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dms1031 · Jun 3, 2006, 05:01 AM

I live in an 8-year old townhouse and had a routine (my first) maintenance visit. The supposedly reputable plumbing technician seemed very thorough, but I wanted to be sure I'm not being taken for a ride. He put on a rubber glove, felt the blower motor & when he pulled his hand back, it was full of grease. He says this means it needs to be replaced. Is this true? I have had no problems whatsoever with my heat or A/C, but since this is also a year-round piece of equipment, I thought I'd check before telling them to replace it. My furnace is a Ruud Silhouette II gas furnace. Thanks for any help you can provide.

tkrussell · Jun 3, 2006, 06:59 AM

First time in eight years? Mechanical equipment should be serviced annually.

A plumber? No offense against plumbers, but he should also have credentials to allow him to work on heating and cooling equipment.

If he is reputable, why the distrust? You can ask him for the reasons he reccomends the motor be replaced. Good contractors and techs do not just replace parts to rack up sales.

However, the motor should not be leaking any grease or oil. Most motors in recent air handlers have motors with sealed maintenance free bearings.

The motor may be operating OK for now, but with the grease leaking the bearings will fail , better to replace it on your terms, if you wait until a hazy hot humid weekend for the unit to fail, you will be sorry to have waited.

dms1031 · Jun 3, 2006, 07:23 AM

Hi - sorry - I said plumber, but it is a company for all of those - heating, a/c & plumbing. I've decided to get a second opinion before going forward with $3300 worth of work when all I was supposed to get was a routing a/c maintenance. Thanks very much, for your input.

esquire1 · Jun 3, 2006, 07:31 AM

$3300 for a blower motot? Where do you live? I'll be right over.

dms1031 · Jun 3, 2006, 07:33 AM

No - not just that. He's telling me I need a new hot water heater, blower motor & contactor & coil assembly for the a/c. Sounds like quite a bit for a young townhouse.

tkrussell · Jun 3, 2006, 07:39 AM

Not necessarily for all these sytems that have not been maintained at all, and depends on the usage over the years.

A routine maintenance also includes a good inspection and testing of the systems and reveals worn or irrepairible parts.

I cannot comment on the cost, best to collect all tech specs on the parts and ask another dealer or two for a bid.

caibuadday · Jun 3, 2006, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by dms1031

No - not just that. He's telling me I need a new hot water heater, blower motor & contactor & coil assembly for the a/c. Sounds like quite a bit for a young townhouse.

sorry but I think he was trying to rob you... he was trying to scare you by showing the GREASE ( fan cost about 300 or less... coil (relay)cost no more than 50) plus installation... hot water boiler+installation less than 1000

tkrussell · Jun 3, 2006, 01:29 PM

If he is reporting defective parts that are good, report him.

May be worth the cost of a service call from a large mechanical firm to come in an evaluate the equipment for an objective second opinion.

shunned · Jun 14, 2006, 08:53 PM

Put it in perspective: did you have a problem before you called him out?
Doesn't sound like you did, you just wanted to have things maintained. He appears to want to replace. Get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinion.
Replace stuff when it breaks I'd say, even if worst case scenario you have to have no AC for a day or so.
Don't let repair/salesmen put the fear into you. 3300 is a ton for what he has shown you. I'd think that if that fan motor was "leaking grease" it would have froze up awhile ago or at least squealed like a pig.

letmetellu · Jun 14, 2006, 09:08 PM

I also think you were going to be taken. It is a shame to call someone out for a maintenance check and be hit with a $3000 estimate for repairs that may not even be needed, I agree with a couple of the people about that you should get a second opinion.

One other things I would like to say in some parts of the country it is not always smart to call the "Large mechanical firm" most of the service men here are paid by "ticket time" which means if they work for an hour they get one hour ticket time. But if the stretch that into one hour and fifteen minutes they get paid for two hours. Also I happen to be In the Plumbing, Heating and Airconditioning, so there are some plumbers that know just as much about Air Conditioning as people that only do HVAC work.