Clean Your Furnace Blower and save money

Relatively simple maintenance will ensure the longevity of your furnace. I'll show you how to remove and clean your furnace blower fan. I show you what to watch out for and some tricks and tips. Music : Cats searching for the truth by Nat Keefe / @natkeefe
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WARNING!!!!! IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME PERFECTIONISTS!
In this video, I show a method that may or may not be something you agree with, or are comfortable performing. Use your best judgment and discretion and as always, do not try something that you are not confident in doing- call a professional. Shop NOW for Odd Jobs T-shirts, mugs and more! my-store-11650333.creator-spr... If You Like Odd Jobs Remi Gauthier and want to support this channel, you can contribute here! streamelements.com/oddjobsrem...

[@desertwolfairconditioning86]

Voltage on a residential furnace is actually 120V. Lol. Still a must to turn the power off.

[@rfink222]

I cleaned mine the other day. Make sure all removed wires are put back exactly as removed. Take a picture before you disconnect any wires. Take wheel out and hand clean with soap and water for thorough cleaning. Put everything back in reverse order.

[@konradpetz7317]

I'm an industrial electrician, I went to a HVAC course years ago and one topic was the blower. If the fins are not clean it changes the pitch and how the blower moves the air. Well funny thing got a call from my brother in-law the next week that his furnace is not working, would run then shut down. They moved into the house earlier in the year and now its furnace time. Checked out, the previous owner did not have a filter in the furnace. The furnace would start then kick out on hi temp. Checked the blower the the cupped fins were completely full of dirt. Removed the blower and cleaned it. Problem solved.

[@mesureshg]

Very useful video. Thank you! Never thought it was that easy to take out the blower assembly. This video will also be useful to replace a defective blower motor! Kudos to you 🙏

[@Xhoven]

I was quoted $387 to get my blower assembly cleaned. Thanks to your video, I was able to do it myself. Thank you so much!

[@Bigb713]

Yeah a man just told me 1040 to clean this and vents like bruh what

[@joeyprince2910]

Thank you for this easy to understand video. Loads of valuable information, I’m glad I found it. I’m sure that this simple video is going to save me hundreds if not thousands of dollars. One tip to add, Just before your about to disconnect your wires, -Take A Picture- 👍

[@chrisnichols7313]

This was by far the best video I’ve seen yet on cleaning your furnace.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Very kind for you to say. Read all the comments, there are a few pieces of advice from viewrs in there as well!

[@garymcaleer6112]

Just signed on. Thanks, Remi. I will catalogue this and others for future needs.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

That's great! Thank you!

[@generac43]

Fantastic! Thanks for doing this video.

[@gcraig0001]

If you use effective filters, and keep the airbox sealed properly, the fan and motor shouldn't get that filthy. The true purpose of the filters is to keep the junk out of the furnace and especially out of the blower and heat exchanger (as well as the A/C evaporator coils if so equipped), not to clean the air for the customer. Look at all the openings in that furnace, and you can see where the dust and dirt came from.

[@dunrobincourt]

Learned a lot and handy tips. Thanks. B

[@kristyleger6938]

Good choice of background music…not to loud or annoying ! Thanks for your video

[@jamesrooney7689]

i would of checked the capasitor while i had excess to it great video thank you

[@markolsen4394]

Nice been wanting to do this

[@danielortega6011]

Thanks! Great video, very helpful. I’m going to try it myself now.

[@larryowens7023]

Very good video! Thanks for making it. I'm a bit surprised you closed it all back up without vacuuming/cleaning all the other dust and cobwebs, though. Dust is the big enemy! Today I had a furnace tuneup on my 23 year old Bryant 80t furnace. Not only did it pass with flying colors, but the tech told me it was one of the cleanest furnaces he's seen in his 18 years of HVAC work. "You get a gold medal for preventative maintenance" he said. What did I do? I clean everything annually during the off season and check it in season. Over the years I also replaced one ignitor and one sensor.... requiring 1 screwdriver for each job. The tech said my blower fan was a bit dirty, but not bad at all. That's why I sought videos on how to clean it!

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

This was a 4 hour job condensed into a 12 minute video. Of course you don't see everything that is done, and some things are "cut" for expediency. Thank you for watching, and cudos to you for going the extra mile!

