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Blower Fan Bad

6K views 43 replies 8 participants last post by  Yoyizit 
#1 ·
My AC started making grinding noises in the basement so i turned it off and checked and a doughnut piece of metal broke off the blower fan by the wheel where the belt attaches. I noticed now i can wiggle around the axel of the blower fan freely, so it seems obvious what is wrong. Does this mean the whole blower fan unit needs to be replaced? If so is this very difficult, im fairly handy and an engineer but never have tackled much HVAC work. Additionally, how difficult is it to find a replacement blower fan? I think the unit maybe relatively old, so do these unit come in a standard size.

Thanks
 
#4 ·
update

ok, so the furnace is the original williamson oil furnace model 1167 12-5. I think its from 1975. I opened up one side of the furnace and realized i wouldnt be able to replace the blower unless i removed the other side of the furnance. I unscrewed all the screws but 2 of them are competely locked up so ill have to drill them out i guess.

I had a guy come out to give his analysis, and he said i probably wouldnt be able to find a replacement blower and i should replace the furnace and the orginal interior ac coil that has a small leak (the exterior ac unit is only 7 years old). He quoted me 4600 for a lennox oil OV23 furnace, coil replacement, themostat, 1 year service, 5 year parts warranty, with tax and installation. Also he also said id save a bunch on oil (50%) and ac with the new furnace and coil.
- First off is this price reasonable, it sounds high to me?
- Secondly, is oil the right way to go? I dont have access to gas but what about a heat-pump (i live in cincinnati)?
- How much more would a heat pump system cost? Could i get a tax credit also?
- Should i just fix my existing blower? Anyone know if there is a match for my make and model?

Thanks
 
#8 ·
You might save up to 50% on your heating bill with a new oil furnace. If the contractor actually sizes it to the load(heatloss) of your house.

If he just installs the same size. Then you might get a 15% savings.

While a heat pump may save you more. Deending on your electric rate. It will probalby cost you more to have installed.

In order to get the tax credit. You have to get a pretty high efficiency unit. And sometimes. You don't even break on the installation cost. And it can take a while to recoup your money. Again, depending on your electric rates.

You should get 2 or 3 more estimates. And ask them about switching to a heat pump. Or even a dual fuel heat pump.
 
#11 ·
You may be able to get a new blower if it is/was made by Lau/Delhi and has a number on it like 8-13 which means a 8" by 13" wheel and can be cross referenced by a heating supplier. I would consider a new furnace as any oil furnace at that age probably has a poor combustion chamber/ is not efficient and going to be a money $$ pit in repairs. The new blower may get you buy in a pinch but a new furnace is better value for your $$ than doing repairs. Oil furnaces can also produce carbon monoxide and have cracked heat exchangers same as gas.
 
#13 ·
HDD doesn't even need to be looked at.

Really has little to no bearing on the economics of a heat pump.
You need to know bin hours at temp, HDD won't tell you a thing.

HDD is just about the most abused number for figuring anything with heating.

Its ok for fuel delivery if you are going to adjust the K factor after every delivery. But thats about all its really worth using it for.

You can make HDD numbers look good by fudging the math to fit the results. But, they are fudged numbers. Makes them worthless.

People have been trying for more then 40 years.
 
#14 · (Edited)
You need to know bin hours at temp
Each K factor adjustment was 5%? 10%? That's close enough for me for a first cut.

I thought 64 F for 24 hours = 24 bin hours = 1 HDD?
If it's
"The Bin Hours data is presented in 5 degree [wide] Fahrenheit bins." it's even more approximate, since you are rounding to the nearest five degrees F.
HDD data rounds to the nearest degree.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Insolation? Wind? Rain? Snow?

(23+16)/2 = 19.5, 19.5 -16 = 3.5, so it's 3.5/19.5 = ~18%, so it's a +/- 18% variation. Not bad for doing economics numbers.
And the best you can do with Manual J is +/-5%? I've seen this accuracy limit somewhere. . .?

The other thing is a statistical effect. You make the measurement above once and you +/- 18% accuracy. If you make it 100 times over several months you get to be within +/- ~2% of the true value.
 
#21 ·
See, in reality.
The HDDs tell you nothing.

You don't know the heat output of the heat pump.
You don't know how much heat the house needs under what conditions.

