Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

I'd call another company.

If those WERE my choices ($500 vs. $2800) I'd go with the new furnace. But
the big question is:

$500 for a new motor sound rather high. $2800 for a new furnace sounds
rather low. What exactly are you getting?

I'm not there and can't see what you have got....

I thought $500 for a motor is rather high also. I did not get an
offical quote on the motor, but I did get an official quote on the
furnace. Maybe the motor would be less, like $300, but still they say
the furnace that's older than 15 years old is a waste of money to
repair.

The furnace I would be getting for $2800 is Bryant 310 something. It
is an 80% single stage jobber with an inducer fan. 2 year labor
warranty, 5 year parts and 20 years on the heat exchanger. The fuel is
gas, BTW. It is not the fancy wiz-bang 90% furnace with two heat
exchangers and variable speed motor, etc. The motor is not variable
speed, though it has 4 speeds that can be set long term. I live in
Washington DC area, so no severe winters here, but still gets cold and
nasty.

I am handy and can replace the blower myself if I knew where to get one.

wrote:


-snip-
I am handy and can replace the blower myself if I knew where to get one.

I got mine here-- they were super fast [2 days to NY] & the moter has
been running quietly for 3-4 years now.
http://shop.emotorstore.com/estore/S...781 b6a06b553

Jim

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

wrote:


-snip-

I am handy and can replace the blower myself if I knew where to get one.


I got mine here-- they were super fast [2 days to NY] & the moter has
been running quietly for 3-4 years now.
http://shop.emotorstore.com/estore/S...781 b6a06b553

Jim

I would expect to be able to get any reasonably standard motor locally
in any decent sized city. In my case, a few minutes with Google turned
up the 800 number of GE technical support, and calling them led to a
supplier a few miles from my house. Good thing, too, because my house
temperature was dropping fast.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

If those WERE my choices ($500 vs. $2800) I'd go with the new furnace. But
the big question is:

$500 for a new motor sound rather high. $2800 for a new furnace sounds
rather low. What exactly are you getting?

First, buy one for $60 and install it yourself. Or call
local hvac to install one. Don't forget to change run cap.
( Also it is a good idea to discharge existing cap prior to swap )

As for $2800 for bryant 310 no thanks, this is builder model
( worth about $600 ) I would ask for 312 only few $ more, or even
better go with 90%s.

Don't listen to idiots who claim they only install "own" motors,
even if they do, plenty of others that will.

"The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%). "

I wouldn't spend $500 to repair a 60% efficiency furnace. I didn't
even know they went that low 18 years ago. You didn't specify the fuel
but if you intend on staying in the house for more than a few years and
it's anywhere with cold winters, I'd go with a 90% or better furnace.

The fuel is gas and 90% furnace is waaaay more expensive as they need
to vent it differently than my existing one. The 90% would probably be
in the $4K neighborhood, but I did not get a quote for that. I don't
think I would recoup the extra cost...

Your present furnace is probably 80%, yes they lied, 500 for a blower ,
thats apx 350 to much. Replace an 80 with an 80% not smart all they
want is your money. Of course no written load calc was done. A 94% unit
should be apx 29-3200.

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:48:18 -0600, (m Ransley)
wrote:

Your present furnace is probably 80%, yes they lied, 500 for a blower ,
thats apx 350 to much. Replace an 80 with an 80% not smart all they
want is your money. Of course no written load calc was done. A 94% unit
should be apx 29-3200.

Exactly where do you think "they lied"? You think a professional HVAC
company is going to come out and change a motor for $150!!! I dont
want to start a flame war here Ransley because lately you have been
pretty much right on with your comments. The motor is going to
cost$150 to install??!! No where is this going to happen except by a
side jobber or hack.
$500 is close give or take a hundred or so. Thats pretty damn close to
my book rate.
Personally (To the OP) I dont think Id replace the motor even if you
could do it yourself. Get 3 estimates by reputable HVAC contractors
for a new furnace. Dont just get any 3 ol bids. Do a little homework.
If you have to, go buy or rent a few heaters to get you by a couple
days or so while you do your homework. With the price of gas, Id
consider a 90% eff furnace. The two stage and variable is mainly just
a matter of your creature comfort level. Keep in mind, if you are
removing a fuel burning appliance from your chimney and leaving a lone
gas water heater in that chimney, you may need to have it lined to
keep the chimney from getting condensation damage.
Good Luck
Bubba

"Bubba " ReMoVe wrote in message
...
On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:48:18 -0600, (m Ransley)
wrote:

Your present furnace is probably 80%, yes they lied, 500 for a blower ,
thats apx 350 to much. Replace an 80 with an 80% not smart all they
want is your money. Of course no written load calc was done. A 94% unit
should be apx 29-3200.

