How to oil electric HVAC fan motors with no port - Squeaky Furnace Repair
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- I'm using 3-IN-ONE SAE 20 Motor Oil for electric motors → amzn.to/2k63XWl If your motor has little yellow (sometimes black) removable plugs, you can oil the motor without taking the whole thing apart. Taking the motor apart is not too bad of a job. Just be sure to take advantage of the situation and clean the dirt and dust off your blower wheel.
As with any project like this turn the power off before you begin. Also, take photos of the wire connections before you disconnect them.
The blower wheel has been weight balanced like a car tire so remember to be careful when handling it.
If your furnace blower motor is squeaking you want to oil it right away. Seriously. It will only get worse with time and you don't want to have to replace the motor if that can be avoided.
Best of luck with your repair!
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Disclaimer:
This video is only for entertainment purposes. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or from the information in this video is the sole responsibility of the viewer and is to be used at the discretion of the end-user/viewer and not AdamDIY and or Adam Hill. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume responsibility for the results. If you are uncertain about any step of the process or feel unsure about your skill level, seek a more authoritative source.
Well done! As a retired pilot I can tell you that you are absolutely right about the debris on the fan blades as they are actually airfoils and are greatly hindered when they are not clean and smooth. There are many stories of airplanes not being able to take off because of a light frost on the wings! Best of luck!
What's the worst is when ice forms on the wings & then breaks off just at take-off & gets injested into the engines.
not bad teaching bud.... no sensationalism, no politics, no distractions or sarcasm.. just good clean information... pretty nice job; thank you very much for producing this video and investing in the future.
Agree! And no annoying, loud, mind-numbing, distracting and stupid music playing in the background.
You know where someone stands when they bring up politics out of nowhere
I used the ideas in this video to lubricate the little evaporator fan in my fridge/freezer. It was so loud it was unusable not to mention that it would stop spinning every few seconds. The appliance repair website said motors like this couldn't be repaired and needed to be replaced ($60.) It's fixed now for just a little time and effort. People such as yourself who share their knowledge make the internet better. THANK-YOU!
This video was a lifesaver! My furnace blower had started squeaking and then eventually got to the point where it would not start, I replaced the capacitor but it still wouldn't work. I could get it to run by manually turning the fan to start it, but it would always die out and stop after some time, I'm assuming because it was just getting so hot from spinning that it siezed up. Thanks to this video and another that helped me confirm it was okay electrically I managed to get it running for under $15! It would have been five but I had to buy a wrench ;) Thank you so much for this tutorial! I finally have a cool house again and NO $500+ repair bill!!! Woo! For anyone needing to get to oil quickly I managed to find mine at Lowe's so I didn't have to wait for shipping either. Great fix!!!
Great video...Simple and to the point, with extra tips...I'm semi retired HVAC, and a former instructor....Might do it again...This video is the way to teach....No garbage, no confusion...My thanks to the gent that made it.
Another happy person giving YOU thanks for this great vid. I have an "all in one" unit on the roof- the blower would seize after 5-10 minutes and sometimes never spin at all, just hum & growl. **I had a real problem getting the wheel off of the shaft. Frozen.** Anyway, got the motor out, cleaned and oiled as shown (used air compressor tool oil- similar) and changed the capacitors (three total in my system). Now? Click- WHOOOSH.... better performance than ever! Just again, major thanks. Huge help to me, and needed our A/C in July... in the California high desert. Running strong, just finished it today. (97 outside, 74 inside- ahhh.)
Very nice video, Adam. Your furnace is 90% like mine. It's "comfortmaker" brand and the startup sequence is slightly different. I'd gone through all of this before I ever saw your video. I have some electrical experience, so I went by intuition. A month later, the blower started squeaking again. I found your video as I was looking for an oil recommendation. I had used 3-in-One all purpose oil. When I do it again, I'll use the 3-in-One SAE 20, like you did. The info about the sponge in the bearing was appreciated. To other viewers: I recommend labeling all wires with tape before disconnecting them.
