Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...

BE
My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

I was told that it wouldn't, but I've replaced my motor twice in 8 years. I
leave mine run 24/h a day 7 days a week.

HopsNBarley wrote:

BE
My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

I was told that it wouldn't, but I've replaced my motor twice in 8 years. I
leave mine run 24/h a day 7 days a week.

How can leaving it running 24/7 not have an effect (eventually)?

That said, it's a design mode and won't kill it in just a short time as
OP is concerned about...

Me
I was told that it wouldn't, but I've replaced my motor twice in 8
years. I
leave mine run 24/h a day 7 days a week.


Duane Bozarth wrote:
How can leaving it running 24/7 not have an effect (eventually)?

Eventually, but you would think there would be more of an effect turning the
motor on and off all the time.

Glenn

HopsNBarley wrote:

Me
I was told that it wouldn't, but I've replaced my motor twice in 8
years. I
leave mine run 24/h a day 7 days a week.


Duane Bozarth wrote:
How can leaving it running 24/7 not have an effect (eventually)?

Eventually, but you would think there would be more of an effect turning the
motor on and off all the time.

Different effect, but both are design conditions...

"BE" wrote in message

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Or course it will, the question is how much? Anything mechanical will
eventually wear out. Quality motors with quality bearings can last for many
years. I know of some that have been running 16 to 24 hours a day for well
over 10 years with no problems. I know of some that went to crap in a year.
While you will be using the blower motor more, you already noted the
compressor (the more expensive part) is running less, so why not take
advantage of that?

Keep in mind that starting and stopping also puts a strain on things.
Compressors are often rated with having a maximum of X number of starts per
hour.

motors are a lot cheaper to replace every 8 years, than the cost of paying
for all of that compressor time you don't need



"BE" wrote in message
ink.net...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...

Fan motors are cheap and easy to replace. I've done it once. Don't
worry about it.

Generaly, when you leave the fan switch on, on. it is not in cooling mode,
it is in fan mode. I may be wrong but i thing he may have ment run the A/C
24-7, in other words, set it at a decent temp. and leve it be. dont cut it
on when it is to hot, by that time it has to work twice as hard to catch up.
The squirl cage fan stays cool to a certain extent when running, like a car,
it blows air over and around the moter to keep it cool. hope this helped

BE wrote in message
ink.net...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...

"All in One Service and Repair" wrote in message

Generaly, when you leave the fan switch on, on. it is not in cooling mode,
it is in fan mode. I may be wrong but i thing he may have ment run the A/C
24-7, in other words, set it at a decent temp. and leve it be. dont cut it
on when it is to hot, by that time it has to work twice as hard to catch
up.


That was not my interpretation at all. Some furnaces have a switch that
allows you to run the fan even if the thermostat does not call for heat or
cooling. It is separate, mounted on the blower, not the one on the
thermostat. That may be the situation here. I've seen systems designed to
have constant running blowers for just that reason, to distribute the air
and keep the temperature more constant. Some drop to a lower speed setting.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"All in One Service and Repair" wrote in message


Generaly, when you leave the fan switch on, on. it is not in cooling mode,
it is in fan mode. I may be wrong but i thing he may have ment run the A/C
24-7, in other words, set it at a decent temp. and leve it be. dont cut it
on when it is to hot, by that time it has to work twice as hard to catch
up.



That was not my interpretation at all. Some furnaces have a switch that
allows you to run the fan even if the thermostat does not call for heat or
cooling. It is separate, mounted on the blower, not the one on the
thermostat. That may be the situation here. I've seen systems designed to
have constant running blowers for just that reason, to distribute the air
and keep the temperature more constant. Some drop to a lower speed setting.


Any decent thermostat has a switch for automatic
operation and fan on, and the fan will operate
whether in cool, heat, or off mode. Note I said
"decent thermostat." I'm sure there are lots of
primitive controls out there, but why one wouldn't
spend $40 or so for a modern digital thermostat is
beyond me.

George E. Cawthon wrote:
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"All in One Service and Repair" wrote in message


Generaly, when you leave the fan switch on, on. it is not in cooling
mode,
it is in fan mode. I may be wrong but i thing he may have ment run
the A/C
24-7, in other words, set it at a decent temp. and leve it be. dont
cut it
on when it is to hot, by that time it has to work twice as hard to
catch up.