Exactly where do you think "they lied"? You think a professional HVAC
company is going to come out and change a motor for $150!!! I dont
want to start a flame war here Ransley because lately you have been
pretty much right on with your comments. The motor is going to
cost$150 to install??!! No where is this going to happen except by a
side jobber or hack.

We are cheap and we charge $120 just for the service call. I doubt we could
find a $30 motor somewhere.....

$500.00 is too high. We normally replace a direct drive 3 speed blower
motor dor $200 - $250, including diagnosis. Allowing for higher labor
& overhead in DC area, maybe $350.00. Also, you need a load
calculation done. Note that although the firing efficiency is 80%, the
AFUE may be only 60% due to off cycle flue losses. Still, I would lean
toward 90% if I replaced the furnace. Your reputable company doesn't
sound so high-standard to me. Just a bigger bunch of hacks.

Stretch

Your present furnace is probably 80%, yes they lied, 500 for a blower ,
thats apx 350 to much. Replace an 80 with an 80% not smart all they
want is your money. Of course no written load calc was done. A 94% unit
should be apx 29-3200.

If you've been paying for a service contract, have them replace the blower
motor. Then, next spring, get prices and advice from 3 or 4 HVAC
contractors. If you're planning on living there for 3 or more years, a 90+
furnace is worth it. They only use PVC for a vent, so unless you don't have
an outside wall there should be no problem.

The basic cost of the furnace is higher than an 80+ furnace, but if you've
got an old chimney, it may need to be relined. 110MBH is way too big for
most houses. Have the HVAC companies do a heat loss/gain. Even after that's
done, you still need to consider the size of the duct work, and size
accordingly.



wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir

Blower motor died on my 13 year old Lennox a few weeks ago .. .. .. went
to the local motor rebuild shop & got new Fasco motor, special mount
adapter and a new start cap. for just under $90.00. Took all of about
15 minutes to swap.


wrote:
Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir

__ Bob __ wrote:
Blower motor died on my 13 year old Lennox a few weeks ago .. .. .. went
to the local motor rebuild shop & got new Fasco motor, special mount
adapter and a new start cap. for just under $90.00. Took all of about
15 minutes to swap.


Oh hell. Don't introduce some sanity, it's just
uncalled for. They gotta charge $500, just think
of what it costs to run the trucks, hire a
receptions, build a warehouse, etc. etc. That's
why it takes them 2 hours change the motor and 2
hours to get back and forth from the shop at $100
and hour.

Yeah, I know I'm being a jerk, but dependable
motors capable of turning a fan for a 1500-2000 sq
ft house shouldn't be expensive. Anything over
$100-$150 means the motor is way over-built, way
over-capacity, or just way over-priced.

If you want a motor that will run 24/7 for 30
years, then maybe you want to pay $350 for a motor.

Don't bet on a swap in 15 minutes tho.

George E. Cawthon wrote:
snip

Don't bet on a swap in 15 minutes tho.

You could get lucky. But in my case, the furnace was in the attic,
which had 20 years' accumulation of dust in it, and the motor was
on the back side of the furnace, behind a panel that was, to put
it mildly, tightly attached. So it was a dirty, unpleasant job.

That said, it was getting cold in the house, so I was pretty motivated,
and I managed to get it done in a couple of hours. It's been running
fine since March of '02, so I must have done it ok.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

If 500 is what heating companies charge for an AC blower motor what is
the price for a VS DC blower 1000$ ??

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 05:21:01 -0600, (m Ransley)
wrote:

If 500 is what heating companies charge for an AC blower motor what is
the price for a VS DC blower 1000$ ??

