How to lubricate a furnace blower motor

Did you know your furnace might be due for an oil change ?
In this video, we will go through the process of lubricating a blower fan motor. This should be part of regular furnace maintenance, before the 10 years mark, or more frequently if your furnace is heavily used.
Here is the oil I used : www.amazon.com/Supco-CE441-Zo...

[@bumper52]

I added one extra step when oiling mine. Drilled a small hole, (less than 1/8") into the oil felt chamber and pressed in a short length of stainless hypodermic tubing (available on Amazon etc). Then used a length of Tygon tubing (the yellowish clear stuff that's oil resistant) to connect the new oil port to a convenient spot at the front of the blower housing. Now I only need to give it a squirt of oil every few years with no need to take it all apart each time. Note that years ago, this sort of motor would usually have an oil cap at each end so you could add oil without taking the motor apart. I guess that stopped in favor of our "throw away" society.

[@the_bootloader]

That's a great idea ! I also find it disturbing that they stopped adding oil ports. I think it is because homeowners don't want to do it anyway, and most HVAC technicians only know how to / want to replace furnaces with new ones... it's sad and it was one of the motivations that prompted me to shoot this video. Thanks for watching !

[@dmtycn]

Great idea!

[@daveknapp2000]

Let's be a little more honest, the companies are trying to increase profits at your expense. They make more money selling you an entirely new motor than putting oil on it so it will last for 30-60 years. Kind of like nobody does brazing of your coils any longer. There is more money in "ripping off" the ignorant masses. So the more intelligent ones that like to learn have to do these silly work arounds. Thanks for the idea and how to port the oil for easy access though! Maybe just a reminder to cap your port with something is all :) I would upgrade the oil to PTFE(polytetraflouroethylene) aka flouridated oil, aka Teflon(trademarked name by the not so customer focused Dupont/Dow chemical) so they call it PTFE fyi.

[@ChevroletTough]

Thank you for this video! I was able to perform this work with the motor still attached to the board. I only had to remove a few wires. All back together and squeal free! Your furnace was identical to mine.

[@miningexcavator]

Thanks for posting this video, I was able to fix a bad noise in my furnace because the motor needed lubrication. I bought the exact oil you recommended. Thanks because the video goes directly to the point on how to solve the issue.

[@tommoran2113]

Thank You, I had a noisy motor, it got hot and I followed your instructions and reoiled!!! Back up and running, smooth and quiet now.

[@stevenscharff8944]

Very helpful video. Don’t forget to turn your gas back on. I noticed the valve was still shut when you ended the video.

[@the_bootloader]

Yes, you have a good eyesight ! :) Since my furnace does not have a pilot flame, I generally turn the gas supply off during the summer. I do not recommend doing this to furnaces having a pilot flame however.

[@ChrisNixon13]

Thanks this was very useful. Unfortunatly I discovered a good wad of human hair wrapped around the shaft on the drive end, hidden by the blower. I doubt this unit had been inspected since installation in 2004. Some hair had migrated in and cut up the shaft/bushing. I think it may have been okay with cleaning and lubrication but I don't want to chance it, it can get to -40 here and I am away for a week at a time periodically. Now I know I can maintain this thing every couple of years or so, will probably outlast me.

[@alphaomega8373]

Thanks frenchy worked like a charm :)

[@the_bootloader]

Happy it helped ! Maintenance is very rewarding, prevents failures, saves money in the long run, and you get the satisfaction of a job well done that you did yourself :)

[@blueduck9409]

Thank you for sharing this video.

[@the_bootloader]

You're welcome, happy it helped

[@johntatum4003]

Thank You! Your tip is exactly what I needed for my blower motor at 1am and -20F outside.

[@the_bootloader]

Happy it helped !

[@losmoore3358]

Good job. Can't u use 3 in 1 oil as well ?

[@supermantom2456]

Thank you for the informative video! I was wondering how often does it need to oil the motor?

