How To Clean Goodman Ac Unit

Air Handler Blower Unit Cleaning
How to Clean the AHU Blower Assembly & Blower Fan

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Steps in cleaning air handler or blower unit of measurement for A/C or heat pump or furnace systems:

This article illustrates and describes key steps in removing and cleaning the blower fan associates in an air handler used for air conditioning or heating.

This commodity serial describes Air-conditioning Blower Fan, Cooling Roll, Fan Curlicue Unit Leaks, Mold, and Filter Problems &amp Repairs.

We too provide an Commodity INDEX for this topic, or you tin can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX every bit a quick fashion to discover data y'all need.

Air Handling Blower Fan Cleaning may fix no air flow or weak air flow

Here we depict and illustrate a detailed, thorough cleaning of the blower associates in an air handler that is used for both heating and air conditioning.

At page pinnacle is a dingy squirrel cage fan inside of an air handler unit.

The photo shown but to a higher place/left is a typical gas-fired air furnace or air handler unit of measurement. If a cooling coil is installed above the air handler and then the same system may exist in use for both air conditioning and heating.

[Click to enlarge any image]

We noted

at Dingy A/C BLOWERS

that a dirty blower fan reduces the blower assembly air menses rate, increasing heating and cooling costs, and sometimes leading to actual system operating failures such

as FROST BUILD-Upwards on AIR CONDITIONER COILS

that forms not just frost only solid ice if the air catamenia rate across even a make clean cooling coil is but too slow.

Here in a serial of photos we illustrate the basic steps in disassembling and thoroughly cleaning the squirrel cage fan blower associates as well as the compartment into which the blower fan is placed.

In a typical upward-menstruation air handler render air enters the bottom of the air handler through an air filter.

A squirrel muzzle blower fan located in the unit bottom rotates to move returning air upwards through the estrus exchanger (that will exist hot if the furnace is in heating mode) then further upwards through an evaporator/cooling ringlet (that will be chilled by refrigerant if the system is in air conditioning or cooling manner).

I have made air period measurements confirming a fifty% or more improvement in the air flow of a heating or ac blower unit of measurement when dirt is cleaned from the blower fan associates.

Surprisingly, even a small amount of clay and droppings makes a big reduction in airflow. That's because information technology doesn't take much dust and clay to fill the slight curvature of the fan blades in these units.

Dead Birds, Rodents in the Flue

Above: even before looking at the blower fan itself the service technician removes the flue vent connector to inspect and if necessary clean that component.

In our photo yous tin see a nicely dried dead bird who fell down the system chimney or possibly even entered information technology deliberately - and could not escape.

Inspect the Air Filter

James Agzigian, 3 Zigs Heating and Cooling, a Cherry-red Hill New Jersey HVAC service company was kind enough to both allow photographs of the air handler blower assembly cleaning process and to point out some key steps in cleaning and reassembling the unit for safe, constructive operation.

For U.Due south. readers in New Bailiwick of jersey, James' contact information is at the terminate of this article.

To a higher place: the air filter is pulled for inspection and typically, replacement. If there is no air filter in the system we know information technology has not been operated properly and we expect it to be even more dust and debris clogged than usual.

Watch out: For effective operation of this system it is essential that it never be operated without air filters in place.

See AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS.

Notice above that the service tech uses a powerful piece of work light to begin his inspection of the blower unit. In that location's little run a risk of doing a nifty cleaning job if you're working in the night.

Beneath: earlier beginning mechanical removal of the blower assembly it'south of course necessary to turn power and fuel off to the heating/air-conditioning air handler unit then to remove circuit boards and wires that are in the fashion.

I'd have been compulsively labeling every wire then that I could plug each back in to its original connection point, but an experienced service technician will appear to be moving much faster: he already sees which wires ability what and he knows where they connect on the circuit control board.

Someone less experienced may spend time after pouring over the wiring diagram (above) if she forgot to note where the wire connectors belong.

Below: having asunder the wires and removed the circuit board the technician can un-bolt and slide out the blower assembly from its compartment in the lesser of this air handler unit of measurement or AHU.

Both in a higher place and in the photo beneath y'all can run across the whole blower assembly sliding out of the air handler base. Typically in that location are ii-iv bolts that secure the assembly to the bottom of the AHU.

Now let's take a closer await at the squirrel cage fan itself. In our outset photo below the fan doesn't look that dirty - not too bad. But take a await at the second photograph below. There you'll run into in cross section how dirt and debris blocks and changes the shape of the curved fan blades.