This was a totally awesome tutorial. We are about to get some support cold weather and my furnace went out a couple of days ago. After seeing and doing this, the furnace is running again just in time for single-digit weather. Thanks for posting this.
Wow! Thanks a bunch for this video. This gave me the confidence to tackle my own squeaky blower motor. I especially appreciate how you get right into it without adding extra fluff.
Thanks, you probably saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars. My regular hvac company has been telling me to buy a new unit, even though my current one is only 6 years old. This will give me a few more years out of the system.
Just want to add my thanks. My house fan started squealing and I used your instructions to tackle it.
New blower motor quote: $271
Labor (Sunday x2) quote: $450
Scratch that...
3 in One oil: $4
Knowing that by following the steps in this video I was able to repair my own hvac blower motor: priceless.
WOW that's a huge chunk of change you saved!
Completely new motor off ebay $55 bucks since your in there lol
Adam DIY
Yeah,I would do the exact same thing,but unfortunately I'm bedridden.I can't get down to the furnace to do that work,which is exactly what I would do and have done before,but my friend is stubborn and won't listen to anything I tell him to do,so he and my daughter are going to the furnace supply to get another squirrel cage because the furnace guy that was here screwed it up,he's got the blower squirrel cage rubbing on the housing and all the motor needs is just what you did,take it apart,oil the felts in the ends of the motor plates,and one thing that you neglected to do,and that was clean the shaft and interior of the bushings with a rag and some solvent because there are Gummy deposits in those oilight bushings and on the motor shaft. And those caps are called "dust caps" they're there to keep the dirt and dust from working its way down into the bearings.It's imperative to replace them to keep dirt out of the bearings/bushings resulting in the same problem you had before,if not complete motor failure !!!!!! Just sayin' ♿ 🇺🇸
This is awesome . I often say just because you have not done it before doesn't mean that you can't do it. I did it and it's very quiet now. 20 plus years still running . Thank you
My gas furnace has been grinding loudly and couldn't find the source. Your post gave the the comfort and ease to trouble shoot and repair mine. Thanks a bunch. Our nights a much more peaceful now,
You just saved me a ton of money during a 90 degree heatwave!!! Squeaky bearings in a oilless GE motor, took me all night to get the coils cleaned out and the motor re-oiled but everything is running smoothly now and the house is cooling down again! also doesn't help that the crap plastic drip pans try to disintegrate when you open them up...
THANK YOU!!!!!! Do you know how many hours per day for, like, 2 weeks worth of looking this up and no one wants to give a straight-forward step-by-step without loading up 200 ads and useless videos on their website; except you.
so glad I found this. broke and cant afford expensive repairs. thank you!!!!
I'm not up to trying this my myself-but really appreciate seeing this-I think it's a shame that they don't make furnaces with oil ports anymore-seems like everything is designed for a short life span anymore-(throw everything away & buy new)-I'd give anything for the old furnaces you could oil when they needed it-but I will show this to my h/h guy-thank you.
Excellent video Adam! Looked at a gang of motor lubrication videos on here but yours is the best by far. I just did my condenser 1/4hp fan motor which has no oil ports in the end bells so I marked the end bells with a sharpie marker so I could not mix up the end bells on re-installation. Works like a champ....thanks Adam!
Good tips Adam. I did mine about 5 years ago. What led me to "dig in" was the motor was vibrating and making noise like crazy. Mostly caused by sheetrock dust collecting on the blower wheel, throwing it out of balance. That probably put additional load on the motor bearings as well, as the spindle end that goes into the wheel takes a beating.
Surprised they didn't provide an easy way to oil these motors - used to be more common. While I had mine apart, I drilled a hole in the top of each bearing housing to accept a short length of 1/8 stainless tubing pressed in, to which I attached two lengths of thin Tygon tubing to run out to the front of the blower housing. Now, every 5 years or so, I use a syringe to add more turbine oil for the bearings.