[@the_bootloader]

It depends how much the furnace is being used. I would say that for normal household use, once every 2-3 years should be good. When you do it, you can also look at how dry the sponge holding the oil is. If it is dry, you need to do it more often. If there is still enough oil left, you can do it a bit less often. Hope it helps !

[@NoSuffix]

Nice!

[@kricklin]

This is a great how-to video. Thank you!

[@the_bootloader]

Happy you like it !

[@blueduck9409]

Yes, it is a very good video.

[@ameliamoreira8641]

thank you

[@FinepixF30]

8:01 As far as i know induction motors speed can change based on the alternating current frequency or the number of poles, with the windings you might be changing the number of poles, the draw back is it lowers the torque and cause over heating of the motor. is better to leave the wiring to what the manufacturers set it to.

[@mqutub15]

Thanks for this video. Did you have any issues with odor of the blower motor blowing oil smell into the HVAC piping and then getting into the house. I did this (followed another video) and found immediately an oil smell coming from the blower fan. Any idea what I did wrong and how I can fix this issue?

[@the_bootloader]

It is important to use the right type of oil. Certain oils have a lot of volatile compounds, which are smelly. If you have used motor oil, that could be the reason. The oil I am using is odorless (at least to me !), and I could not smell anything once the operation was completed. The type of oil I used is commonly used for sewing machines and other home appliances. Fortunately, I would expect the odor to dissipate relatively quickly, because the volume of air going though a HVAC fan is really large, and the volume of oil is pretty low. If this is really a concern, I see no other solution than rinsing the oil you put with another type of oil. Just remove the ends of the motor completely, and really saturate the sponge with new, odorless oil, collecting the previous oil in a suitable receptacle for proper disposal. Worst case, you may have to change the motor, but that would be really unfortunate. If it was bothering me, I would just aerate the blower motor outside for 2-3 days and see if the smell dissipates. If not, I would attempt to rinse the oil out. Then, I would try using the blower for a while (if you are comfortable inhaling it - some people may not be okay with it due to various reasons including health risks, depending on what oil you put) or, worst come to worst, just change the motor. Hope this helps !

[@mqutub15]

@@the_bootloader Thanks for the response. Yeah it was the oil. I took apart the motor again and cleaned it out. Got a much better oil from Home Depot and it did wonders.

[@enonek2960]

I have to do this and plan on being very cautious. Can you tell me how long this actually took start to finish??? BTW thanks for making the video!!

[@the_bootloader]

You are welcome, happy it helps ! I think it took me maybe 2-3 hours from start to finish, but that includes some time "lost" to film the video. I think an experienced technican can do it in 30mn and someone doing it for the first time can plan maybe an afternoon for it. Hope this helps and let us know how it went !

[@ezyjack826]

replacing blower motor on my furnace. problem is it's an old unit (pre 1988) and they have updated the motor. the new motor has 4 wires plus the 2 capacitor wires and the original motor had 5 wires plus the 2 capacitor wires. the difference according to the motor tag is the original motor had two med speeds and the new motor only has one med speed. can I wire it up with one med speed? do I use med lo wire, med hi wire or both med to the new motor? ty for any assistance you can provide. 🙂

[@the_bootloader]

Hi! Unfortunately it is very hard for me to give you a precise answer without seeing the motor and the furnace. That said, I can give general tips. First, you need to go not by the name of the speed (lo/med/high) but by the actual RPM speed written on the motor. For instance if you were using the med low speed before, and that speed was 1500 RPM, you need to check which speed on the new motor is 1500 RPM. It could be the med speed but could also be the low or high speed. You also need to understand what triggered the speed change on the previous motor, if anything. Sometimes, furnaces use different speeds. Sometimes they use just one. You need to restore this behavior. For many single-stage and heat-only furnaces, only one speed is used. If you have both cooling and heating, different speeds may be used. If unsure, you should call a pro because you risk burning your motor or causing other dangerous conditions. Stay safe and I hope this is helpful!

[@callmebackfriday2]

Hi I have a a/c fan motor making sound (sometime), can I flip the motor over and add few drop of oil to the shaft and let it drip inside? would this work without disconnect and re-assembly the motor? I don't want to mess up too much, would the oil hep by sliding down the shaft or it is too late for the fan motor. Thanks for the video.