Yeah, pretty much. Havent changed one yet for a blower out of
warranty. Thats why you get the 10 yr. Even if you wont be there that
long, you can transfer the warranty usually one time. Makes for some
happy people.
Bubba

"CJT" wrote in message
...
George E. Cawthon wrote:
snip

Don't bet on a swap in 15 minutes tho.

You could get lucky. But in my case, the furnace was in the attic,
which had 20 years' accumulation of dust in it, and the motor was
on the back side of the furnace, behind a panel that was, to put
it mildly, tightly attached. So it was a dirty, unpleasant job.


Real life experience, just yesterday.

Blower motor on a gas fired boiler had to be replaced, the alleged 15 minute
job. Experienced service tech t hat has done plenty of work for us on our
boilers.

Removed motor and blower wheel assembly 10 minutes
Removed blower wheel from motor 2 hours, lots of penetrating oil
two easy outs, one sawzall blade, my help for 30 minutes
Replace motor assembly 10 minutes

Shop rate $90/hour plus travel. Add in the cost of the motor.

wrote:

Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir


FWIW, I replaced the fan motor in my furnace a couple of years ago.
The motor cost me about 100 bucks, and it took me about half a day,
including finding and procuring the replacement. It was a pretty
dirty job, though, so you might want to hire it out.

500 bucks seems high to me.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

CJT wrote:
wrote:

Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir


You said you were handy...
replace the motor yourself...
it may not be the motor, maybe the run cap is bad, maybe just a bad
connection

also depends how cold your family is right now and how long you can
afford to wait...

Mark

another idea,, if it is a multi-speed motor and one winding is bad, in
a pinch you might be able to wire it to run at another speed...

Mark

Mark, it IS the motor. I have removed the assembly and the blower
wheel is hard to turn by hand. I lubed what I could, but could not get
to the front bearing because that blower wheel got really stuck to the
shaft of the motor. I called the service guy out for help and he
managed to get the oil to the bearing and make the motor run, but it is
very noisy. I don't mind changing the motor myself, I already had the
thing out of the furnace. I could use a puller to get the wheel off,
but I am not sure about the furnace itself. 18 years old seems a lot
and I am not sure I want to band-aid it. I am new to the whole forced
air heating thing. Mostly lived with hot water radiators, but I am
learning. How do I know the heat exchanger is not cracked? How do I
know the furnace won't crap out a month after putting a new motor into
it? The furnace is a Bryant, so it is a good unit, I think. The 60%
efficiency number came from the service guy. He said the new ones are
a lot more efficient, even the 80% ones. I don't know what the truth
is. Right now the motor runs loudly and sometimes gets stuck and
doesn't start up and I need to give it a push. So I am in kind of a
crisis mode.

Thanks for all the advice, I am learning a lot.
Vladimir

P.S. I did not get an official quote on the motor. $500 was something
the tech blurbed out, but he was not sure of the actual cost. Could be
less. Also, these guys have been around for a long time and stand by
their work, so if I have them do the replacement I am pretty sure it
will be done correctly.

Where in the DC area are you? I bough a motor at Grainger in Baltimore
City (near the stadium) once. There are tons of places in Beltsville
and Laurel too. Motor doex not have to be an exact replacement either
(meanins exact make model number). They come in standard sizes. Take
the old one out and take it to a place like Grainger and get a new
motor and capacitor. When you show them the old motor they can pick
out the new one for you (although it would be good to know before you
go in if the depth of the new motor can be different and if the shaft
length will matter. Most likely motor diameter will need to be the
same.

I am in Montgomery County, MD. I just went to Grainger and brought my
whole assembly there with me. We took the motor off the wheel and the
guy looked up the replacement. My original is a 1/2 hp GE unit, the
replacement he found was a Dayton 1/2 hp same rpm (can't remember now
exactly what the rpm was, but they matched), same shaft, the only
difference is the replacement is 3 speed, the original is 4 speed. I
had the high and low connected to what probably is cooling and heating.
I noted down all the connections when I removed the original and will
hook up the new one the same way. Total cost with the new capacitor:
$69.20. If this works when I install after work tonight, I will have
saved a lot of money. Thanks to all for encouraging me to replace. My
hesitation was due to lack of knoweledge of where to get the
replacement. Grainger seems pretty good for that.