That was not my interpretation at all. Some furnaces have a switch
that allows you to run the fan even if the thermostat does not call
for heat or cooling. It is separate, mounted on the blower, not the
one on the thermostat. That may be the situation here. I've seen
systems designed to have constant running blowers for just that
reason, to distribute the air and keep the temperature more constant.
Some drop to a lower speed setting.

Any decent thermostat has a switch for automatic operation and fan on,
and the fan will operate whether in cool, heat, or off mode. Note I
said "decent thermostat." I'm sure there are lots of primitive controls
out there, but why one wouldn't spend $40 or so for a modern digital
thermostat is beyond me.

plus some furnaces dont like the blower on while the gas is starting up.
Not sure about A/C though.

Whats the electricity impact of this?

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

I believe that he was being advised to run the fan 24/7
during the cooling season. I sounds as if the air in his
house quickly stratified during the compressor off cycles.
His nice cool air was quickly sinking to the basement.
The cheapest way to work around this is to keep the
air continuously circulating.

==============================

All in One Service and Repair wrote in message
...
Generaly, when you leave the fan switch on, on. it is not in cooling mode,
it is in fan mode. I may be wrong but i thing he may have ment run the A/C
24-7, in other words, set it at a decent temp. and leve it be. dont cut it
on when it is to hot, by that time it has to work twice as hard to catch up.
The squirl cage fan stays cool to a certain extent when running, like a car,
it blows air over and around the moter to keep it cool. hope this helped

BE wrote in message
ink.net...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...

BE wrote:
Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor
isn't needed as much.

Sorry, but that is an illogical conclusion. The only component of the
air conditioning system that removes heat is that of the refrigeration
(compressor-condenser-evaporator) cycle. Running a circulation fan only
redistributes the existing air. Over the long term the compressor has
to run equally long to remove a given amount of heat.

"Travis Jordan" wrote in message
...
BE wrote:
Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the
compressor
isn't needed as much.

Sorry, but that is an illogical conclusion. The only component of
the
air conditioning system that removes heat is that of the
refrigeration
(compressor-condenser-evaporator) cycle. Running a circulation fan
only
redistributes the existing air. Over the long term the compressor
has
to run equally long to remove a given amount of heat.


Not an illogical conclusion at all if the house has poor air
circulation. I've measured air temp deltas of 15 degrees or more
between floor and thermostat with registers and cold air returns at
floor level...

Rick wrote:
Not an illogical conclusion at all if the house has poor air
circulation. I've measured air temp deltas of 15 degrees or more
between floor and thermostat with registers and cold air returns at
floor level...

Regardless, running the blower to circulate air won't reduce the total
load on the compressor.

"Travis Jordan" wrote in message
. ..
Rick wrote:
Not an illogical conclusion at all if the house has poor air
circulation. I've measured air temp deltas of 15 degrees or more
between floor and thermostat with registers and cold air returns
at
floor level...

Regardless, running the blower to circulate air won't reduce the
total
load on the compressor.


But it sure will reduce the running time if the air is mixed...

Rick wrote:
"Travis Jordan" wrote in message
. ..
Rick wrote:
Not an illogical conclusion at all if the house has poor air
circulation. I've measured air temp deltas of 15 degrees or more
between floor and thermostat with registers and cold air returns
at floor level...

Regardless, running the blower to circulate air won't reduce the
total load on the compressor.


But it sure will reduce the running time if the air is mixed...

Maybe maybe not.

It will reduce the running time if the problem is hard to heat room(s)
(like lots of sunny windows or a second story room), it might increase
running time if the air in the room is stratified with hot at the top and
cool at people levil. Pushing the cooler air up to the top (roof overhead?)
would cause it to absorb more heat from the ceiling - roof.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Travis Jordan wrote
running the blower to circulate air won't reduce the total
load on the compressor.

================

Yes it will - in some cases such as a poorly sized blower
or a poorly sized AC system. I've know people who had
to set the thermostat to 68 in order to keep upstairs rooms
at 76 or so. And the basement is around 64. This is
compounded when people are active in upstairs rooms
with lights, stereos, computers, etc. turned on.

Generally, running the blower fan 24/7 enables these
people to raise the thermostat and still get good
climate control in the parts of the house that need it.
And their electric bills drop.

"Gideon" wrote in message
. ..

Travis Jordan wrote
running the blower to circulate air won't reduce the total
load on the compressor.

================

Yes it will - in some cases such as a poorly sized blower
or a poorly sized AC system. I've know people who had
to set the thermostat to 68 in order to keep upstairs rooms
at 76 or so. And the basement is around 64. This is
compounded when people are active in upstairs rooms
with lights, stereos, computers, etc. turned on.

