ReplyWon’t harm the heat exchanger or the AC. May increase the indoor humidity a bit though.
Is this unit older than 5 years? If not, the motor was under warranty.
Regular Guest
Hi All,
I try to support small businesses when I can but think that was a bad choice with my latest experience. Had a blower motor go out on my York gas package unit. Contractor didn't know if a direct drive motor could be installed to replace it, because I mentioned it was gas heat (though he should have noticed that) - he said he has been doing HVAC for 18 years but would have to ask a buddy in the business and get back to me the next day to see if it was safe to do. (Why he didn’t know that right off that bat was concerning, and the fact it couldn’t be done the same day even though the house is right down the street from the HVAC parts stores was annoying for me and the tenants).
So he got back to me the next day stating that replacing an X13 with a direct drive motor (I can only assume this would be a PSC?) would work and be safe, but that a truly variable speed motor (assuming that means ECM?) would mean bypassing safety controls and be both a fire hazard and a carbon monoxide hazard. (Actually said “The place would blow up.”) But, he sounded confident, and it was 100 degrees and the tenants were complaining they couldn’t take another night without AC, so he installed it and took wiring off the control board and put it on a relay and a capacitor. Then went inside and switched the swich on the tstat for the unit to be controlled by the tstat instead of the board.
Then I spoke to a 2 larger HVAC companies that I have dealt with in the past who each stated they wouldn’t have done that because it bypasses safety controls. Right off the bat they knew the answer and didn’t have to ask a buddy. One of them said not only a safety issue but also will cause my heat exchanger to crack/fail being that there is no time delay or something to that effect. He said they might be able to install a special relay. Can anyone chime in on this as far as safety, premature equipment failure, and, if installing a different relay will solve my problem?
I feel so at a loss and want to be sure I am protecting my tenants and my property, and not sure I want to take this 4-person small business at their (nonconfident) word. Thanks so much for reading and for your help, I appreciate it!
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Won’t harm the heat exchanger or the AC. May increase the indoor humidity a bit though.
Is this unit older than 5 years? If not, the motor was under warranty.
Regular Guest
Thank you for your quick reply, @beenthere. The motor was over 5 years. Just to reiterate, this is a package unit with gas heat and electric AC. From what I understand, this exchange happens all the time with non-gas units/split systems. A general relay without any timing/cooling controls is still okay? And if you feel like elaborating, how is it that a variable speed blower motor could potentially put my tenants to sleep and burn my house down, but a single speed motor would not? I greatly appreciate the help on this forum, thank you very much!
Professional Member*
Changing an x13 to a PSC will work fine on a York gas pack with a standard relay and capacitor with no need to change the thermostat setting. It would still use the same signal from the circuit board to energize the relay.Originally Posted by DIYGirlLandlord
You could go from an X13 ecm to a variable speed ecm with no ill affects but I’m not sure why you would want to since the unit wasn’t designed for a VS ecm unless you just want to spend a bunch of extra money for little to no gain.
Regular Guest
@jtrammel, thank you for your reply! Can you please tell me if the thermostat switch should not have been switched over? I just got a text from the tenant stating their heat is not coming on - could this be the reason why?
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