Hi all,

I have a 4 and 1/2 year old ComfortMaker furnace. The combustion air blower started making a rumbling noise while starting and stopping and continues to vibrate while running.

I had a heating & cooling service look at it. $65 just to show up.

Without taking anything apart he said that the motor looks OK and that it appears the fan may be off balance on the shaft and making the noise.

Although he could replace it for $300 to $400 bucks, He felt I should leave it alone since he'd heard worse on other furnaces without failure and the unit would probably last for another 10 years that way.

I thought this an odd diagnosis since the blower should not be making noises like that at all. Even the plumber I had installing a basement bathroom group noticed the noise and thought it sounded bad.

I got the feeling that this guy was just going from home to home collecting $65 dollar checks every 1/2 hour and not offering any services.

I asked if I could replace it myself...

1 - he said I could but that the parts distributor will not sell me the blower. Is this true?

2 - He also said that the distributor may not even except the noisey blower under warranty because it has not failed. Is this true?

3 - I think the blower should be replaced or at least the contractor should have taken it apart and realigned the fan on the shaft.

4 - Can I take it apart and fix it myself?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nelsonm

Hi all,

snip...

1 - he said i could but that the parts distributor will not sell me the blower. Is this true?

2 - He also said that the distributor may not even except the noisey blower under warranty because it has not failed. Is this true?

3 - I think the blower should be replaced or at least the contractor should have taken it apart and realigned the fan on the shaft.

4 - Can I take it apart and fix it myself?

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1 I hear it is that way some places. I haven't had any trouble buying parts here.

2 I don't know.

3 If it is making as much noise as you say, I don't see it lasting 10 years. I would replace it.

For the fan could just be loose on the shaft. The motor could have a bad bearing. If so, you should be able to fix it. Rebalancing a fan could be a project.

You can beat local distributors not selling by buying online. I won't have time to dig up a site for a day or 2.

Thanks for your quick response.

Good idea looking online for the blower, however, it would not be covered by the warranty since it requires that the part be sent to the distributor by a qualified service rep for replacement.

So it appears that my only choices are to...

1 - pay for and replace the part myself. $

2 - pay the service rep who installed the furnace to replace it. $$$$

3 - leave it alone.

Yes, yes, and yes to your last questions. Unless you are in the heating business no local distributer is going to give you a warranty part to repair your in warranty furnace. It is the only way they can control the flow of FREE parts to the public.