Generally, running the blower fan 24/7 enables these
people to raise the thermostat and still get good
climate control in the parts of the house that need it.
And their electric bills drop.


This is Turtle.

What you say is very much True , but I think Travis was speaking of normal run
of the mill systems with ok ducting systems.

Now what you have said here , I have been telling customers to do that when they
don't have good ductwork and truely works fine.

TURTLE

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:23:43 GMT, "BE" wrote:

Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?


Sounds like a silly idea. The motor will get its life shortened, and
your electric bill will get its dollar amount raised. Also, all
energy put into that motor to spin it eventually becomes if you've
had physics you've already guessed it heat. Heat that will be going
into your house.

Chris Hill wrote:

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:23:43 GMT, "BE" wrote:



Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?




Sounds like a silly idea. The motor will get its life shortened, and
your electric bill will get its dollar amount raised. Also, all
energy put into that motor to spin it eventually becomes if you've
had physics you've already guessed it heat. Heat that will be going
into your house.


Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds heat and
will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very little heat.
If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows you to
set the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs and
compressor run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing equation.)
- udarrell

--
Optimizing Air-Conditioner Efficiency
http://www.udarrell.com/air-conditio...ator-coil.html

udarrell wrote:
Chris Hill wrote:

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:23:43 GMT, "BE" wrote:



Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?




Sounds like a silly idea. The motor will get its life shortened, and
your electric bill will get its dollar amount raised. Also, all
energy put into that motor to spin it eventually becomes if you've
had physics you've already guessed it heat. Heat that will be going
into your house.


Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds heat and
will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very little heat.
If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows you to
set the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs and
compressor run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing equation.)
- udarrell

--
Optimizing Air-Conditioner Efficiency
http://www.udarrell.com/air-conditio...ator-coil.html



agreed, you want to use a fan, not your AC blower.

Mark

"Mark" wrote in message
oups.com...


udarrell wrote:
Chris Hill wrote:

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:23:43 GMT, "BE" wrote:



Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I
just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even
before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to
leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the
compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is
it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to
leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?




Sounds like a silly idea. The motor will get its life shortened,
and
your electric bill will get its dollar amount raised. Also, all
energy put into that motor to spin it eventually becomes if
you've
had physics you've already guessed it heat. Heat that will be
going
into your house.


Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds
heat and
will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas
you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very
little heat.
If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows you
to
set the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs
and
compressor run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing
equation.)
- udarrell

--
Optimizing Air-Conditioner Efficiency

http://www.udarrell.com/air-conditio...r-evaporator-c
oil.html



agreed, you want to use a fan, not your AC blower.

Mark


Exactly....

udarrell wrote:
Chris Hill wrote:

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:23:43 GMT, "BE" wrote:



Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just
had the evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even
before it went bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He
told me to leave the fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it
blows 24/7
Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor
isn't needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it
ok to leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to
leave it on for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?




Sounds like a silly idea. The motor will get its life shortened, and
your electric bill will get its dollar amount raised. Also, all
energy put into that motor to spin it eventually becomes if you've
had physics you've already guessed it heat. Heat that will be going
into your house.


Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds heat
and will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very little
heat. If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows
you to set the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs and
compressor run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing
equation.) - udarrell

That would be true if the idea was to rely on the cooling effect of
moving air, which is real. However I suspect that part of the reason for
the full time fan is to distribute the cooler air to the areas that are
warmer e.g. moving stagnate cool air on the first floor to the warmer air on
the second floor or from room to room.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
.. .
However I suspect that part of the reason for
the full time fan is to distribute the cooler air to the areas that are
warmer e.g. moving stagnate cool air on the first floor to the warmer air
on the second floor or from room to room.
--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Exactly...

"udarrell" wrote in message
Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds heat and
will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very little heat.
If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows you to set
the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs and compressor
run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing
equation.)
- udarrell

If the cold air is dropping to the basement, that 20" fan is not going to
help much is it? The blower, OTOH, will lift it to the rooms where it is
needed. You need a given amount of energy to move a given amount of air. I
don't see the fan doing much to help the situation or to reduce energy cost.

I agree. My basement is cool. The blower sucks that air throught the
return grill in my basement and brings it up to the top floors. I
definately think running the blower helps. My house feels more stale if
the blower was off.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
newsuRAe.4953$zj4.2080@trndny06...

