Furnace motors

[Perry]

Just venting. (excuse the pun)

The group of DIY guys here and knowledge present is probably the only place I can think of that will understand my thought patterns. lol



I installed a Carrier furnace in my house 25 years ago. It has been a good unit and has never let me down.

The blower motor on this model is a direct drive unit with no oil ports.

25 years with no oil? I'm a proactive kind of a guy and started questioning the path to take with this. Presently there is no problem (that I know of) with the unit. Researching this motor
tells me I should expect a 12 year life span.

You tube has a few videos of guys taking apart these motors and oiling them with 20W non detergent oil.

My luck, I would take it apart...screw something up and be sitting without a furnace until I could get a new motor. ( And a record cold snap would blow into my city. )


So I thought I would bite the bullet, order a new motor. Install it. Oil the old motor and put it on the shelf as a spare.

This is where it gets interesting. AMRE in Calgary shows two motors. The original Carrier motor. Only $852 or an Asian motor $328.
I decide I want the original Carrier model as the one I have, held up for 25 years. However I'm not too happy about the price.

Some more research leads me to a heatingpartscanada. An Ontario based company. $429.99 plus shipping and tax still better then the $852.

Carrier HC41AE117 Furnace Blower Motor

Carrier Blower Motor HC41AE117, GE model 5KCP39GGS336S Mississauga Ottawa Canada

www.heatingpartscanada.ca

I call them to confirm I will be getting a Carrier(made by G.E.) motor for the price.

My new motor shows up today......

Broad-Ocean (Hai Phong) Made in Vietnam

Not happy. lol.

So, I'm sitting here this evening wondering about this. Reading away on the web and I find this....

https://ir.carrier.com/news-releases/news-release-details/broad-ocean-motor-joins-carrier-alliance-supplier-program

The line that catches my attention is
"With this agreement, Broad-Ocean Motor will supply Carrier-branded OEM and replacement motors across Carrier's HVAC and Refrigeration portfolios in North America and Asia."

Should my new motor not be branded Carrier?


This new motor only has a one year warranty. I wonder if I'll see 25 years out of it.


I could return the new motor. But while the new motor is sitting here on standby, I could tear my old motor out. Take it apart and oil it. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. If not I'm covered.



Thoughts?

 

[140mower]

So I am sitting here thinking I could return the new motor. But while it is sitting here on standby, I could tear my old motor out. Take it apart and oil it. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. If not I'm covered.

This would likely be my direction of attack. And as long as you don't use it, I see nothing wrong with this plan.....

 

[DPittman]

I installed a used furnace (yes it was used but it was an upgrade to what I had) it was only about 5 years old when I installed it. After about 10 years or so I begin to hear the occasional small squawk as it started up. "oh no my motor bearings are pilling up!" So I quickly bought a new replacement motor for it. Replacement was made in Mexico and the original was not but I don't recall where exactly but I'm thinking USA. I put in the new motor and it's been fine since and that's been about 15 years ago+ or -?
I inquired at the electrical place I bought the new motor about repairing the non replaceable bearings in the old. They told me all they consisted of was a press in cap/bushing with oil soaked fiber material around the shaft. They sold me a pinch of dry fiber stuff for like $2 and said all I needed to do is install and restart with oil. I can't remember if they sold/gave me new press in caps or not. That old motor has sat fixed under my shop bench waiting for the new made in Mexico motor to crap out ever since.
I think if I were you I would see if you can squirt in some 30W oil I to that fiber packing. I'd even drill a small pin hole in the cap to do so if I needed. I figure you don't have much to loose. But I wouldn't do any of that until I suspected bearings problems. The capacitor is the other most likely component to fail. Capacitors are relatively common, cheap and easy to replace.

 

[Ironman]

Almost everything, high quality or junk is offshore made. Your Milwaukee tools are made in china. Most of John Deere equipment, and all their combines are made in China. If Carrier is putting their name on it, it will be built to their standards

 

[Perry]

OK, just an update.

Pulled the motor. Took it apart and oiled it.
Took just under a hour to do this. Probably faster next time round.


The motor has a bushing on the shaft at each end. No bearings.

The one shaft end is enclosed in a cap. This end was still well lubricated and looked to be in as new condition.

The other shaft end that protrudes through the casting and has the fan connected to it was much dryer. It had a bit of black residue that might have been from a rubber seal that sits on the shaft, or possibly a mix of dusty and oil. Whatever it was it was not as nice as the other end.

You could see that placing the casting with the bushing onto the shaft and spinning it, that it was not spinning as long (or as easy) as the other end casting.

Cleaned everything up. Fresh 20W non detergent oil (3 in 1 oil) and spinning freely.

My guess is this is where the motor would have started to fail eventually. Time well spent . I will pull it apart next year and check it out to see how it held up.

Not bad for a motor with 25 years on it. Maybe the sealed approach is not that bad of an idea. No debris to get into the bushings?

Cheers,

 

[Perry]

Almost everything, high quality or junk is offshore made. Your Milwaukee tools are made in china. Most of John Deere equipment, and all their combines are made in China. If Carrier is putting their name on it, it will be built to their standards

Problem is......the new motor does not have their logo or any information on it. Even different part number, but still high price.

 

[Ironman]

Well, that's Canada. I would keep it for a backup and lubricate and keep the original motor working then.

 

[Former Member]

Breakfree spray into the bearings and let the sucker run.

As long as the the unit stays balanced the bearing are general oiled bronze which is way they last.