FIRE!!!!!

[timmay]

So after spending my lunch trouble shooting a fan motor for a friend. Telling her why no air is blowing ... classic.. the filter kept getting so dirty we thought we were better off leaving it out.

so i come home... hot and sweaty... like i just filmed a porno and decide that yes... my air conditioning will come today. Yes... cool conditioned air. Mind you I just bought this house. Been in it since Feb. The system is an 80% but it looks rough. I knew it was going to need replacing sooner than later but I figured hell, I'm in school to fix these, I can drag out it's existance.

So i turn on the AC. the fan outside is humming away. Then i go inside... but something smells funny. I go down stairs and look at the furnace, looks good. But it's really quiet. i put my hand on it and its vibrating slighly. Hmmmm. It was louder in the winter.
i remove the door, and check the air flow. (system is so old there is no door interlock) Yes the fan is moving... although not entirely too fast. No way fast enough to move cold air like it needs to. i check to see if there are motor speed options ... the furnace though is so old that the nameplate info has faded away. i smell something funny.. something smells like fire... but i don't see any. I stare at the unit some more.

hmmm.

i go around to all the vents, they are blowing cool air... but it smells funny. Everything seems to be working right.

i go back down to the fan blower... open the door again, check to see if anything is blocking the air intake. look at the motor.. everything LOOKS fine.

i shut the door again and I hear... zip zaphhhfff zip zip zaphhh

i open the door and flames are shooting out of the motor.. electrical fire... fricka frak!!!! I take care of the little blaze... and think... I can fix it!!

but then the wife reminds me that we have home owners insurance... so i decide not to touch a thing.. drop 50 and get it replaced.

Mind you all the above took place in 20 minutes. From the minute I turned it on I was running round the house checkin crap. That fire came quick. I'm just glad I was there and that the wife didn't turn it on when I was away... things could of been much worse.

GO SCHOOL!

[Steve Wiggins]

Home owners insurance or home warranty?

You might be better off replacing it yourself than waiting days on a home warranty goof to change the motor and unknowingly leave the sticking relay.

[spotts]

zip zaphhhfff zip zip zaphhh

... fricka frak!!!!


You should be a writer! Nice. I'd just replace the moter unless you think you can get insurance to buy you a new furnace. Always a chance, I've talked 'um into stranger things.

[timmay]

yeah, my hopes are to get a whole new furnace out of the deal. A boy can dream.

I didn't want to swear on here... I know this is a family establishment... well except for that time homeslice kept postin nudies of his wife.

and I love sound effects: zip zaphhhfff zip zip zaphhh

[infwsdm]

Originally posted by timmay


but then the wife reminds me that we have home owners insurance... so i decide not to touch a thing.. drop 50 and get it replaced.

get 'em to cover the A/C too!

[Shophound]

and I love sound effects: zip zaphhhfff zip zip zaphhh

The late Don Martin, a great artist and writer for Mad Magazine, had to be the all-time champ of perfectly capturing sound effects with words. His response to your sizzling fan motor likely may have been:

"BZZOWNT!" or "ZIZAZIK!"

And the sound of the bottom half of your mouth hitting the floor once seeing the fire:

"FLOIDOIP!"

[condenseddave]

Originally posted by infwsdm

Originally posted by timmay


but then the wife reminds me that we have home owners insurance... so i decide not to touch a thing.. drop 50 and get it replaced.

get 'em to cover the A/C too!

Yeah, I smell a fire damaged evap coil...

[i_got_ideas]

2 summers ago one of our guys found a fire on total accident. There had been a thunderstorm in the morning so in the afternoon he went out to do planned service and accidently stopped at the wrong builing in a Church job that had several buildings listed. Not knowing he was at the wrong building since it happened to be unlocked ( I gave him all sorts of hell for that by the way )he proceeded to service all 3 of the units. Got to the third, opend the closet door where the unit was and fire was spewing from a flexable gas connector that had been split by the lightning that morning. Luckily no major damage, just some charred wood and it blackened the side of the unit.

[vern p]

Just wonder how that lightning got into a closed closet inside the building to split the flex connector?
Is that an assumption because of a storm?
Did the strike hit at the meter and travel thru the gas pipe and come out at the flex connector?
Was this fire investigated by the fire dept and this was their determination or yours?
Not busting your chops just wondering how?

[rob10]

Originally posted by i_got_ideas
2 summers ago one of our guys found a fire on total accident. There had been a thunderstorm in the morning so in the afternoon he went out to do planned service and accidently stopped at the wrong builing in a Church job that had several buildings listed. Not knowing he was at the wrong building since it happened to be unlocked ( I gave him all sorts of hell for that by the way )he proceeded to service all 3 of the units. Got to the third, opend the closet door where the unit was and fire was spewing from a flexable gas connector that had been split by the lightning that morning. Luckily no major damage, just some charred wood and it blackened the side of the unit.

Do you tell the owner that this is why PM contracts are so essential!!!

[i_got_ideas]

I'm not exactly sure how the lightning got to it though it probably wasn't hard. The closet is on an exterior wall. In the exterior wall there is a hole where the lineset and 1/2" blackpipe gasline come in from outside. The blackpipe comes in about 3" and then has the flex connector since the furnace is a tight fit and is right there. I figure the lighning could have hit any part of the gas line out side or even the lineset, the flex connector was just the weak link that gave out.

[vern p]

I'd check the wiring then to make sure this won't happen again. If it was lightning the ground, assuming there is one, of the electrical circut should have tripped the breaker and absorbed the electrical charge. Thats the theory anyway. Double check that the wiring circut ground is proper.

[sotexkoolbreeze]

"well except for that time homeslice kept postin nudies of his wife."

Did I miss something?

[rob10]

Originally posted by sotexkoolbreeze
"well except for that time homeslice kept postin nudies of his wife."

Did I miss something?

OMG YOU sure did miss them. 1 time event never to happen again!! BTW There were of my HOT WIFE!!

[Edited by rob10 on 05-23-2004 at 04:54 PM]