Below James is pointing out that at some bespeak this blower fan was wet: perhaps from condensate spilling downwards through the air handler from a blocked condensate drain above.

Water spinning off of the blower fan leaves a center trail of corrosion on the air handler blower enclosure.

Before further disassembly of the blower fan from its direct-drive motor (some units utilise a caster-driven fan motor) we look into the bottom of the air handler return air plenum (below).

The grit and debris needs to exist cleaned from this space as well.

This is an area where I sometimes take found dead mice or other piffling critters, and in one case a dead skunk: all are a potential bacterial hazard in the system.

Below James has flipped the blower associates on its side and so that we can see the accumulation of dust and hair on the blower motor. Excessive debris on the motor's air inlet openings can crusade motor overheating and may reduce its life.

Beneath: the motor for the blower assembly fan is mounted with three bolts to the squirrel cage fan housing (ruby arrows).

James takes care to number both the motor brackets and their position on the housing. Why? Well wait at all of those holes for other fan mountings. Nosotros demand to be able to re-assemble the blower fan motor in the mill-position after we've disassembled and cleaned these parts.

I sometimes have a photo of the position of parts and wires too, because on occasion the cleaning process may wash off my re-assembly numbers or marks.

Below you can see in a closer image the thick greasy hair and grit on the blower motor.

Beneath is Aero Krome, a spray penetrating lubricating product that this service tech uses to loosen jammed bolts or bulldoze shafts - a step necessary make clean metal and electrical parts.

Opinion: What nearly spray foaming the fan instead of taking it apart for cleaning?

Some service technicians endeavour cleaning the blower fan without any disassembly, using a spray foam cleaner - the aforementioned production that'due south used to clean a dirty evaporator roll.

(See DIRTY Coil CLEANING PROCEDURES). In the case of the evaporator coil, because nosotros don't want to cutting a refrigerant line we tin can't remove the coil for cleaning. Merely that's not the case with the blower associates in the air handler.

Not just does blower associates removal let more thorough cleaning of all of its parts, that approach avoids dripping messy goop into the bottom of the air handler into areas where it is impossible to clean without removing the whole fan assembly.

And then the service tech is simply moving grime from one place in the air handler to another - the AHU bottom - where it volition soon exist dorsum in the fan assembly.

To make clean these dirty parts the service tech took them outside to a piece of work surface area where they could be sprayed clean and dried.

Start the motor and the control board are cleaned, and so the round squirrel cage fan itself as well equally the fan housing are cleaned thoroughly, so brought back inside for re-assembly.

Beneath are two photos of the cleaned squirrel muzzle fan. In our second photograph you can see a tiny metallic clip in the photo upper left corner.

Picket out: don't remove much less lose a clip similar this. This little weight was installed at the manufacturing plant to balance the rotating fan. An united nations-balanced fan will chop-chop vesture out its bearings and thus neglect.

Our outset photograph below shows the round blower fan set up into the fan housing.

In the second photograph James is pointing to the leading edge of the squirrel muzzle blower fan blades, noting that it's too piece of cake to re-assemble a blower fan with the blades facing backwards!

Replacing the squirrel muzzle blower fan into its cage it's critical to remember to face the blades in the right direction. James is pointing to the curved blade showing us that it'due south scoop faces in the direction of rotation.

Putting the blower cage in backwards looks just fine to an apprentice but the air output of the blower assembly will be close to nada. It's a lot of trouble to pull the whole associates apart over again to correct this mistake.

Sentry out: if you have problem slipping the blower fan back onto the motor drive shaft, don't force it or you may bend something and yous'll be sorry. Rust and corrosion on the shaft can make re-associates difficult. Endeavour using emory paper to clean the shaft surface until y'all tin slip the fan back in identify.

Below James' gloved hand is showing how the air deflector will mount onto the rear of the blower frame and I'm pointing with my thumb to the curved blades are facing towards-information technology and my alphabetize finger points to the direction the curved blades are facing - the direction of rotation.

James notes that on occasion he finds a service tech or DIY air handler cleaner person who only leaves the air deflector off when reassembling the unit, perhaps because he couldn't remember how to position it. Again the consequence is significantly-reduced blower assembly output.

In our next photo James is replacing the direct drive motor that operates the fan, taking intendance to mount the motor in the same position as information technology was before disassembly. Otherwise you might find that wires don't reach their connection points or the fan may not be properly centered in its housing.

