The Furnace Blower Motor
The furnace blower motor is one area most people over look. The blower motor may be running fine, however the blades on the blower may be dirty. The blades on this fan are fairly clean. This fan was cleaned about 4 months ago. You can see the dirt just forming on the blades.
Why Clean The Furnace Blower Motor?
Why should you clean your furnace blower motor? How can this cause an inefficiency? The furnace blower motor has what we in the trades like to call, a squirrel cage. This blower fan or squirrel cage is made up of many cupped blades . Figure 1 shows a clean blade.
Figure 2 shows a dirty blade. A clean blade grabs air and throws it. When it gets dirty it can’t grab air anymore. Think of it like this. When you stick your hand out the window of a moving car and hold it flat, there isn’t much resistance, however when you cup your hand it catches a great deal more air. This is how a squirrel cage works on a furnace blower motor. When the blade is dirty it flattens out and air flow is restricted, which causes a loss of air flow. If you have never cleaned your blades on your blower motor, chance are you may have a loss of air flow. Before you clean the fan blades check your air flow. Note how much air is coming out of your vents. Clean the blades then check the air flow again. If the blades were dirty, you will notice a significant change in air flow. The better the air flow, the better the efficiency of your furnace. This maintenance tip won’t cost you anything but time. It won’t save you hundreds of dollars, but every little bit counts, and several little things together, will add up later.
