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medved11

My Furnace Blower Just Quit

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The blower motor on my furnace starting squealing out of nowhere early this morning and kept doing it every time the heat kicked in. I turned the heat way down for a few hours and when it finally kicked in again, I heard nothing but a buzzing sound and started to smell electrical burning. I called PSEG to come take a look but I think that my blower is now toast. Meanwhile, I'm scrounging up all of the space heaters that I can find. I'm kicking myself now for not replacing the unit last summer when I was thinking about how old it was (25+ years). This is literally a "cold hard" lesson learned about putting things off.

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24 minutes ago, medved11 said:

The blower motor on my furnace starting squealing out of nowhere early this morning and kept doing it every time the heat kicked in. I turned the heat way down for a few hours and when it finally kicked in again, I heard nothing but a buzzing sound and started to smell electrical burning. I called PSEG to come take a look but I think that my blower is now toast. Meanwhile, I'm scrounging up all of the space heaters that I can find. I'm kicking myself now for not replacing the unit last summer when I was thinking about how old it was (25+ years). This is literally a "cold hard" lesson learned about putting things off.

I’ve got a propane job site burner. It’s yours if you need it. Haven’t used it since 05 though.

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19 minutes ago, W2MC said:

Might just be a belt....many of the fans; particularly the old furnaces, are belt driven.

Did it smell electricy or rubbery?

 

It was definitely that electric (toaster oven) smell. The squealing sound that the blower was making earlier today sounded a lot like a slipping serpentine belt on a car. Later on, it sounded more like dry bearings - I was looking at the blower to see if there was an access panel so I could peak inside but couldn't find one.

I just got an automated call from PSEG stating that the tech is running late, so this is going to be a fun night

13 minutes ago, Zeke said:

I’ve got a propane job site burner. It’s yours if you need it. Haven’t used it since 05 though.

Thanks - I appreciate the offer.

I've got a bunch of space heaters going and they seem to be keeping the house above 60 degrees for now. I've got a few more space heaters being dropped off later to keep things going into the evening/night

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yep....might be a belt, might be the motor seized. 

Changing the belt would obviously be the easier fix, but replacing the motor isn't too much more difficult

 

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Just now, W2MC said:

yep....might be a belt, might be the motor seized. 

Changing the belt would obviously be the easier fix, but replacing the motor isn't too much more difficult

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to fix this tonight without too much trouble but I'm definitely going to need to replace this furnace. It's the original one that the builder put in back in 1985, so it's actually older than I originally thought (33 years)

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Just now, medved11 said:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to fix this tonight without too much trouble but I'm definitely going to need to replace this furnace. It's the original one that the builder put in back in 1985, so it's actually older than I originally thought (33 years)

The oil burner in this little house is much older than that...

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Just now, W2MC said:

The oil burner in this little house is much older than that...

That sounds like my parents oil burner. It was still going strong after 40+ years up until my father decided that he wanted to switch over to gas when they finally ran lines down their road to the new developments

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2 minutes ago, W2MC said:

The oil burner in this little house is much older than that...

Oh my, how efficient?

 

4 minutes ago, medved11 said:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to fix this tonight without too much trouble but I'm definitely going to need to replace this furnace. It's the original one that the builder put in back in 1985, so it's actually older than I originally thought (33 years)

Good luck! Stay warm!

its warming up this week but who knows what February will bring 

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Just now, Zeke said:

Oh my, how efficient?

 

Good luck! Stay warm!

its warming up this week but who knows what February will bring 

Thanks - I'll post an update once the tech gets here and has a chance to see what's going on. I'm guessing that the silver lining in this situation is that I've been budgeting for a new furnace for awhile, so the repair or replacement of it isn't going to crush me

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1 minute ago, medved11 said:

Thanks - I'll post an update once the tech gets here and has a chance to see what's going on. I'm guessing that the silver lining in this situation is that I've been budgeting for a new furnace for awhile, so the repair or replacement of it isn't going to crush me

Add to your monthly bill with Pseg no? Part of that worry free thing

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It isnt the most efficient, but it runs fine and in this little house (1000 sq ft) I dont burn a whole lotta oil anyway.  I did consider changing to gas a few years ago, but the gas company seriously pissed me off, so I did not do the change-over.  Now thinking of moving, so I doubt I will change it over

 

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1 minute ago, W2MC said:

It isnt the most efficient, but it runs fine and in this little house (1000 sq ft) I dont burn a whole lotta oil anyway.  I did consider changing to gas a few years ago, but the gas company seriously pissed me off, so I did not do the change-over.  Now thinking of moving, so I doubt I will change it over

 

Maybe wiser to convert for higher house value and quicker sale.

