Lennox pulse intake blower

[Pharquart]

Hi all! I am a new poster to the forum, though I have used several pieces of advice from past posts. I am a very competent DIYer in many areas, and greatly appreciate sources of information like this forum.

I purchased a house about a year ago with a Lennox G14 pulse furnace. I know some people love them and some hate them. Some think they're the best furnace designed and some think they're deathtraps. So far it's been reliable for me, though I've made a couple adjustments (from advice and information from this forum) to the blower control to tune the operation and prevent short cycling of the fan on cool down. I haven't needed to touch anything related to the gas or combustion, and hope I never will have to.

My problem this morning, the first day we fired up this season, was with the intake (purge) blower. It got voltage but wouldn't turn, so the furnace wouldn't light. I ended up taking off the motor from the fan (2 long mounting screws that attach the motor and shaft bearing to the fan body), spinning the fan blade shaft by hand, then reassembling. It now works. I'd like to be able to remove the fan entirely from the furnace so I can clean and lubricate it, or possibly replace it if necessary, but I can't determine how it's mounted. Where are the screws that attach the blower body to the * I can see lots of small screws that hold the two halves of the fan body together, but can't see any that hold the body to the furnace. The G14 service manual I have doesn't show the attachment points, either. Do they come up from the bottom, from the insulated chamber that holds the air flapper *

Thanks,
Brian

[Freon]

I do not have the manual so I can not assist you directly. But if you can access the motor shaft, run 3 drops of 3-in-1 (blue can) oil down the shaft into the bearings. Usually they're sealed but many times the oil gets past the seal. Make sure the blower wheel is as clean as you can make is and you should be set. Repeat before every heating season.

[Pharquart]

Freon,

Thanks for the reply. This blower fan is mounted with the shaft horizontal, pointing away from you as you look at it. I can get some oil on the outer end of the shaft, and the shaft just passes through a brass bushing (not a sealed bearing), so the oil should do some good there. I have zero access to the bushing/bearing on the far end of the shaft, and I have no good access to clean the fan itself. I'd really like to make sure the bushings are clean, as I suspect it was a buildup of dirt or dust in the bushing that made the fan stick this time. Unfortunately, I can't see how to remove the fan for easier access.

Brian

[Freon]

I wish I had specific information as to how to remove the inducer motor. You'll have to make a game of it and play "Black Box". You can try getting the oil close to the bushing... I can't believe there are no bearings but then cutting costs are more important these days. Maybe use a higher viscosity oil or with a toothpick smear a little grease.

As for cleaning the blower wheel, try a can of compressed air used for cleaning computers. If it has a tube extender you might be able to get the end into the blower wheel.