The design, with no external oil cup, is another silly example of our throw away society. The HVAC companies around here just put in a new motor, don't bother to rebuild them.
I appreciate the step by step instruction. Now we're in the pandemic, we need to save as much money as possible. So far this year with the help of Amazon and CZcams, I fixed my dryer with a $15 start capacitor, my fridge with a $28 start relay/capacitor for the compressor and now I'll do my ac condenser motor with $6 - "3 in 1" oil. Cheers guys!
THANK YOU. My blower has squeaked 4 times over the last month. Each time I turned off the furnace and let it cool and when restarted no noise. Except this morning when it wouldnt turn back on. I have that same motor on a different furnace. Took 2 hours to carefully pull from furnace, take apart, clean and oil and then 1/2 hour to reassemble and check every connection.
Today topped out at 20 degrees F. Sure needed the heat back on.
I'm cleaning my furnace and wanted to check the lubricant while I had the blower apart. Straight and to the point. Thanks so much. Jacq.
I just did this on my AC unit that I heard weird rattling from. The motor was very similar to the one in this video in almost the exact same condition. The back bearing was dry but not too bad but the front was black and some of the felt material had gotten up into the bearing and cooked itself onto the bearing. I got some of the 3 in 1 motor oil from Grainger for less than $5 and it is running smoother than ever. While the motor may go out in the future this prevented a $200+ fix in the mean time for less than $5.
I just drill holes in the outside of that bearing box piece of sheet metal surrounding the shaft just drill one little tiny hole in there long enough to get that spout from that oil bottle in there you’ll never have to take the motor apart again!!
35 years HVAC❤️🇺🇸
Pete Lasko
Yeah,I do that too but sometimes you have to get in there and clean the Goo out first,and after drilling a hole and lubricating,I stick a round toothpick in the hole to keep the dirt out !!!!! ♿ 🇺🇸(70 years motor repairs)
One of the few youtube videos for how to oil these motors. Many thanks.
Thanks. You helped a lot on a hot Saturday afternoon! I don't think it had been oiled since it was installed given how much oil was absorbed.
I just did my downstairs unit, last night the motor started to chirp and couple hours later it stopped.
I grabbed some compressor oil and tool and knocked it out with a good cleaning in ~2 hours ;)
Thanks for the video, well done.
/too bad I have another unit for the upstairs. Guess its next ;)
Barry
Thank you for this video! Last night my fan motor completely stopped working. It just produced loud buzz and wouldn't turn on. I followed your instructions, oiled it, and it started working again!
Thank you I have searched all over for this exact thing.
Thanks for a great video. I think my motor is beyond oiling, but I'm going to try just in case it does work. Here in Canada, a new blower motor for my York furnace is about $1100.00, plus 13% HST in Ontario. Yes, you read that right. A new one in the US is about $150.00. Just wanted to make that point for any other Canucks before they get completely hosed buying one here.
Best video on motor oiling I have found. Thank you, you may have just saved me $150 motor.
Will be doing this tomorrow.
your instructions were spot on.... the task wasn't hard.... except after being done (and no squeal!!) the thing won't cool... fans work, inside and out. but no, cool air coming out
Excellent video. Just got rid of the whistling noise coming from my hvac unit that has been bugging me for months. Thank you so much for posting this, I’m sure this saved me a few hundred dollars.
Its 2:30am and my heat just stopped due to the fan binding up. Your video just saved my ass. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH SIR!!!
Nicely planned and edited video.
You were lucky to have the blower wheel slide off the motor shaft without requiring the wheel puller that grabs on the hub of the blower wheel.
Thanks!
Thanks for the instruction. Just got my condenser fan going again. Running smoothly now.
Thanks for the video and information. Helped me on my GE blower. It was dry and needed to be oiled and cleaned.