[@thejustisjohnson2]

Awesome video thanks alot! Saved me a hole bunch! Great work

[@joseorta9928]

Great tutorial...congrats

[@adamvang6845]

Thanks you

[@michaelb7280]

Brilliant : )

[@boleromientay3769]

Very useful video, thank you👍👍👍

[@brianszanyi5538]

You can use spray starch lemon scent spray all the fins clean it real good and put it back in works great I was told by a furnace person

[@bradleybrown5614]

extremely clean compared to mine!

[@ihateleftistliars4840]

Thank you sir!!

[@asuhayda1]

A/C coil cleaner does a great job of cleaning the fins on the fan.

[@dreamingrightnow1174]

Thank you so much for this, you made me think I can do it. The music was good too. :)

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Be very very thorough with this. I am sure that you can, but if you make a mistake it can be very dangerous or costly or both. Good luck.

[@jazziez6467]

I prefer no music.

[@lounar482]

Nice babeeee!!!

[@TheJazzhandz]

I love when technicians say how bad it is to fix it yourself, and they love to charge you $700 to give you a new air filter and clean it. Love sales me... I mean technicians

[@fresheddie..]

Listen am not playing with this 😆 🤣 😂

[@weeverob]

thanks! what about lubing the fan?

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

In my opinion, most of these fans have sealed bearings. If it needs grease, it will have a grease fitting- otherwise don't oil it.

[@Robnord1]

This was nice. I get paid to work on furnaces, may I offer a couple of suggestions? 1. When you removed the cover while running @ 10:47 , the door switch forces an immediate shutdown. These have a timed cooldown cycle by the board to prevent this type shutdown because doing so can crack the heat exchanger. Big $ 2. If you remove and either pressure wash or bucket and brush clean the blower wheel to shiny , It'll run for more years before getting dirty again. I would still have a pro look the unit over every couple of years to check proper operation and combustion chamber integrity. The visit should go quick since you clean the blower.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Awesome

[@joshuapetersen2019]

How in the hell would it crack metal from stopping heat too suddenly? I could see if you drop ice on it but really just from stopping the blower? It sounds unbelievable to me

[@Robnord1]

@@joshuapetersen2019 The fan blowing on the metal keeps it's temperature constant. It is protected by airflow just like a balloon of water is protected and can be heated over a flame. If the fan stops suddenly in the middle of a cycle, the hottest portions do a sudden heat spike . The alloy and thickness used in most heat exchangers and combustion chambers are not designed to handle this.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

@@joshuapetersen2019 good question...I would like to know the answer too. I know from experience that some casted metal (aluminum or cast iron) can become brittle from temperature fluctuations.

[@johnmellyn2700]

I think I have the same motor as you , the next time you pull the fan out check for an oil inlet hole ( if you stop the video at 5:20 and look directly to the right of your gloved finger , about 1 inch above the “GE” logo there should be a small hole ) the hole should have either a yellow plastic cap or a metal one that pops off ( by what I can see in the video yours is either missing or you just don’t have one and it’s a sealed unit ) if there is a hole there add the proper oil and get a new cap for the hole , there should be a second fill hole straight back from that one which is difficult to get too, you either have to get the oil bottle with the long flexible straw , or you need to pull the fan motor out ( by removing the three bolts that hold it in and also loosening the bolt that holds it on the shaft ) I’m not trying to be critical of your video, I’m just passing on info that may be helpful as I learned the hard way by neglecting to oil mine for many years ( because I didn’t know any better ) and my fan motor seized ,……another thing to mention is ,.. if it’s a “ metal “ cap ,.. you wouldn’t even think it pops off with a hole behind it ….good luck !

[@Jon-hx7pe]

while the blower assembly is out on a mid efficiency furnace, should crawl in there and look up with a bright light to inspect the heat exchanger for cracks, holes, popped crimp rings if applicable. on a high efficiency, should look at the secondary heat exchanger from there - checking for dirt buildup and signs of water leakage, corrosion. the primary heat exchanger is not visible on high efficiency from blower compartment - the secondary is in the way.

[@BillSW]

fellow princessauto shopper tell from the powerfist box!

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Dirt cheap tools and supplies!

[@jamkpa]

It appears that there is an air gap at the bottom right hand side of your filter to the ductwork that is allowing dirty air to bypass the filter.

[@divineknowledge4607]

I have never cleaned my fan, or ducts, in 30 years. But then again I have a boiler with radiant heat 😂.

