You little sumbitch!

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/01/2020 at 22:34 • Filed to: Houselopnik

The picture of Hammer is both click bait, and to not spoil the reveal of the cause of the problem that was solved today.

Just over a week ago, my furnace started vibrating like crazy. I messaged lapsed Opponaut Birddog, a plumbing and HVAC tech, about how to troubleshoot the problem. He walked me through some tests, and we came to the conclusion that the blower motor was on its way out.

Now, the furnace is probably over 25 years old, so long term I will need to replace it. That said, the blower motor itself is replaceable. The bad news is Birddog lives in the next state. The good news is I live near his parents, and he hadn’t seen them in nearly a year, so a deal was struck to couple replacing my furnace fan with a visit to see his parental units .

Today he came over with a rescue fan in tow, but first he wanted to see what it was doing in person. The blower motor was vibrating like crazy, and rattling the whole furnace. Turns out, it was not because of bad bearings or anything like that.

This happened. A piece of an old filter got sucked into the blower, and threw it out of balance. With that removed, normal operation resumed.

Birddog’s response was, “Well that’s a new one. I’ll have to add this to my checklist of things to look for on service calls.”

Job done early, we watched the Bears lose at foosball and then ate a delicious steak dinner my wife prepared. All in all, damn good day.

DISCUSSION (30)

atfsgeoff > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 22:58

You gotta start checking your furnace filters more often!

shop-teacher > atfsgeoff
11/01/2020 at 22:59

I just changed it a few weeks ago. This was a piece of an old one, that’s been in there for who knows how long.

Chariotoflove > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:00

I love it when it’s the simple stuff. Glad you guys had a good visit.

atfsgeoff > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:03

Fair enough, it looks like a piece tore off the corner of a cardboard framed filter.

smobgirl > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:04

That’s wild! But also props to Birddog, because the last few techs I called wanted nothing to do with my old furnace (which was sent to pasture for a blower motor issue).

Also I totally fell for the clickbait. Hi kitty.

MM54 > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:06

*looks at rattly, noisy furnace from 1986*

noted.

shop-teacher > smobgirl
11/01/2020 at 23:12

He’s a good dude. The furnace will need to be replaced in 2-3 years anyways, but I’m very happy to keep it going for now.

Hammer says meow.

shop-teacher > atfsgeoff
11/01/2020 at 23:12

That's exactly what it is.

shop-teacher > Chariotoflove
11/01/2020 at 23:13

Indeed :)

shop-teacher > MM54
11/01/2020 at 23:13

Good luck! :)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:15

Can you tell Birddog to forgive me for driving him away, even though I don't believe I did?

Alfalfa > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:16

How is B irddog? Still collecting deadly 3 wheelers?

jminer > shop-teacher
11/01/2020 at 23:36

Nice! I replaced the blower motor on my 30 years old furnace a couple years ago. I finally gave in and replaced it this summer, but now the damn heat is glitchy so I’ve got to call someone out.

I’m 2000 miles away and my wife is home, luckily it isn't too cold yet, but still...

facw > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 00:05

The blower on my car vibrates at high speeds, and a shop has told me its bearings are probably on the way out (though they have been for more than three years now), but I’m pretty terrified there’s a long-dead animal in the blower cage or something. The cabin air filter I took out was intact at least. Probably should replace it, but it works well enough as long as you don’t go past around 60% fan speed.

Anyway that furnace is old, and I’m sure less efficient than new models, but as long as it is economical to maintain, I saw keep it. My parents’ last house had a boiler from the ‘80s, and their previous house had a secondary furnace that was ‘60s vintage it latest, and quite possibly earlier.

facw > smobgirl
11/02/2020 at 00:08

The house my parents’ moved out of last summer had steam heat, and it was getting harder and harder for them to find people who knew how to work on boilers. Seems to be the case that companies have old guys who know how to work the systems, but there’s no one to replace them when those old guys retire.

In any event, I’m sure in your case it’s just more profitable to sell a new furnace than fix an existing one.

AestheticsInMotion > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 00:23

Having just had to replace m y 5 year-old washer, I went to my grandmother’s home only to see her 60 year old drab green washer running like it was a day off the showroom floor. Sure, it’s massive, noisy, i ncredibly inefficient, and the settings are “on” and “off”, but at least it works!

pip bip - choose Corrour > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 02:36

ask Birddog to pop in and say hello

old-busted-hotness-still-cant-comment > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 05:34

I had a similar problem. Fan was noisy AF. I was convinced the motor was on the way out. Turns out it was the fan itself. The blade ring had divorced itself from the hub. Still trying to figure out how that happens.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 05:43

Yay for confusing but cheap and easy fixes!

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
11/02/2020 at 07:04

Will do :)

shop-teacher > facw
11/02/2020 at 07:07

The furnace is in good shape still. I'm going to replace it in 2-3 years, to avoid the inevitable event of it breaking in the middle of a cold snap on a holiday.

shop-teacher > Alfalfa
11/02/2020 at 07:10

He’s doing alright. He actually sold the 3-wheelers. He bought a ‘78 Chevy C10 long bed to play with. He wants to Rallycross it next year. He has joined us on our long scooter trips the last few years, but in his truck behind us. He wants to get a scooter of his own now.

shop-teacher > AestheticsInMotion
11/02/2020 at 07:14

Man, that sucks. Our washer and dryer came with the house. It’s certainly more modern than your grandmother’s, but it’s been working great.

We were actually watching an old episode of Myth Busters recently. They were testing the myth of the guy getting spun around and killed by his washing machine. They went and bought, "The heaviest duty washing machine we could find." My wife recognized it as the exact same washer that we have.

shop-teacher > jminer
11/02/2020 at 07:15

Ugh!

shop-teacher > pip bip - choose Corrour
11/02/2020 at 07:15

Will do!

shop-teacher > old-busted-hotness-still-cant-comment
11/02/2020 at 07:15

Wow!

old-busted-hotness-still-cant-comment > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 07:25

I guess it was only crimped when new, but there’s no evidence left to verify that. The hub disc just sort of floats in the cage and rattles to beat the band , damnedest thing. New fan was more expensive than a new motor.

XJDano > shop-teacher
11/02/2020 at 08:57

My uncle used to pay us (teenagers) with some great dinners. Taco nights, lasagna, steaks. While we learned valuable lessons on work, and half asking construction projects like chicken coops and such.

R.I.P. Uncle John.

shop-teacher > XJDano
11/02/2020 at 10:14

Sounds like a good time to me :)

shop-teacher > XJDano
11/02/2020 at 10:14

Sounds like a good time to me :)