Liked your video very much. Only slight negative was you said use plenty of oil and don't use too much. Maybe say how many drops or when is too much too much.
Great video, very informative, but for the extra labor just to do this, I mean just replace the motor. I’ve oiled motors like this only to have the bearings fail 3 to 6 months later. Just replace the motor. Safer for the customer. No call back. If it’s your own home unit, I can see this being useful, but I did this same thing to my own home unit, it failed less than 3 months later.
Saved the cost of buying a new motor. Had Goodman furnace with 1/3 HP GE motor. Blower motor was hard to turn and was not turning, just buzzing. Took apart and added 3 in 1 oil in felt material. Now freely turning.
I wish I would have found this video a few years ago; since then I stripped and disposed of several electric motors with bad bearings. Nice video and thanks!
Everything looks a little overwhelming the first time you see something because you don't know how long all the unknown is going to keep going. lol I thought when you were taking the motor apart --oh no, can I do this. But as you completed the oiling and starting putting it back together....it wasn't that many steps at all. Yes a little work but a very satisfying result. Well done Adam. Jesus bless.
Sadly I can only "like" this video once! THANK YOU so very much! I don't have a man to do stuff for me so I do it myself, you are a life saver!
No doubt...u definitely know ur stuff....thank you for doing what u do....cause people would freeze if it wasnt for the service men and women to service our heating units ....thanks again!!!!
great video, followed it to fix the exact same problem in my furnace. saved myself the uncertainty, second guessing, and $$$!
THANK YOU!!
I took my blower and motor apart and could not figure out the deal with the bearings. 3-in-1 to the rescue!!
🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻
This is so true....motors don't wear out usually but their bearings do and usually the number one reason for motor failure/wear. One reason why folks could to do this or have their technician do once every 5 years maybe. Oil will evaporate over time as it goes through the heat cycles which is why the packing material dries up. Getting them oiled again will allow the packing to retain and hold the oil to allow a tiny small film to run onto the shaft which is what sleeve bearings are designed to work with. Once the oil goes away, the shaft rubs onto the sleeve bearing and begins to wear off metal which in turn will begin to damage the sleeve and/or the shaft. HVAC tend to use sleeve bearings because they tend to be quieter than the traditional ball bearing design which last the longest and are permanently sealed with lube. So, if you must replace the motor, be sure to do one thing for sure which is to use an OEM factory made motor or if the cost is too high or its not available any longer, source a motor made in the USA if you can find one. Nidec/US Motors (they purchased Emerson Motors) is a good brand who makes these motors for air handlers and condensers in a couple of quality levels. Their standard uses self centering sleeve bearings and their Mojave line uses ball bearings. I always opt for ball bearings since they last longer and don't require lubrication intervals for the most part.
Been in the HVACR/ELEC/PLUMB Field > 40 years. I have always wondered about oiling a ‘sealed bearing’ motor esp on my home unit. Watched your piece and did my CFM last night. Took total maybe 15 minutes. Very very excellent video and I love the fact that you don’t feel the need to wear gloves. (Oh no dirt) lol Just saying. I am going to venture to say you have callouses on your hands. EFM and Gas Htr positive draft motor are next. I probably added another 12 years on my CFM Replace myself probably 100-150$ , when I get too old to do probably about 750-900$. Thank you. Thank you. Gene.
Just a tip to removing and rehooking wires , what I have done for decades if they are all different colors great otherwise I used to use a sharpie and put dashes on the wire then I would simply cut all the wires (using common sense) and wire nut them back together with the same color and the same number of dashes. Worked for me.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Followed your instructions and fixed my problem! I have no idea how much money you just saved me, but I know it was a chunk of cash. I owe you a beer. Or a six pack. Or maybe more like a whole keg! Thanks again.
Thanks so much for the video. Followed your directions and it works like a charm now! Saved me about $300.00-400.00!
You gave this wonderful fan-PERSON a whole new life!!!!!
Dear Everyone!