[@aperlia6603]

Could I just hit it with a compressed air wand with a 90 degree bend while it's installed? I could hook up a shopvac while I'm doing it? Just thinking of ways to save time.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

What a boring video that would be!

[@timsager6153]

What about lubing the blower motor bearings, even if they are sealed

[@edgarsteele]

What air compressor are you using? I’d love to find a small portable unit that pumps 7+ CFM. I’m not aware of such technology

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

If I remember, it was a Mastercraft 26 gallon ,1.5HP compressor. In USA , Husky makes the same one. It is rated at 5.2 CFM. The 2.0 HP gives 6.2 CFM. Any more and you would require a gas powered or 240V compressor I think.

[@smith7388]

About how much would this cost?

[@elkokeraliuga8556]

Was lub needed? I mean since motor was removed may as well!

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

This one had sealed bearings, but yes, of course if there is a nipple, give it a shot!

[@jakeholcombe4002]

A professional would also fully remove the motor and actually clean the housing

[@rodgraff1782]

No they don’t run on 220 volts. Residential gas furnaces run on 120 volts. No need to have 220 volts, unless it was an electric furnace. By the way, that big hole in the door, where the plastic lens is supposed to be, is sucking in un filtered air. Maybe that’s why your blower is getting dirty. You could have looked for some oiling ports on the motor, and given each a few drops. I also would have looked up where the blower was to check the heat exchanger.

[@a8a999]

Do you lubricate the motor?

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

No. The bearings in the motor and blower are usually sealed and do not require grease.

[@grandpapete417]

I think I can do this but I don’t know how to

[@brianszanyi5538]

Nice video anybody with common sense should be able to do this

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Thank you, I agree.

[@brianszanyi5538]

@@oddjobsremigauthier thank you you're the best is always use a camera cell phone for the wires

[@brianszanyi5538]

I have a 46-year furnace air ease brand very simple parts the blower motor has a belt that turns the blower it mounts on the front of the on a slide does the job very simple I just changed the filter Happy New Year always the first of the year our first of the month I change it

[@brianszanyi5538]

I have very good utility bills 150 160 I live in the Chicago area

[@kandinski888]

Very very good video , but capacitors two brown electric line go where ? Moter?

[@marcob.7801]

OOPS.....just saw the blue filter. I have the same one and Don't believe it filters that well. Went back to Filterbuy Merv 11,....keps everything nice and clean!

[@crand20033]

You have nice, neat wiring but mine looks like a rat's nest. and it's hard to even notate what wire goes where. Some are even the same color as the others.

[@mauona]

Same, I just use stickers with numbers (on wires and boards). That's easier. Like you say, some wires have similar color, so even if you take a pic it can be troublesome to reconnect everything.

[@bobbywanger8123]

👍👍👍🔥🔥

[@marcob.7801]

You ain't got no filter before that blower fan on the return make up air bra!

[@user-vr8mv1ci6d]

The only time you need to remove the fan is when the motor goes out. Cleaning it will not prevent the motor from taking a dump period.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

I don't often contradict comments, but I do not want anyone to be misguided. The bearings and bushings inside the motor will experience excessive wear if the fan blades become laden with grime. It throws the balance off and causes the motor shaft to wobble and the bearings to fail. If you question this, try driving your car without balancing the wheels, and see how short a time it takes for bearings and shafts to fall apart.

[@user-vr8mv1ci6d]

@oddjobsremigauthier I'm pretty sure grease plays a big part on the bearings failing. I used to work at a food industry plant where we made vegetables. All there motors there were always dirty and they ran well as long as we were able to change bearings to prevent them from failing. Wear and tear will fail the motor not dust so that's the reason I don't agree with cleaning fan blades and wiping or blowing dust away from motor.

[@percyfaith11]

How does the fan get dirty if the filter is kept clean?

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

This old furnace is not air tight and this fan likely hasn't been cleaned in decades.

[@Jon-hx7pe]

your blower compartment access panel is missing the sight glass where the board's led indicator is - some air is leaking through there. i would foil tape over it just on outside - or better yet get a replacement sight glass @@oddjobsremigauthier

[@TPfromtheD]

At 1:10 I knew I couldn't do this myself I'll call my furnace guy and happily give him my money because my biggest fear is that the furnace will blow up with me sitting right next to it.. No thanks sir😂

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

That is exactly what "furnace guy" is for. You are wise in knowing your capabilities. Good comment!