A load calc. And the extended data specs for the heat pump will tell you when the heat pump can't handle the load anymore.
 
#29 ·
Ok the OP is back and this thread just blew up while I was away. Soooo im still pulling my hair out over this decision. My Electric rates are currently around .08-.09. My Oil tank is probably the original so sticking with oil makes me nervous considering the cost of replacing a leaking oil tank if that was to happen. Additionally, resale value is affected negatively with oil heat. On the other hand the Heat-pump with electric backup, sounds like a whole new beast to get used to. Im also, nervous about huge electric bills in the cold months. Granted with my 30 year old furnace i was using about 600 gallons of oil a year. So for my little house with good insulation what is best choice? Are Heat pumps noiser than a normal AC unit? In cold weather does the Heat pump and electric run at the same time? THe unit i was looking at has a 10 year parts and labor warranty, is there some fine print i should worry about there?
 
#30 ·
At 600 gallons of oil. If, your oil cost $2.30 a gallon, and your furnace was 80% efficient, then your oil bill would have been $1,381.00

A heat pump, should be able to lower that bill to about $1,000.00

A dual fuel might get you down to $800.00

Those numbers are without lnowing your areas heating hours or conditions.
 
#31 ·
From what I know heat pumps can be less comfortable for some people as the supply air temp is a lot lower than that of oil. Same thing with geothermal. They run longer with a lower supply air temp and older sedentary people or those with poor metabolism don't like that. That is why radiant heat is so popular. You may want to consider that as you will have to live with your decision for a long time. Cost is one thing, comfort another.

Good Luck
 
#36 ·
Fwiw

SW Ontario, Canada
398.7 cubic meters = 140 therms of NG in 28 days = 5 therms/day
2900 sq. ft. including basement gives 5/2900 = 170 BTU/day/sq. ft.
664 HDD/28 = 24 HDD in one day
170/24 = 7.1 BTU/sq. ft./HDD
Effic. factor 0.8
final 5.7

D.C.
838 therms of NG in 90 days = 9.3 therms/day
3100 sq. ft. including basement gives 9.3/3100 = 300 BTU/sq.ft.
2658 HDD/90 = 30 HDD in one day
300/30 = 10 BTU/day/sq.ft./HDD
Effic. factor 0.8
final 8.0

SF, CA
2.3 therm/day
2700 sq. ft. gives 85 BTU/day/sq.ft.
540/30 = 18 HDD in one day
85/18 = 4.7 BTU/sq. ft./HDD
Effic. factor 0.8
final 3.8

San Diego, CA
29,000 BTU/hr = 21 therms/30 days = 0.7 therm/day
1560 sq ft including basement gives 0.7/1560 = 45 BTU/day/sq.ft.
270 HDD/30 = 9 HDD in one day
45/9 = 5.0 BTU/sq.ft./HDD
Effic. factor 0.8
final 4.0

victoria, BC
So 750 gals of oil giving 1100 therms for 4900 HDD for 180 days for 2000 sq. ft.
6.1 therms/day
2000 sq. ft gives 6.1/2000 = 305 BTU/day/sq.ft.
4900/180 = 27 HDD in one day
305/27 = 11 BTU/sq. ft./HDD
Effic. factor 0.8
final 8.8

Cincinnati, OH
600 gals/yr, 680 therms for 5096 HDD for 365 days for 1250 sq. ft.
1.86 therms/day
1250 sq. ft. gives 149 BTU/day/sq. ft.
5096/365 = 14.0 HDD in one day
149/14.0 = 10.6 BTU/sq. ft./HDD
Effic. factor already in there
final 11

Wisconsin Energy Study gives
4.4
1.7

Ranked
1.7
3.8
4.0
4.4
5.7
8.0
8.8
11

Range 1.7 to 11
Median 5.0
Average 5.9
 
#39 · (Edited)
Since you're at 11 [my 40 yr. old house is at 8.0] I guess I'd look for some confirmation of your heat loss, and then look into payback periods for addt'l insulation, considering this along with how long you plan to live in that house. >10 yr. paybacks are almost the same as "never" and people move on average each 7 yrs.

In temperate regions insulating value may not be that important, but you're not in one.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table

But first get a lot of opinions from hands-on-HVACers.
 
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