Hydroflame blower motor questions

[Bikemike]

Could some one tell me what model # this furnace is?  The label is too worn for me to read. I want to do something about the squealy motor...maybe look into getting something with real bearings. I saw the post here about the bm4350,etc. 12v motors and the possibility of them being an improvement over the oillite bearing motors. Has anyone tried them with satisfactory results? Got any part #s?

[davidtan]

Mine is doing the same..horrible screeching sound...WHERE IS THE MOTOR IN ALL OF THAT?.. Do we need to change the whole furnace assembly or does the motor come off seperately. I tried to find which one was the motor itself but couldnt figure it out.

[RVdaytrader]

Type in "furnace blower replacement" in search bar....Waiter posted a good writeup on his furnace blower replacement.

[jjrbus]

If memory serves me right, the unit must be removed to access the blower motor.   I do not have my files available for model #

[davidtan]

I tried to order the motor from Suburban Furnace but they would not sell me one. They said only authorized dealers or repair shops.. I wonder where Waiter got his motor. Any Ideas? 

 Winnebago p/n 101990-01-704 Suburban Furnace p/n  231761

[linda s]

Do you have your furnace model number. There might be some that will interchange with your current motor or new replacement model numbers.

Linda S

[Derek up North]

Maybe these guys?

http://www.appliancepartsblog.com/manufacturer/SUBURBAN/13

[davidtan]

This is what i got on serial.. i will try the link derek sent, Thanks for all the help. Hopefully i can get a nice winter nap soon. LOL

http://www.appliancepartsblog.com/manufacturer/SUBURBAN/13

[linda s]

Cross referenced part numbers and came up with this as an exact match. Available lots of places and not expensive

https://www.google.com/#q=suburban+blower+motor+231916&tbm=shop&spd=15242135094093906590

Linda S

[davidtan]

Thanks linda...super helpful

:-)

[Bikemike]

On 2016-10-17 at 10:23 AM, Bikemike said:

Could some one tell me what model # this furnace is?  The label is too worn for me to read. I want to do something about the squealy motor...maybe look into getting something with real bearings. I saw the post here about the bm4350,etc. 12v motors and the possibility of them being an improvement over the oillite bearing motors. Has anyone tried them with satisfactory results? Got any part #s?

      In the end I opted for servicing the blower motor that we had already. I was curious about what it looked like in there. And since we are currently in Montana, I wanted to get the heater going sooner rather than later. 

    The bushings for the motor are round on the outside like a ball and fit into a socket. There appeared to be some sort of medium for retaining lube; fiberglass or something around the ball/socket. I just cleaned up the shaft, filed off some burrs and dumped a capful of motor oil into the mesh. Now it spins quietly and w/ much less effort. If I had some oil around that had more sticktuitiveness I would've liked to have used it. We'll see how long this lasts. 

[WME]

Depending on the motor I have used 2 methods of relubing.

1. A riveted motor gets very carefully hung by its shaft with the other end just below the surface of a cup of oil. I use Mobile 1 , let it sit for a day and then turn it over and do it again.

2. A bolted together motor gets taken apart and plain end gets submerged for a day, the end with the brushes get a careful submerging as in #1.

Even after years of heavy use the motors were still quiet.   The idea is to soak the bearing itself and the cotton wicking.

[Bikemike]

On October 31, 2016 at 8:32 PM, Bikemike said:

      In the end I opted for servicing the blower motor that we had already. I was curious about what it looked like in there. And since we are currently in Montana, I wanted to get the heater going sooner rather than later. 

    The bushings for the motor are round on the outside like a ball and fit into a socket. There appeared to be some sort of medium for retaining lube; fiberglass or something around the ball/socket. I just cleaned up the shaft, filed off some burrs and dumped a capful of motor oil into the mesh. Now it spins quietly and w/ much less effort. If I had some oil around that had more sticktuitiveness I would've liked to have used it. We'll see how long this lasts. 

So, dumping motor oil in the cotton wicking didn't last too long. It began to squeal again when the motor was cold and then would quiet down as it warmed up. I was feeling a little fussy about it so I took the furnace apart again and could see that a lot of the oil had dispersed. So this time I smeared a some grease in there...which was a big mistake. No more squealing, but it smelled horrible, like a mechanics shop caught on fire. It got too hot in there for the grease that I was using, I guess. Also, upon further research, the oillite bearings that are used in these blower motors really are designed to work w/...well...oil. 30 or 40wt is what I understand. Again, I took the motor apart and diligently cleaned out any remnants of grease w/ solvent. This time I heated up some 40wt oil in a little pan and submerged the bushings for about ten minutes. The oil was warm but not so hot as to smoke. There were bubbles coming up through the cotton wicking. Now? No squealing. even on a recent trip through Wyoming w/ bitter cold nights. The smell of the burnt grease is mostly gone. I wonder if the bushings got a little impregnated with the grease.