[@smith7388]

@@oddjobsremigauthierI agree. So what that said how much would it cost to have a tech come out?

[@chadschafer1723]

Please call a tech, as one i love when i show up and its half apart. I charge you to put it back together then charge you to fix it, you make me so much more money. Thanks

[@michaelanthonysabatolegget9386]

Agreed if the homeowner has very short term memory. Tis why pics help and a great idea. The pros don't do this! I have never seen them take a pic...we all make mistakes. One wrong wire connection, they would blame it on me or claim, "well your system is 24 years old!" yuck yuck.... How do we customers know if the "tech" is thorough? We trust. I trusted my a/c guy: h'ell never be back: screws missing on the control panel outside, didn't even offer to clean the unit until it is replaced. He only stated, "it's not worth the 400 to clean". To me it is. Even if I bought new in a few months. I had another "pro" have my car in a body shop. He was to replace 2 bumpers for 3600 bucks. Once he saw he could get my car from the insurance company, (and I refused his service) he charged me 1600 to put the car back together, and he reused old clips, the back bumper has 1/4 inch gap all the way around. Lesson learned: I will buy the bumpers myself, have Maaco paint them, and I will install them for no charge. Stupid is as stupid did. So much for "calling a tech"...

[@chadschafer1723]

@@michaelanthonysabatolegget9386 please do it yourself, no one wants you as a customer

[@jennyeyesxfirepioneer6934]

Idiot. If love making money why are you discouraging DIY’ers? Dumb AZZ.

[@chadschafer1723]

@@jennyeyesxfirepioneer6934 I love when a person who hasn't mastered the English language calls me an idiot

[@bigredjohnson6921]

Why didn't you demonstrate how to discharge the capacitor? It's so easy to do.

[@DBTdad]

At 4:15 blower is removed & cleaning begins

[@David-ei5lq]

How about LED CONTROL STATUS CHART RIGHT ON THE COVER LOWER LEFT! Sheesh!

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Thanks for watching the video! Glad you got something out of it!

[@blipblop92]

Imo this blower isnt that dirty to the point that it will reduce running efficiency. You can also blow compressed air on the fins while the blower is still in place so less things that can go wrong.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Thanks for watching!

[@rfink222]

Bad advice on both counts.

[@alan30189]

Thanks for sharing. If your furnace is more than 10 years old, you probably should’ve oiled it, as well, unless it’s a sealed bearing system. Designers really need to do a better job of designing furnaces, so you don’t have to take the control panel out first, to get to the blower. That’s ridiculous! Another thing, please turn off the annoying music during the discussion part of your video. Just play the annoying music perhaps at the beginning and the end.

[@boggy7665]

Yep, when the content is talking that I want to hear, any music is annoying, doubly annoying if it's music I find annoying all by itself.

[@chadschafer1723]

Or you could just run a filter and change it and you wont have to do this at all

[@michaelanthonysabatolegget9386]

"run a filter?" You mean, "change the filter?" I don't think so. I change the filters all the time for 25 years. My blower still is funked after years of sucking in dirty air...

[@jamesbizs]

That’s what you do before this happens. Not everyone starts with a brain new AC you know. And filters aren’t perfect. If they were, the AC wouldn’t be able to handle it anyways

[@gcraig0001]

Notice in this video all the openings that allow all that gunk straight into the blower compartment. You can install the most efficient filter made, and it won't help if you let air bypass the filter and go straight into the compartment. Seal up all the openings, make sure your filter actually seals against the furnace, and use a good midlevel filter and change it as prescribed. The cheap filters of the old days wouldn't stop much, the most expensive available today may be so restrictive it affects the performance of the furnace. Stick with a filter that fits in between the extremes.

[@jakeholcombe4002]

It everybody has the same furnace and the furnace runs on 120 not 220

[@prosay]

Pay the tech! Change your air filters often.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

It is absolutely true that there are two types of people. One type will always thing that they must hire the tech, and others that will never hire the tech. This video is for the later.

[@dannytaylor6066]

You just got the surface dust off. It would come cleaner. Especially when you do it right

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

If there is a right way, I haven't seen it. I watched the video you made and I still think mine is better (I might be biased). Thanks for watching.

[@dannytaylor6066]

i did not make a video. use a tooth brush in the fins. you can use a small air compressor and blow it out or vacuum@@oddjobsremigauthier

[@melvinwillingham233]

If you have experience working with hand tools you may be able to complete this task. Otherwise call a professional.