"udarrell" wrote in message
Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds
heat and
will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas
you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very
little heat.
If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows you
to set
the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs and
compressor
run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing
equation.)
- udarrell

If the cold air is dropping to the basement, that 20" fan is not
going to
help much is it? The blower, OTOH, will lift it to the rooms where
it is
needed. You need a given amount of energy to move a given amount of
air. I
don't see the fan doing much to help the situation or to reduce
energy cost.


It will if there is a cold air return in the basement.

udarrell wrote:

Chris Hill wrote:

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:23:43 GMT, "BE" wrote:



Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave
the fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?




Sounds like a silly idea. The motor will get its life shortened, and
your electric bill will get its dollar amount raised. Also, all
energy put into that motor to spin it eventually becomes if you've
had physics you've already guessed it heat. Heat that will be going
into your house.


Chris, you and Travis hit the nail on the head; the blower adds heat and
will run your electric bill up!
If you want air circulation use a large 20" floor fan in the areas you
will be in; it uses a lot less electricity and produces very little heat.
If increasing the air circulation with a floor type fan allows you to
set the Rm TH to a higher temp - that will save on energy costs and
compressor run time.
Running the furnace blower motor 24/7 will add to much to energy
consumption and add motor heat to the conditioned space. (Losing
equation.)
- udarrell

The heat added by the blower motor is insignificant. It wont add even a .01
degree to the house temp. On the other hand, running the furnace blower has
apparently lowered his house temp and made it more comfortable. You can live
like a refugee and think you're saving money (when you're not) or spend an
additional $2.00 per month and be comfortable - your choice. Hell, who
doesn't **** away $2.00 a month? Come on, get real - save money where it
makes a difference, not where it makes you miserable.
Eric

"BE" wrote in message
ink.net...

Thanks for the replies but I still feel confused. The home is definitely
cooler with the blower running and the compressor does run a lot less. As
to using fans, I use them too on the 2nd floor to additionally move the
cooler air around as the vents are placed at the floor level. What has
seemed to help is that the blower motor moves the cooler air up to the
second leval....

Thanks again...

Well, I think I'll do a compromise solution. I'll shut it all down at night
when I go to bed. That way, the blower will be off for 4-6 hours.

Well, I think I'll do a compromise solution. I'll shut it all down at
night
when I go to bed. That way, the blower will be off for 4-6 hours.

Why bother? The duty-cycle on most HVAC fans can more than tolerate
constant use. That and the blower fans are relatively inexpensive to
replace should it wear out, say, a year earlier than the 20 years it'll
probably last.

It might be worth having an HVAC professional come out and survey how the
ducting is set up. It's entirely possible that rearranging some ducts might
be in order. Or maybe as simple as better managing the airflow through the
current registers.

My best guess is that the blower is under the most strain during startup.
Continuous run doesn't start the motor, so you'd get more actual hours of
runtime if you just leave it on.

However, those hours of runtime will be condensed into fewer days, weeks,
months.

I'm sure there are some motor experts who will have facts, web pages, etc.
But such is my guess. I'd say leave the fan on if it makes you more
comfortable.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"BE" wrote in message
ink.net...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
My best guess is that the blower is under the most strain during startup.
Continuous run doesn't start the motor, so you'd get more actual hours of
runtime if you just leave it on.

However, those hours of runtime will be condensed into fewer days, weeks,
months.

I'm sure there are some motor experts who will have facts, web pages, etc.
But such is my guess. I'd say leave the fan on if it makes you more
comfortable.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"BE" wrote in message
ink.net...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...



I have a Trane AC/Furnace Its 3 years old now when I had it first installed
I had a cooling issue. The HVAC tech came out and suggested to me to
leave the fan on 24/7 I do that and closed down some of the vents so the
cool air goes up to the 2nd floor and have wall vents now have plastic
diverts to blow the air up. To make a long story short the tech also said
the newer furnaces blower motors are designed to run 24/7. Even when its
cooler out side when the ac is not on and windows open I still run the
blower
its like running fans low. I run my ac most of the time due to heath
reasons
my electric bill just is 25 to 30 more than usual.

Mike

There are several things to look at here.

1) If you have a temperature balance problem in your house, running
the blower 24/7 will help even that out because you will be circulating
air when the compressor is off.

2) Running the blower geves you a breeze throughout the house, kind of
like having a ceiling fan in every room. This will make you feel
cooler at any given temperature. However, it will use more electricity
than ceiling fans, because it has to push air through the resistance of
a duct system.