Below: with the squirrel cage fan in identify, the motor properly re-mounted onto the blower frame, and the air deflector properly replaced and secured (right side of the blower frame in our photo), James gives the fan a spin to be sure that it rotates freely and evenly - a low-tech test worth making earlier the blower associates is replaced in the air handler and the wiring connections restored.

The blower assembly is now returned to the bottom of the air handler and bolted into identify, then the control board and wire connections are replaced and, of class, the service tech returns the arrangement to operation and waits to run across that it runs properly before packing up tools and leaving the chore.

Watch out: If you permit the filters to get very dirty you may need expensive special cleaning or other repairs.

See BLOWER FAN Operation & TESTING.

COOLING MAINTENANCE TIP: The HVAC blower associates should exist serviced every ii years. Without proper service the organisation may have no more than a five yr lifetime.

• James Agzigian, 3 Zigs Heating and Cooling, heating and air conditioning service contractor in Cherry-red Colina, New Jersey. Tel: 609-425-8313, Email: zig@threezigs.com, Website: http://threezigs.com/ Special thanks to James for tolerating questions and permitting photographs as he cleaned the air handler blower associates shown in the photos of this article.

Question: Ac Blower Fan Wobbles out of Residual later Cleaning

Air Handler Blower Unit of measurement Cleaning

Only saw your website and this topic..Spent the afternoon cleaning my Trane unit of measurement and so idea to share a pic or two.

Yous tin meet in 1 pic the enormous pile of dirt from the blower.

No troubles with the re assembly merely the fan is wobbly or out of balance just a bit now.

Not noisy at present merely can hear the air"pulsing" some while continuing next to the unit..

Still has the manufacturing plant motor and fan blades all from a 2005 install.

Feel free to employ whatsoever picture delivered. - Anonymous by private email 2020/02/12

Respond: check for lost balancing clips or weights on the blower bicycle

Thanks Smilin' I will add these photos to our discussion on cleaning blower fan assemblies and will ship along that link.

About the HVAC blower fan squirrel cage fan balance problem, nosotros want to address that every bit else the wobble might ruin the fan assembly, motor, motor bearing &c. especially on direct-drive units.

Have y'all looked for original blower fan balancing weights or clips that might have gotten moved or simply lost entirely? Oft there are simple spring-type clip-on weights along the circumference of the fan.

To a higher place: HVAC squirrel cage blower fan balancing clips as provided by CD International, cited below. One or more clips of the proper weight are clipped onto the edge of the squirrel cage blower fan associates to right out-of-residuum wobble. It is possible to disturb, motion, or lose one of these clips during cleaning.

These are sold in fractions of an ounce weight (0.2 oz increments). (Larger blowers and commercial units might have longer curved weights that clip onto the curved blower fan blade rather than onto the edge of the fan rim.) I'll illustrate in attachments.

• have you double checked that in that location's non a bad bearing that's causing wobble?
• is it possible at that place's uneven removal of dirt or droppings?
• are there bent components?
• is this a belt-driven fan or direct bulldoze? If belt, bank check the pulleys for alignment and tightness and the belt for impairment

These HVAC squirrel cage blower fan balancing weights are provided by HVAC suppliers including the source of the photograph excerpts of blower fan weights to a higher place:

• C D International, Inc., 5550 Shimerville Roadn Clarence, NY 14031 Us, Tel: 716-741-8851 Website: https://www.balancingweights.com/standard-squirrel-cage-clips/?sort=priceasc
• Mr. Shims, Tel: (800) 72-SHIMS Website: https://mr-shims.appspot.com/balancingweights.jsp Email: info@mrshims.com
• Reliability Direct, Website: https://www.reliabilitydirectstore.com/ Tel: (281) 957-5283
• Your local HVAC supplier

Reader follow-up: balancing clips in place, doubtable declining fan bearing

"...have you looked for original blower fan balancing weights that might have gotten moved or only lost entirely..."

Ans: I noticed the clips right away..has one larger and ane smaller..made sure they were still in place after scraping / cleaning.

Did notice that when checking for proper balance, no thing what starting betoken and no matter how many times the fan is spun, information technology always stops a little difficult and has a slight movement, perchance 3/eight inch additional rotation.

Probably the output bearing. Feels a little tiny bit rocky when moving the blade by hand.