This is the right way and only way to actually fix motors of this type. If your motor is of another type, then it may have holes marked "oil", but the 4 holes on the bottom (shaft end) are NOT oiling holes, they re drainage holes for any condensate or water that get in.
MANY "experts" on the internet are claiming otherwise - but Adam (this video) is the correct one for many motors.
I first just tried the usual - flushing a bit out the shaft with WD and then using some oil around the shaft and some junk came out (a good thing)....and it worked for exactly one day and started squealing again.
Today I did it as per this video. It was easier than I imagined and I soaked the cotton on both ends with 3-in-1.
Of course, we'll have to see how long it lasts (unit is 16 years old, so I ordered another motor for DIY installation anyway), but right now it is quiet and working like a dream. Everything inside the motor looked good - I have a feeling this would now last years (but won't tempt it).
So, don't do the "other" job. Either do this or call a pro ($650+ to replace an A/C motor that they pay $150 for, but that's their right (to make $$).
Great video---thank you, Adam. The part about a bad capacitor really got my attention. We have a Trane BLU055F936B2 (1986) and it is starting to hum during the first few revolutions of the blower motor on startup. I was thinking it might be the motor shaft/lubrication but our wheel spins freely and doesn't squeak when running.....the only odd noise is the first 2-3 seconds during start up, then goes away. I may just put in a new capacitor to see if that hum/sound goes away!!
It could also be the squirrel cage is out of balance if it's a squeak noise it's a mechanical issue not electric capacitor will either not work at all or will heat up and shut off but the only noise they make is a click when they shut down
Thanks, it was a good video... i will get my done too...
Great video, thanks for sharing. I'm gonna tackle this project this weekend.
Worked!!!!!! Just do this! Worth every curse word screamed! Thanks for the precise instructions!
Good job. Good video. I'm an HVAC & REFRIFERATION TECH, but was out of the game. Your video is spot on. Thx for the refresher.
Just replaced my blower a few months ago because the old one wouldnt get up to speed and replacing the cap didnt work. Thought about trying to mess with the old one recently just for fun and see if I could get it working and found your video. I could swear I must have your old furnace because I have the exact same blower motor and wear on the same bearing. Havent got it running yet, just need to wire it up to test, but thanks for the video!
Video was perfect for me. my unit is much smaller for a condo, but the motor/fan unit is very very similar in style..just smaller. Motor was squeaking for a week and then just would not move at all. This is just what I need to get it running again. I really like your attention detail which I think will help me from jacking up my unit.
update: Yeah, it worked. Old small closet ac system is a pain to work with but I did it. Running fine now...at least until the whole thing dies or explodes soon. It's very old.
Interestingly the motor does indeed have plugs for oil, which are completely unreachable when intact. I still took the motor apart as you did to so that I could clean it out and oil it good.
Amazing, my bearings got so bad that the blower motor completely seized and oiling the pads brought it back from the dead!
How long did it last before it seized after oiling it?
Nice video to show others how to service electric motors. I also use Kluber Almbygon TA 15/2 on shafts susceptible to wear. That type of grease is used on front load washers and won’t wash away with soap or detergents and will not break down over time.
Saved slot of money,worked good,did not take to long
Great video, clear explanations and shots. I thought my fan was toast, but you saved be a ton of time and money. Thank you!
Thank you very much just saved me a ton of money
BRAVO - Nicely Done and So helpful...........TY!
This was fantastic! Thank you so much! This is exactly the sound we are hearing and the same type of motor...! So appreciated!
good vid Bro, jus did my grandads fan. dont know why they say oil-free maintenance unless they want it to burn out so you buy anutter one. Shopvacs same way, you can take Shopvac motor apart and oil it, and it last forever.
Thanks for simple, easy to follow , step by step. I'm putting it to work!
Thank you! You just saved me $200.00! :) Thought I was going to have to buy a new motor! :)
Spooner's Awakening awesome! Good to hear. Did yours have an oil port or did you need to do it the same goofy way I did?