3) The motor in a furnace is designed to run continuously. You will
not hurt it that way. With that use, oil it once per year with 20 or
30 grade non detergent motor oil. Do NOT use WD-40 or penetrating or
3-in-1 oil. Do not oil it too often. more oil will overflow the
bearings and gum up the motor by catching dirt and holding it.

4) Running the fan that way will allow your filters to catch more
dirt, keeping dust levels down.

5) NOW THE BAD PART! When the compressor is off, you will
re-evaporate the water left on the coil and in the drain pan, raising
the relative humidity in the house 10 to 15 percent. I have tested
this using data loggers to record humidity levels in my own house.
Lennox has done studies and determined that as well. If you are in a
high humidity area, The extra humidity can make you uncomfortable and
allow mold growth.

6) If you run the fan this way in the winter, the house will feel
drafty.

ONE OTHER THING!
DO NOT close off the registers in rooms that you are not using. That
restricts air flow and can damage the compressor if it is running.
Freon flow is what cools the compressor motor, and Freon flow in part
is controlled by air flow. Also if air flow dirops too low, you can
get liquid Freon back to the compressor, which is very bad for the
compressor.
The biggest enemy for the furnace fan motor is heat and restricting air
flow reduces the amount of heat removed from the motor. At least that
is what the A.O Smith motor rep tells me.

So running the furnace fan is a mixed blessing. Whether it is right
for you depends on your climate, electric rate and your situation.

I hope this helps.

Stretch

For some people, running the blower fan 24/7 is very practical.
I've been doing it for years. In the past 10 years, my blower fan
has been turned off only when I'm working on the system and
have to kill the power. I find that this lowers the operating cost
of my somewhat undersized AC unit. It also maximized air
flow through the furnace filter system, which provides allergy
relief.

Furnace blower motors are well designed and intended for a long
service life. The only problem with running one 24/7 is the fact
that you MUST oil them frequently. Once a year is an absolute
minimum. I prefer 3 to 4 times per year. On my furnace, the
entire process of removing the fan assembly, oiling both oil ports,
and reinstalling the fan assembly only takes 5 minutes. I also
oil the fan motor in the AC compressor box a couple of times
per year.

By the way, you are asking the question, "does running 24/7
reduce fan motor life?" The more important question is, "does
running 24/7 significantly increase the chance that the motor will
fail before the furnace is replaced?" Generally, the answer to the
second question is "no".

Good luck,
Gideon

==============

BE wrote in message ...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...

BE wrote:
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7

Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?

Thanks...



I started running my fan 24/7 now. House is much cooler. Plus the
circulation keeps some of my hotter rooms closer to normal. its excellent.

Oh and I realized my humidifier was still on


--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

"BE" wrote in message
ink.net...
Just a question regarding the blower motor on my furnace. I just had the
evaporator AC coil replaced. I mentioned to him that even before it went
bad the home does not seem to stay cool for long. He told me to leave the
fan switch on the thermostat to on so that it blows 24/7


Thats what most of us in the trade do. The motor will normally last much
longer this way.


Well needless to say that makes a huge difference as the compressor isn't
needed as much.

If you have poor air circulation, you will notice it more since you are
helping to move the air that is called stagnated air around more.


My concern is will this shorten the life of the motor? And, is it ok to
leave the fan on 24/7 for 2, 3, 4, 5 days? My thinking is to leave it on
for whatever the duration of the heatwave. Correct?


Mines been on 24-7, other than when I am servicing the unit every 6 months,
for the past 4 years, and its not going to be cut off any time in the
future.
The motors that we replace the FEWEST of, are the commercial applications
that the fans run 24-7. We have some that have been on for over 9 years
without a problem.


Thanks...

Depending on your airflow situation, you may even find that with the added
electricity that is being used, that your power bill may drop, due to
reduced compressor run times.

I gotta agree with Stretch about the humidity issue. Whenever a customer
calls about humidity being too high, the first question they are asked
is "Do you have the fan in the on position?" If so, as soon as the
compressor shuts off, the system converts from being an air conditioner
to an evaporative cooler. We have a policy that if we are on a call, and
find the fan in the on position, to let the customer know this, advise
them of the possibility of getting mold in the ducts, then note it on
the invoice and have them sign it. We also find besides air circulation,
some people will run the fan continuosly for the constant noise, which
they get used to, rather than having it on and off-- especially people
with infants sleeping. (Usually these are upflow units in a hall closet
close to the bedrooms) Larry