Fan may have been out of balance for some time with clay deposits and acquired a little spot in the bearing; or, fan motor "sealed bearing" just normal for historic period and utilise..

Went in and re tightened some sheet metal mountain screws...tin can't really "hear" air pulsing and is running very quiet. Seems like a good mate betwixt the fan casing output and the duct.

Just, when u place a hand on the cabinet y'all can feel the fan slightly.

So, will drive it till the wheels fall off, kinda like my old Ford Bronco..

Answer: Marker the orignal location and then try adjusting the balancing spring-clip weight location on your wobbling blower fan

Well the erstwhile Ford Bronco had a very long live and a large post-obit of enthusiasts.

I concord that from your description information technology sounds similar a failing begetting.

All the same you might desire to endeavour this:

• Mark the original location of the existing spring-clips on your blower fan, so attempt moving one of them to ane side by nearly 2-inches.
• Run the fan and observe if the rest is better or worse.
• A chip of experimenting might let you fine-tune the balancing clip location to smoothen out the fan functioning.

Reader Comments & Q&A

Alan

Dis-assembling a blower unit of measurement squirrel muzzle fan for cleaning is a widely-used service procedure and cleaning it can make a very significant improvement in air-flow.

The unit is designed to be able to be removed, cleaned, lubricated, and reinstalled.

If disassembly shows that there was a warn-out begetting or a damaged blower fan so in that case the blower associates needs replacement.

Hi can you tell me if cleaning the squirrel muzzle in an older unit is a run a risk because disassembly can cause the unit to work incorrectly? And if then should it be left highly muddied or replaced at that signal?

Bill

I don't know what brand and model air handler you're working-on so I can but wave arms and speculate.

Often the blower is impossible to work-on while information technology's inside the air handler;

Some of those models mount the blower on slider-rails so that y'all can loosen a couple of bolts and slide it out for admission.

On other models you unbolt the unit from the cabinet floor and just drag it out.

Senior to senior speaking, that is, don't get ripped on a sharp sheet metal corner.

Been searching the spider web for info on how to access a pre 1980'due south HVAC Suirrell and Blower Motor that is enclosed and settig back from the Aor Handler, making it difficult to get to. Do I remove portioj of interior wall or what?

Sure appreciate your web, and then that I may detect a solution. Present Unit of measurement is 20 urs erstwhile buit still working, only hearing faint noise recently. Can y'all propose something to a senior, Thjanks

Wiring mistake
Fan blocked
Bad starting time or run capacotor

Fan on sons wood furnace would not starting time at times information technology would only buzz .so he put a new motor on and later that day he smelled something and went and constitute the new motor on fire why?

https://inspectapedia.com/estrus/Furnace_Fan_Cycles_During_Heat.php

May be of use

Hi, many thank you for all your help with short-cycling furnace, mine comes on, runs 2min, and thermostate clicks, and unit shuts off, leaving firm common cold, until next try, this is a bryant, 90plus, side vent to outside, propane gas, on subcontract house in primal illinois,

thanks again will try to check all these out, every bit they said maybe flame sencer, I installed new one, same issue, thank you for your expert advice, Dave

Have a expect at the airflow or air output;
Accept a wait visually at the blower fan itself for the amount of clay on the squirrell muzzle fan blades.

Equally I've noted, you lot tin as much as double the air output if the blower is dirty;

I recently found your site and the data I've looked at has been informative and thorough. I'thousand not certain if this comment is attached to the article I'm referencing, but in case it is not I am referring to Air Handler Blower Unit Cleaning with all the photos of the process done by 3 Zigs.

My situation is an original unit in a house built in December 1998. The unit is a 5-ton, 10 SEER Trane with a gas furnace. The blower assembly was replaced in Aug. 2008. The indoor/outdoor components have had annual maintenance most years.

I am expecting to supersede the organization in the next i-two years but am trying to hold off as long every bit possible. The refrigerant lines started to freeze up in mid-July due to a low R22 level in the system, which I knew from the year earlier. It was serviced and 5.5 pounds of R22 added.

Since then it has not been freezing up and keeping the iii-story business firm comfy plenty if not perfect on the tertiary floor. I'm wondering if the kind of blower unit cleaning you describe would be worth the cost to extend the life of the system.

I live in West Chester, PA, west of Philadelphia. If you retrieve this cleaning would be beneficial, what would be a fair toll to pay for information technology? Cheers for any guidance.

Thank yous for all the wonderful data!

...

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