@@AdamDIY Nothing goofy about it !!!!!! I'm 83 years old and a general mechanic( work on anything,electrical or not)and I've been doing it since I was a kid,never have had a problem,saved $174 on just one motor alone !!!!!!!! ♿ 🇺🇸
good video thanks
Different colored felt tip pens can help with matching wires to the connections.
Did that
Great video. Kudos for the fast forward prompt.
Many thanks fir your video. when I do my next clean up I will do it exactly like you did it. For now it is not worthy because I may be purchasing a complete new air handler because mine is a 1998 and it looks like it was used and today 06/2021, I just got rid of the rust and mold in it and I saw that the blower wheel had been painted.... to cover up the rust I guess? I will keep all the part that look new to me though. I suppose that that it is my legal right to keep the old parts. I did not see any oil caps. I am very thankful to you for teaching us and so allowing us to save money in repairs of such a needed and expensive system and ... so few honest technicians.
Cool nice looking job
Hey Adam thanks for your video, followed your video and fixed my loud blower noise which i could hear it from basement to second floor, U R the best, keep up the good work.
Thank you Adam, I was able to get my a/c going after I watch your video, my was totally stop.
Thanks for this video. I used your instructions to disassemble the blower motor and lube the "sealed" bearings - no oil port here. Worked great! :)
gopcss
Not "sealed" just "pre-lubricated"yeah right,for how long ????? ♿ 🇺🇸
My furnace is making a squeaking noise - (23years old) I am going to open a bottle of wine - and play this video on slow mode 😊🤞 - wish me luck! I do most home maintenance, However this will be my first furnace repair 😁🤷🏼♀️
No motor noise on my 26 year old Carrier furnace, but just removed the main blower fan for a cleaning. Amazing how much crap came out of that thing.
Thank you for this very clear and helpful video!
Great video, adding oil to those locations on the motor solved my problem! Thank you very much!
Glad to hear it!
I used this as permission to drip sewing machine oil into a cat toy motor that stopped functioning. There was no way to open the casing or I would have tried that. It worked out well surprisingly :)
Thanks. Specifics and general. Process which helps my understanding
Thank you very much for sharing this info with us.. Where I work we have about 300 of these motors, Blower and Condenser motors. I'll add this to my list of PM's that we do.. Thank you.. New sub as of right now.
The Zoom spout oil is a non detergent turbine oil and is very well suited to electric motor bearings. It’s better than 3 & 1 for this application.
Ya that dust on those fins are a pain when you can't use a pressure washer unfortunately it's winter so the shower head and tooth brush was my go to cleaner
I like the work you did, but you should also fix your vent pipe. You have a screw hole where it connects to the appliance visible at 8:06. You should cover that hole so you don't get any exhaust and carbon monoxide spillage. Also cover the screw holes on blower compartment panel visible on left at 8:38, unless they don't go into blower compartment.
Nice work ...i would if i could but i can't lol
Great job! I did this and it solved the noise issue for about seven months. I tried repeating the process and I got two more days of noise-free service before getting more squealing. Anything else to do at this point or bite the bullet and get a new motor?
good job and thank you for this video I am very familiare with most electric motors
Very nice and useful information, thank for sharing Adam.
Great video and explanation, thank you very much!
Very nice video, a nice common sense approach to doing this. Thank you!
I have both oils. My 1971 InterTherm MAC 1155 furnace has oil ports on the motor. I oil before starting for Winter operation and after a couple of months.
Thanks Adam, and remember - God loves YOU! 🙂
Just did it after an outage ... Wouldn't start back ... Perfect DYI !!!
Great video. Well done explaining the smaller details
Thanks, AdamDIY! This is exactly what I needed.
(Stupid that they didn't put oil Potts on these!)
Manufacturers need to sell more motors when they fail. Installing oil ports and lubing the motor regularly increases the life of the motor.