Goodman Inducer problem

[he8833]

I had a tech come out and replace my inducer motor last January because of concerns due to noise (vibration that occured when the inducer motor would start) Fast forward 10months and within the last few days the new Revcor inducer motor has started to “rub” on something producing a noise similar to very loose fan blade (completely different to vibration). The noise is extremely noisy and will be scheduling a tech to come out first thing Monday. In order to describe what exactly the problem was to the tech I took the cover off the furnace to see where the noise was coming from. After seeing it was the inducer motor I tightened the 3 screws that have some orange rubber washers behind them. (see picture below) After tightening them the noise completely went away. However after 2-3 more cycles the same noise returns. It obviously has to with these screws and them loosening which in turns causes the fan to rub. ****I’m not attempting to fix this myself**** as the tech that replaced the Inducer will coming back out to fix but would like to be proactive and have him look @ other possible contributing factors and not just throw another one in. The unit is a Goodman 0804 Heating Input 80,000
Output 74,000


My questions are:

Is their something that should be logically checked that might be increasing vibration or stress on the inducer motor to cause the screws to loosen?

Did I just get unlucky and get a bad replacement.

Are Revcor inducer motors low grade?

Can you now buy “higher line draft inducer motors” vs. the factory ones that come with the unit.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2919/img1259rf5.jpg

[Edited by he8833 on 10-29-2006 at 09:06 AM]

[TheDuke]

have a tech check it out something could be in the wheel or what ever is used in between there to seal it the gasket may have came loose behind them screws and it is rubbing on the wheel.
i would not play with it let a tech come out and pull it and see what the problem is.

[he8833]

Thank you for the response. My intention is not to play with it, hence I will be calling Monday morning as orginally stated. That being said the problem is not the wheel encased within the gasket but rather those screws that I drew in red which keep loosening and cause the fan blades (which I drew) on the outside to rub against the gasket.

I'm looking for feedback as to wether this specific problem is common: screws loosen and result in the outside fan blades to rub?

Should I be requesting a different inducer motor manufacture as Revcor are known to be loud? or low grade?

Have they come out with quiter "higher line" motors that I should I request.

Lastly, from an installation standpoint is their something that should be looked at they may be causing excessive stress or vibration on the inducer motor that could explain why this problem has occured so quickly considering the inducer motor was brand new last Jan. The reason it was replaced in the first place was I felt it was excessively noisy. Now the new one has broke after 5 months of use. It leaves a lingering question as to whether something else is contributing to this and want the tech to look @ all possible causes vs. simply installing another without digging a little deeper. I would very much appreciate any suggestions that I may bring up to him/her.

[RoBoTeq]

What is the model number of that furnace? Also, I'd like to see how the condensate lines from the furnace are run to the trap assembly.

[aircooled53]

Metal and plastic expansion on draft assembly..

Goodman warranty, it's an installation problem..

Call for service on Monday and ask for explanation of why this keeps occuring on your equipment?

Good Luck..

[he8833]

Metal and plastic expansion on draft assembly.

So could I request a different inducer motor be put in, say one that is metal on metal. Are you suggesting the factory motor is prone to break?

Goodman warranty, it's an installation problem..

The part under warranty is the problem? Or you see something that is installed wrong? I'm confused what you are saying.



Call for service on Monday and ask for explanation of why this keeps occuring on your equipment?

Plan on it


Good Luck..