel engines for Submarines!

[Southern]

Finally got the new blower motor today.

It warmed up enough to start melting the snow so I took my time installing the new blower motor.

I measured the amps of the new motor with no load (sitting on the floor) to be 2.1A. The old motor with no load measured 3.2A.

After installing the new blower motor I measured the amps with the blower cover on and the furnace filter in. It measured 4.0A. This is compared to the old motor (loaded) measured 4.6A. Not a huge difference but every little bit helps.


I ended up putting in synthetic lube in the bearings, the oil I previously put in was gone, to get the old motor to limp-along for another day. I forgot how quite a furnace can be after the blower motor replacement. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement along the way.

[astrozam]

Glad to hear you got er working

[peter]

Great job. So, was the hp rating identical to the old motor? And was the measured amperage on high speed?

[Southern]

Great job. So, was the hp rating identical to the old motor? And was the measured amperage on high speed?

Yes, the new motor is also rated at 1/4 HP and amps were both measured at high speed. The old motor is a Franklin Electric and the new motor is Emerson Electric. The generic book that came with the new motor recommends re-oiling the bearings about every 5 years (based on the occasional motor usage) because they are sleeve bearings. My original furnace may be replaced before then.

So far it has been doing it's job of keeping the house at 68 Deg. F.

[GEJ]

Might want to consider a vent free gas unit to add to your heat which is 99.9% efficient.

[peter]

Great job. So, was the hp rating identical to the old motor? And was the measured amperage on high speed?

Yes, the new motor is also rated at 1/4 HP and amps were both measured at high speed. The old motor is a Franklin Electric and the new motor is Emerson Electric. The generic book that came with the new motor recommends re-oiling the bearings about every 5 years (based on the occasional motor usage) because they are sleeve bearings. My original furnace may be replaced before then.

So far it has been doing it's job of keeping the house at 68 Deg. F.

Amazing that a newer motor would have an amperage rating...and subsequent wattage consumption, of 20% less than an older motor of the same fractional hp. You really do learn something new every day.....

PS: 68*? What are you, a penguin? My t-stat "at home temp is 72*, setback temp is 66*, ferchrissakes...

[Southern]

PS: 68*? What are you, a penguin? My t-stat "at home temp is 72*, setback temp is 66*, ferchrissakes... [/quote]

You wouldn't want to be in my house during the summer months.
It's cheaper to have your mind think it's the opposite season to deal with the extreem hot & cold.

BTW, I have a 30,000 BTU natural gas heater in my garage. That wouldn't have been able to heat the house, not enough BTU's. I would be better off starting a fire in the fire place and turn on the ceiling fans. I could at least keep the garage warm.