[@the_bootloader]

Hi ! The cause of a motor making noise can vary. It can be due to a lack of lubrication, but also something else. If it is making noise due to a lack of lubrication, it is likely that by now the shaft is worn out, and adding lubricant will provide very limited relief, unfortunately. It's like trying to add motor to a car engine which is now broken because it has been ran without oil for a while. That said, you can absolutely try it out, and see if it will help ! If I was in your situation, I would add just one drop of oil, to see if it helps. If it does help, you would need to open the motor and lubricate it properly, to control where the oil is going (not sure but I wouldn't want the oil going into the motor windings for instance, due to unknown compatibility). If it does not help, at least you don't lose too much time for a fix that will not work. Opening the motor is always the best solution as it allows you to assess the damage and make a proper fix. For an A/C fan, I believe it is pretty easy to do. Hope this helps !

[@callmebackfriday2]

@@the_bootloader Thanks so much for your information.

[@streetcruise9807]

Enducer motor not working but my furnace is over 40 yrs old, do I need to change my whole furnace system?

[@the_bootloader]

Usually, the failure of a single component does not mean the entire system should be changed. But it depends if you have accumulated too much "maintenance debt" over the years or not. I would say 40 years is past the service life of a furnace, and you will benefit by upgrading it (higher safety, higher efficiency, ...) but it does not mean it cannot be repaired. I unfortunately can't tell more, I do not have enough information about your system. You need a trusted HVAC tech to come take a look in person. Good luck !

[@streetcruise9807]

@@the_bootloader thanks mate, I’ll change the enducor motor.

[@ruwan23boy]

What type of oil should I use?

[@the_bootloader]

It really depends what's available to you. Regular 3-in-1 motor oil is fine. Or light machine oil (same as in sewing machines). 20w or 30w oil can work too. It's not really critical as long as it's oil and that it's low viscosity.

[@ruwan23boy]

@@the_bootloader thank you so much

[@kevinjohn7013]

You have to do all this just to grease the motor?? Why don’t they just put a zerk fitting on them???

[@the_bootloader]

Some motors do have an oil port, but unfortunately, manufacturers stopped providing an oil port. Planned obsolescence :( and frankly, the percentage of customers who oil their motors is so low, that the manufacturers probably could not justify adding the oil port because almost nobody was using it. But if you open your motor once, you can add an oil port yourself for next time

[@nancyzehr3679]

you didnt turn the gas back on!

[@davidmotley4207]

You mentioned bearing. Your motor is not a bearing type, it is a bushing and it needs oiling.

[@the_bootloader]

This is correct - oiling this bushing is what this video is all about. English not being my native language, I may very well have used the wrong word. I hope that you have still found the video helpful.

[@dmtycn]

You remind me I trashed a motor because I destroyed caps to lub it :(

[@the_bootloader]

Sorry to hear that. But don't let that stop you from taking care of your stuff ! When performing a maintenance operation there is always a risk. The goal is not to never break anything, it is to be better off breaking a little sometimes, to generally save a lot in the long term.

[@dmtycn]

@@the_bootloader Thx. Finally found my motor is bad, I run it without any load, it get hot and stop. Looks like some inside are damaged, but I cannot hear any scratch or something. Weitd.

[@the_bootloader]

@@dmtycn Does it have a run capacitor (most likely yes) ? If yes, do you have a way to test its capacitance ? Also, if you test it with an ohmmeter, does it read as open after a few seconds (it should) ?

[@dmtycn]

@@the_bootloader The run capacitor was read around 12uf with a meter. Will order a new one to try. I have bought one motor from Ebay but I cannot understand why the motor will overheat without load. Will got a new capacitor to try.

[@the_bootloader]

@@dmtycn I am also not sure what is going on, but miswiring, or an issue with the run capacitor, could explain what you are experiencing. Check if it is wired properly. Please let me know what you find out, I am curious too !

[@deanriver9388]

Just put a new motor in.