What to Consider When Buying A Furnace Blower Motor

Furnaces have been around for ages, although the furnaces that are used today are a far cry from the simple, wood burning furnaces that were commonly used during the beginning of the industrial revolution. These days, the wood burning furnaces have been outlawed; and what are being utilized now in homes are electrical furnaces.

This just means that it’s all the more complicated to understand, and even more complicated to try and fix. If your furnace is broken, one of the reasons could be because your furnace blower motor is broken. Don’t fret – these things are easy to buy in your nearest hardware shop. The hard part is in knowing what it is that you’re supposed to be buying. Here are some helpful hints for you to know what to do once you step foot in that hardware store.

1. Know the size in diameter of your furnace blower. Usually, the measurement you will see is the 48 frame or those that are 5 5/8 inch in diameter. Although that is the most common, there will of course be times that a bigger size is used; more specifically, the 56 frame or those with 6 inch diameters. This is essential, so make sure that this is the first thing that you take note of.

2. Know the horsepower of your current furnace blower. The most common measures of horsepower are 1/6, 1/5 and 1/3. You need to know this because in the event that you buy one with a lower horsepower, your furnace will definitely not work as it did before. You need the right amount of horsepower because if you get something that is weaker than what you need, then your furnace will not be able to power your heat and air conditioner in the same manner.

3. Know if your furnace if it is a 3 speed or a single speed. If it is the 3-speed kind, the RPM usually ranges from1200 and 900, but sometimes 1550 RPM is also seen in some furnaces.

4. Know the speed needed by your furnace. A direct drive indoor blower will need a 3 speed furnace blower, because you need high speed for air conditioners and low speed for heat.

5. Take a look at the inside, and take note of what the wiring looks like. The wiring must be standard so that you are sure that it is compatible with your furnace. The colors of the wires that you are to spot are black, white, yellow, blue, red, brown with a white line, and plain brown. The black and white wires are more common than the others.

6. Try to get a furnace blower with a fan motor with bronze ball bearings, although you have the option of getting it with normal ball bearing. The bronze ball bearings are good for running, even when the furnace is running 24/7, and this will definitely last you longer than other normal ball bearings.

These furnaces are very complicated. If you are interested in looking for these parts yourself, than you should master everything that is in this list. If you are not sure of what to look for, then it might be a very good idea to confer with a professional, even for just a quotation or advice, on exactly what kind of furnace blower it is that you’re supposed to buy. There are also well-informed people in hardware stores who will be able to help you with your purchase. But it is a much better idea to go there with the complete information that you need, so as to avoid confusion and so that you will not end up buying something that you don’t really need.