[@hughug1892]

Great video, but an extremely annoying music. Why does one need any music in an instructional video? Fail for adding music

[@altyndom7039]

It’s runs on 120 volt single phase, no need to shutoff the breaker, just the switch. You damage it it’s your own fault

[@bills6946]

If your blower is dirty, you either don’t have a filter installed or it is the wrong size filter. The blower should never get dirty like that. Owner negligence.

[@hotfeva9843]

Call a professional on this people save yourself the headache, if you rewire the wrong way it can be very costly to fix

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

I could not agree more. Thank you for using your judgement and realizing your limitations. If you are willing to attempt this, be absolutely sure you know what you are doing. Hot Feva here has some doubts, so he called a professional. That is solid advice.

[@ahyaok100]

Anyone that has any experience with taking electrical things apart already will know to take a picture first, but if you're not comfortable don't do it, yes. With that said, you don't have to be an hvac professional or an electrical engineer to do this either.

[@michaelgreen9509]

Please oh please do it yourself. Us service guya love fixing things that home owners do themselves. More money in my pocket, thank you!

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

I used to think like that too. However, I have come to realize that people are a lot smarter than arrogant tradesmen give them credit for. Most people know their limitations, and if they aren't confident, they call a pro.

[@Xhoven]

Lol are you trying to scare people off from attempting their own repairs? Complete novices might screw things up, but anyone who has DIY experience is not going to have a problem with something like this. My money is still in my own pocket.

[@robertkattner1997]

No need to klean your furnace fan if you replace your filter every month.

[@karinlarsen2608]

They suck air from the front of the Furnace that doesn't go through the filter

[@eliblum9461]

This is NOT for a homeowner to do. Absolutely not for enduser

[@dreamingrightnow1174]

Why?

[@jamesbizs]

@@dreamingrightnow1174 because most homeowners are idiots?

[@RtistiqSkubie]

@@dreamingrightnow1174 homeowners can DEFINITELY do this. But only if you're already experienced doing small technical work 🙄. This is NOT a major job.

[@bobdees6428]

I was told by a few AC guys it needed to be replaced it was so dirty and making strange noises. So I took a picture, marked each wire on a diagram of the board. I removed the entire unit only 4 or 5 screws it was beyond filthy and rubbing metal on metal. It took 2 days of blowing it down, using chemicals to soak and hose out. I had to grind with a Dremel tool a few sections, lube it up and put everything back together. But I saved almost a thousand bucks,,, despite what the guy above said anyone could do it. It takes patience, time and a whole lot of elbow grease

[@lorenzoparedes2306]

There will always be those whose job seems threatened by these DIY videos, and try to frighten those who are interested, capable, and most of all, careful to disconnect electrical power, take notes/photos, use the proper tools and materials, etc. I would only add that a good quality facial mask should be worn when using compressed air to clean the 'squirrel cage' blower on the furnace, to prevent inhalation of that filthy air and particles.

[@gcraig0001]

This is not something everyone could or should do. If you aren't knowledgeable with regards to electrical devices, and aren't mechanically inclined and experienced, do not do what this man just did. You may hurt yourself and/or damage your furnace. If he had messed up that blower assembly and had to have it replaced, he would have been out a lot more than what a basic service call costs. If he had made a mistake with the electrical connections, he could have cost himself a lot more than that.

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

That is always good advice. As I have always said, if you have any doubts, call a professional.

[@jwsnotruth7106]

This guy is 1000000% right !!!!!!!

[@TheGreatEscape77]

A monkey can do this. Its like 5 wires and 2 screws. I dont need a service guy to come and charge me $200 just for showing up if they can do it i can do it

[@roscoeroscoe8695]

so he shouldn't have made the video and helped out all of those people that are capable of doing this job?....so many haters..

[@jamesbizs]

Lol people are going to cost themselves a lot of money. I think you’re very much overestimating the ability of people to do this.

[@RtistiqSkubie]

No. People overestimate themselves. This knowledge is for anyone to find, it's up to you as an individual to know what you're capable of.

[@manualjane2446]

[@gte1340]

220 volts! Yeah right.....

[@oddjobsremigauthier]

Actually, not right. I mis-spoke there, as you so politely pointed out. Thank you.

[@gte1340]

@@oddjobsremigauthier 😉😉😉😉