Thanks!
Vladimir

sounds like if you could get that bearing lubed, you would be all set
for a while anyway or....

I would think you could buy a replacement blower and install it
yourself for under $100 and I would certainly do that rather than get a
new furnace under duress...

you may find some interesting reading here about efficency and cracked
heat exchangers


Bacharach Inc

http://www.bacharach-inc.com

http://www.bacharach-training.com/Tips/Cracked.htm


Mark

wrote in message
oups.com...
I don't mind changing the motor myself, I already had the
thing out of the furnace. I could use a puller to get the wheel off,
but I am not sure about the furnace itself. 18 years old seems a lot
and I am not sure I want to band-aid it. I am new to the whole forced
air heating thing. Mostly lived with hot water radiators, but I am
learning. How do I know the heat exchanger is not cracked? How do I
know the furnace won't crap out a month after putting a new motor into
it?

My Opinion:

If you can replace the motor for $300 or less, do it.

At some point, have the unit serviced and the heat exchanger checked. I'm
running heaters in one building that are 29 years old and just put a new
belt on one of the blowers. Bearing were greased on both. I see no reason
that they will not last another 10 or more years.

On another boiler, it is 40 years old. I just had some valves and the
regulator replaced on the gas train as well as the motor on the burner.
Total cost about $1800, but new cost would be $35,000.

If you want a new furnace, get one. If not, fix the blower. With
most anything these days, there is always someone with their hand out
trying to get your wallet. Blowers are simple devices. Motors are
costly but not that outrageous. Anyone that can use hand tools should
be able to replace that motor for $100 to $200. Look to grainger.com
for motors. You can often find complete blowers at salvage yards for
as little as $20. Four bolts and an electrical cable will change the
whole thing. Just be sure it fits. One other thought, contact local
heating companies and ask them if they have used blowers. Many of
them save used blowers when they rip out furnaces. A bad blower is
not the end of the world or the furnace to those of us who are handy.
If you cant change the motor yourself, see if there is a local
handyman who can. I surely would not trash a working furnace because
of a fried blower motor. Yes, you will probably get a little better
energy efficiency from a new furnace, but look at what you have to pay
to save a few BTUs of fuel. Remember, most of those energy figures are
exaggerated, just like milage figures on cars. I'm sure you have seen
these complaints about car milage on the evening tv news.

I'd get on the web or phone and see what Grainger has for motors, or
call those local heating supply companies for a used motor. One other
thing, look for a local motor rebuilder. They might be able to
rebuild yours for under $100. but be sure to tell them you need this
ASAP for heat.

If you can use a box wrench and screwdriver, you CAN remove the motor
yourself. (Be sure to SHUT OFF THE POWER, when you do it.)

BTW What is wrong with that motor? Did you forget to oil the
bearings? Maybe it's just siezed up? Sometimes a little oil will get
it moving again......

Mark


On 19 Dec 2005 15:02:34 -0800, wrote:

Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir

wrote:
Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir

When I was looking last year, one web site had this sage advice:
everything on a furnace is replacable/upgradable as long as the heat
exchanger is intact. (guess what was broken on mind). I can't vouch for
or against this, however.

On 20 Dec 2005 12:40:45 -0800, "z" wrote:


wrote:
Hi. I would like some advice. I have an 18 year old Bryant furnace
that seems to work fine. The blower motor went south on it last
Friday. The company that I have a service contract with recomends
replacement of the entire furnace as it has exceeded its life
expectancy. They'll replace the blower on the old one, but are
advising against throwing good money after bad. They say about $500 to
replace the motor, about $2800 for the new furnace (both installed
prices). It's a single family home. The current furnace is 125,000
BTU 60% efficiency, the new one will be 110,000 and more efficient
(80%).

Please help me decide what to do. I am leaning towards accepting the
advice of replacing the furnace, but was not ready for a big-ticket
item just yet. I just want to know what the common sense thing to do
would be. The service company is a reputable one and has been
servicing this house for many, many years. I just owned this house for
about 1.5 years.

Many thanks,
Vladimir

When I was looking last year, one web site had this sage advice:
everything on a furnace is replacable/upgradable as long as the heat
exchanger is intact. (guess what was broken on mind). I can't vouch for
or against this, however.

Sell the OP your blower from your old furnace !!!!