Noisy Weather King

[ConfusedHomeown]

Help! My contractor promised to replace my 30 year old furnace with one which was smaller, quieter and more efficient. Well, this thing is so noisy that it's like having the vacuum cleaner on. It's a Weather King -- I have no idea what model number (it doesn't say on the unit). In addition to the unit itself roaring more than I am used to, the worst problem is the noise at the cold air return vent. The HVAC guy says the fan/blower only comes in one speed and there's nothing he can do about it. My contractor says part of the problem is that the cold air return vent is only about three feet from the furnace now (would have been nice if he had told me this would be an issue before we decided to move the furnace to that location). Is this truly my only option in terms of the noise level of a furnace? Are there things we can do to make it quieter? We live in San Francisco with very mild winters, so we don't need anything fancy. Please help -- there's no way we can ever sell this house with this noisy a heating system.

Thank you!!!!

[karsthuntr]

There are a lot of things a contractor can do to make a unit quiet. The model numbers is on the inside of the unit. There is a sticker with model and serial number behind the top panel (if its an upflow). Please post model number and we can help you more.

[BaldLoonie]

The King 80s, like many 80s, are noisy. It is a low priced model but reliable.

Rheem makes the Super Quiet 80s but they are more money but the quietest single stage 80 you can get. They have insulation in the blower compartment which would help on the return air. That can be added to the existing furnace. Also any return box or ducting to the return grille can have duct liner glued on to quiet it.

Friend has a house where return grille comes right off the return box under the furnace. Engineer buddy told him to line the box with cheap, flexible ceiling panels, like you'd put in a 2x4 grid. Whisper quiet. Amazing. But that won't stop the roar of the burners & inducer.

Wonder if it is oversized as well?

[AIR PRO]

Sounds like the return air opening is too small. Again, need the model # and also the return air grille size.

[ConfusedHomeown]

Hopefully I have properly identified which of the many numbers written inside my unit are the model number and serial number:

Model #: 80PJ05NAR01
Series #: GE5D302F350608423
6.8 amps

The return air grille's outside dimensions are 13" x 19" and the dimensions of the area where there are actually openings are 11.5" x 17.5".

Our house is on 3 floors and the heated space is about 1500 sf. The furnace is on the ground level in the garage and the return air grille is in the front entryway).

If you need more numbers from inside the unit, let me know.

Thanks!!!

[docholiday]

Well when one compares furnace sounds, 30 years ago you may have had an atmo0spheric burner and a blower that moved about 1/2 as much air. Todays higher efficiency furnaces move more air and are draft induced. They are louder, no way around it. The Rheem super queit is about as quiet as it gets but even then, 3 foot of return will make any furnace sound loud. Someone chinced on the duct system when they could get away with it and now the price for that is being paid.

[penderway]

The HVAC guy says the fan/blower only comes in one speed and there's nothing he can do about it.
A furnace with only one speed? Doesn't sound right. I'm not familiar with your particular furnace but every furnace should have multiple speeds to accommodate different sizes of air conditioners. Typically they're set on medium speed from the factory. Have it checked out.

[BaldLoonie]

It's a 3 speed blower, 3 ton drive. Don't recall what factory heat speed is, cool speed is high.

[Mr Bill]

I know what some of their complaining is about is the in shot burners they sound like a jet taking off, they were probably used to the old cast iron burners, well the only way you would have been able to get a quiet one is spend some money on a UGPR Series Ruud Ultra Series Super Quiet 80 2-Stage Upflow/Horizontal with ECM Motor but they ain't cheap. :eek:

[ConfusedHomeown]

So, what you all are telling me is that (a) the contractor lied when he said a new furnace would be quieter than the old one, and (b) no one bothered to ask me if I wanted to spend a few more bucks on a better/quieter model. One option is to have the furnace replaced with the Super Quiet 80, but I'm guessing that will take care of some of the noise at the furnace but won't solve my larger problem of the noise at the return air grille sounding like a vacuum cleaner. So, I think I need to focus on making the furnace I do have quieter. Clearly, the first thing I need to do is to get the HVAC guy to turn the blower to the low speed he tells me it doesn't have. What are the other things that can be done to make the furnace I have quieter? How far from the furnace should the return air grille be? Do I need a larger grille (current one is 13" x 19")? What kind of ducting would be quiet ducting (the walls are open for broader renovations, so we could conceivably do this now)? What kinds of noise dampening things can be done to the return air duct and/or to the furnace itself?

[BaldLoonie]

Any time you have return right off the blower, it will be noisy regardless of what furnace. The Kings don't have blower compartment insulation so they will be worse than a furnace that does. I would think MOST of that noise would go away if every surface from the blower to the grille has duct liner glued to it. The blower compartment and all surfaces of the return chamber. As I said above, a friend used cheap ceiling tiles as liner in the box under his furnace and the return is barely noticable. This was done at the suggestion of a sound engineer.

The 05 size should be able to run on low and not overheat but he should check the temperature rise after lowering it to be sure.

If the furnace is in a closet, a solid door would quiet the burner & inducer roar. But before replacing a louvered door, some method of getting combustion air into the closet is needed.