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1 minute ago, T Bill said:

Maybe wiser to convert for higher house value and quicker sale.

Indefinite maybe.  This is a farm, not a residential house.  The value is in the ground, not the house.

 

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3 minutes ago, Handyman said:

 


How do they handle it if you move while payments are in progress? Can you cornhole the incoming homeowner?

 

Lol. Only you would think that angle. I think it would either be a lean or closing issue 

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1 hour ago, medved11 said:

It was definitely that electric (toaster oven) smell. The squealing sound that the blower was making earlier today sounded a lot like a slipping serpentine belt on a car. Later on, it sounded more like dry bearings - I was looking at the blower to see if there was an access panel so I could peak inside but couldn't find one.

I just got an automated call from PSEG stating that the tech is running late, so this is going to be a fun night

Thanks - I appreciate the offer.

I've got a bunch of space heaters going and they seem to be keeping the house above 60 degrees for now. I've got a few more space heaters being dropped off later to keep things going into the evening/night

is the fan something that's pseg's responsibility?? if so, they don't come out on sundays?? i'm only asking, 'cause last sat. night my best friends gas meter froze. he had no heat from about midnight till after 10am sunday. 'cause pseg wouldn't come out. that pisses me off. i've had people here in the little hours for the very rare problem i've ever had with the oil heater.....

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So, I just decided to turn the heat back to "on" and the furnace actually came on for a few minutes but it's acting a bit strange... 

  • The thermostat read 68 degrees, so I push the setting up to 70
  • The furnace kicked on, the burners ignited, and then the blower motor kicked on
  • The blower ran for about 2 mins without squealing but started doing so after about 1.5 minutes
  • At about 2 mins, the blower the blower stopped but the temp was still at 68 
  • After about 30 seconds, the blower kicked in for about 10 seconds and stopped
  • The furnace and blower just kicked in again and have been running for about another minute or so and it's starting to squeal louder

I just turned it off and now i still hear buzzing coming from the blower 

32 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

is the fan something that's pseg's responsibility?? if so, they don't come out on sundays?? i'm only asking, 'cause last sat. night my best friends gas meter froze. he had no heat from about midnight till after 10am sunday. 'cause pseg wouldn't come out. that pisses me off. i've had people here in the little hours for the very rare problem i've ever had with the oil heater.....

I've got the worry-free contract on the heater, so they will make the service call. they were supposed to be here between 12-4pm but I got a call about 2 hours ago saying that the techs were running behind but would be coming out today because I have no heat

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are you mechanically capable of remove the motor to oil the bearings
On a side note for those with HWBB , have a new circ pump standing by with bolts and gaskets because nothing ever happens in the summer.


I’m relatively mechanically inclined but I figured that I’ve got the service contract, so why not use it.

PSEG just got here. The tech just dropped the blower motor out of the furnace and dragged it out to his truck to take a look at it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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High temp cutout on the furnace will kick in when temp of the firebox gets to high if the blower is not working correctly.  Sounds like the safeties were performing correctly when the blower motor STB.  

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2 hours ago, Zeke said:

Lol. Only you would think that angle. I think it would either be a lean or closing issue 

Always have to have a plan to deal with a troublesome buyer. Up till now, that has usually meant taking some of the ventilation registers off and throwing a couple frozen chicken breasts down the duct. It's also good if you can get some behind sheetrock somewhere. 

You can also poop in the toilet tank but we are getting way off topic here.

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Just now, Handyman said:

Always have to have a plan to deal with a troublesome buyer. Up till now, that has usually meant taking some of the ventilation registers off and throwing a couple frozen chicken breasts down the duct. It's also good if you can get some behind sheetrock somewhere. 

You can also poop in the toilet tank but we are getting way off topic here.

You’re lonely... I understand 

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