Noisy heating fan

[Ford250_335SS]

I did use my heating system for the first time this year and what a suprise...the fan or the bushing is making a lot of noise which did surprise me a lot. This fan was so smooth before and now we hardly can sleep if it is running.

Any good trick to fix it such oil or anything else. Our is a 335SS 2012

Thanks for any solution.

Michel

[carl]

You probably will need to pull the heater out from wherever it is located which will involve disconnecting the gas and probably the electric. Then spin the fan by hand to listen for the noise. The fan could be hitting the housing or a dry bearing on the motor. Also could be a vibration someplace else!
If it is a motor bearing, you may find a hole for oil but if not, try a little oil on the shaft at the bearing to see if it helps. On the end opposite the shaft, you may need to drill a small hole in the end bell to the bearing to oil.

[carl]

I forgot to say if it is under warranty, I would have dealer check it.

[happycampers]

Mine was making some noise this past spring. It was only a round 'knock out' vibrating. There should be a few of them to accomodate varying configurations. It sounds like this may not be your case, but if it is- its an easy fix.

[Kamper Dave]

Our furnace would start up and run fine until it got warmed
up and then the fan would start to scream. It turned out to be an installation
problem. The hole for the intake / exhaust was too high and the furnace would
warp when it got hot and then the fan impeller would rub on its housing. The
cure was to shim up the furnace from the floor. So far, so good.

This year we installed a household furnace filter behind the
metal furnace louvers. What a wonderful difference, the furnace is much
quieter.

[mark5w]

"This year we installed a household furnace filter behind the
metal furnace louvers. What a wonderful difference, the furnace is much
quieter."

Tell us more about the filter. Sounds like an interesting project. If you have pics that would be great.

[socoguy]

Originally Posted by mark5w

"This year we installed a household furnace filter behind the
metal furnace louvers. What a wonderful difference, the furnace is much
quieter."

Tell us more about the filter. Sounds like an interesting project. If you have pics that would be great.

X2 Sounds interesting.

[Stan]

I did that to mine a few years ago. I don't notice it being quieter but it does trap SOME of the dust (not much). I just removed the metal cover and bought the closest filter to the opening measurements. I check it once in a while but so far it hasn't gotten too dirty. I think the problem of filtering the air better is that the furnace is not in a sealed area and the intake draws air in from all over, not just through the filter.

[socoguy]

Good point that is probably intentional for ventilation and cooling ambient area.

[carl]

I also installed a filter years ago. I put 1" brackets on top & bottom for rear supportand use a filter as near to the correct size as possible, then cut and glue it back togetherto fit properly. I think in six years I have changed it just once. It will catch some dirt and is a cheap install.

[jererp]

We had a noisy furnace fan 2 days into a 6 week trip. I ended up taking the flex hose off the furnace and found pieces of acorn shells that had been deposited there by "little critters". Been noise free since. Still haven't got my winterizing perfected with this unit well enough to keep the critters out.

[Kamper Dave]

Sorry. I didn’t take any photos of the filter project.

I removed the metal louvers and measured the opening just
behind the louvers. Home Depot had a filter that was an exact fit. I only needed
to install some wooden stops to keep the filter from falling through the
opening and on to the furnace.



While I had the louver off to repair the furnace I performed the following:

</span>I vacuumed all of
the saw dust and construction debris from around the furnace.

I secured the wiring with zip ties and re-taped the
poorly taped wire connectors.

I caulked small holes and cracks.

I stuffed steel wool around the PVC plumbing and injected
Great Stuff foaming caulk around all plumbing and electrical holes into this
area.



Here are some photos of the compartment during furnace
repair:
1, Debris inside of the furnace box. 2, Unsecured wiring in the compartment, 3, Precision (12ga) cut holes for the intake and exhaust. 4, Plumbing and more unsecured wiring. Those openings around the pipeare now filled with foam caulking.






Edited by: Kamper Dave