Replacing a Draft Inducer Motor

Binsky Home Services visit
Sometimes we catch small problems before they become bigger, pricey issues. That was the case with Geraci G., one of our Partner Plan members in Hillsborough. We dispatched one of our technicians, Dennis, to Geraci’s home to perform maintenance on 2 Lennox furnaces and 1 water heater, and to do a dryer vent cleaning as part of our Partner Plan membership. While performing a 21-point inspection on one of the furnaces, Dennis noticed that one of the furnaces had a leaking inducer motor. Now, let us quickly explain why that’s a big deal.

Inducer motor: A crucial part of your furnace

Had Dennis not replaced the motor at the time he did it would’ve eventually stopped working, which would have prevented the furnace from turning on.

Here’s why:

In order for your furnace to turn on, it has to go through a particular operating sequence.
In other words, if any part of that sequence fails, the furnace won’t turn on.

In this case, if the draft inducer motor had gone bad, the draft inducer fan couldn’t turn on. And if the draft inducer fan couldn’t turn on, then the furnace wouldn’t pull in combustion air needed for the furnace’s burners to ignite.

To sum up: A broken inducer motor means no movement of combustion air, which means no furnace ignition. And a non-functioning furnace is the last thing you want to have during a New Jersey snowstorm.

That exact scenario actually happened to one of our customers in Edison whose furnace stopped working because of a busted draft inducer motor.

Solution: Replace the draft inducer motor

Dennis ran the serial number on the equipment and saw that the motor was covered under Lennox’s manufacturer warranty.

Important note: In order for your furnace warranty to remain valid, the manufacturer requires that you have regularly scheduled maintenance by a licensed technician.

Dennis brought both the repair and warranty to Geraci’s attention and gave them several options on how to solve the issue. Geraci ultimately decided to replace the inducer motor.

Dennis replaced the motor and tested the system with the homeowner to make sure everything was in working order.

The results

As a result of the maintenance, Geraci’s family was able to cross seasonal heating and plumbing maintenance off their list and look forward to a worry-free winter.

Also, Geraci’s decision to replace the leaking inducer motor prevented down time and a more costly repair later on down the road.

Job time: 3 hrs

Note: Keep in mind that the cost and time to fix a furnace all depends on what’s wrong with it.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. If your furnace is having issues, the first step is always to have a professional diagnose what’s wrong.

It’s just like how a doctor asks questions and diagnoses what’s wrong with you before recommending a course of treatment to remedy the problem.

CALL NOW AT (732) 724-1784 !

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