Diary of a home inspector -Rheem Heat Pump

[Robert Adams]

So I'm going to jump in here - we have Rheem equipment (natural gas furnace and AC) that is 20 years old.  I have been considering replacing everything in an effort to get ahead of the surprise factor - equipment not working when it is needed.  I recently had the annual inspection/tune up for the furnce and I asked the tech for an overall evaluatuion of the equipment.  He indicated that the blower motor is pretty much on its last legs - he was seeing bearing gre3ase stqrtibng to spray out.  He also felt the circuit board discoloration was an indication that it was marginal as well.  He felt the heat exchanger was in good shape.  So when does replacement make sense versus repair.  The tech felt that it would be pushing $2000 to replace motor and circuit board/wiring harness - that is approaching half the cost of new.  

Any thoughts?

       A blower motor runs 50$ to 100$ and so does a control board for those older units. A new furnace runs $500 to $1500 depending on size, brand  and efficiency. 2k for replacing those parts is way high but they want to make the same profit as they would on a total replacement. Anyone in the trades doesn't want to do the small jobs and they way over price them.
      
           I absolutely hate the ecm motors. They are expensive and have a high failure rate. Many have start up failures as well. They will start to spin then shut down then it will reset and start up again. You can tell when it does this because the furnace will start to move air then the motor stops and vibrates the furnace because it stops so fast then the motor will restart normally. I have been in many houses and commercial and have heard it happen on all brands as they all use the same motors. 

       I will say that more efficient units will typically not lower your energy bills. The reason is that you will keep it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer because you can now increase your comfort level without it costing more.

[JosephP]

We have a 25 year old Rheem.  We replaced the blower motor a couple of years ago...I think it was $200ish? if I recall correctly.

[Snipe Hunter]

We have a 25 year old Rheem.  We replaced the blower motor a couple of years ago...I think it was $200ish? if I recall correctly.

That's what I'm thinking. They are available online. Get the model number and mfg off the fan. It's out there somewhere, maybe Amazon

[JosephP]

We hired it done...it was broken and really really hot and we had a bunch of people coming over the next day and waiting for parts to come and me trying to repair what may or may not have been the problem wasn't an option (for my wife...).

It was a made in China motor - that is what he had readily available (gave us the option of waiting for a better one), but I figure if it lasts 1/3 as long as the original, we are pretty near end of life of the whole furnace anyhow. And the total bill was (as best I can recall) $200ish.  So yeah, like Robert said, the motor was probably $50-100.  That leaves another $125-150ish in labor.

[Rick_B]

We hired it done...it was broken and really really hot and we had a bunch of people coming over the next day and waiting for parts to come and me trying to repair what may or may not have been the problem wasn't an option (for my wife...).

It was a made in China motor - that is what he had readily available (gave us the option of waiting for a better one), but I figure if it lasts 1/3 as long as the original, we are pretty near end of life of the whole furnace anyhow. And the total bill was (as best I can recall) $200ish.  So yeah, like Robert said, the motor was probably $50-100.  That leaves another $125-150ish in labor.

I need to look around a bit.  The costs you guys are quoting would make this whole decision a bit easier.  I would likely replace the motor if I could do it in the $300 to 400 range.

I was thinking replacing the furnace would necessitate replacing the AC as well but the more I think about it the more I wonder if that could be done separately?  in any event, the company I am working with is sending somebody who does the estimates so we'll see what the real costs are.

[doobes]

That's what I'm thinking. They are available online. Get the model number and mfg off the fan. It's out there somewhere, maybe Amazon

Yea that's all fine and well, but the HVAC service industry around here (the DC area) works on a fixed price system. X number of dollars for X repair.  As best I can tell the fixed price is 10 times the part cost.

You read that right. 10 times.

A neighbor had a start capacitor go out on his unit one very hot summer day. He called a "friend" to come out and look at it. The neighbor was out of town and called to ask me to keep an eye on things as his niece was house sitting.

So I'm there with the service guy, and yes this was a night call on the weekend, for which you would expect to pay a premium.  No issue there.

The start cap is dead.  It's a 2 in 1 unit with a cap for the blower motor. He does have individual caps to replace the part (doesn't check to see if the cap for the motor is dead or not). Then he decides it needs a "hard start kit" due to the age of the compressor.  So he pulls out his laminated sheet with the prices for the work.  And yes, he popped my neighbor for both caps. The estimate was right under $1000.  Yep, 2 start caps and a hard stat kit, $1000. I about fell over. I told him he would have to get authorization from the owner.

Luckily my neighbor didn't ask me about the pricing.  Later I did a quick check online and yes, my total cost for the parts from Grainger, not the cheapest place in the world, was about $100.

So, I ordered me a couple of start caps for mine and keep them in the garage. 


That's why no one does major repairs on HVAC units, it's cheaper to replace them to repair them in a lot of instances.

[Snipe Hunter]

Are you saying there is price fixing among service companies?

You can get this stuff from Amazon. about $200 for a blower motor and cap for about $200. This is an easy repair.

Here's a Rheem motor for $169.00

[doobes]

Are you saying there is price fixing among service companies?

You can get this stuff from Amazon. about $200 for a blower motor and cap for about $200. This is an easy repair.

Here's a Rheem motor for $169.00

All I know is they all seem to be charging about the same thing for the same services. You can draw whatever conclusions from that that you would like.

Yea, as a result I've started making sure I know where I can get parts from, because that's the other little deal.  A lot of the parts dealers won't/don't sell to individuals.  I've found a couple that will. Amazon is great, but oftentimes you don't want to wait a couple of days for delivery.

[daddo]

I'm not suggesting anyone not buy a new system when the time comes around. Just don't expect the new system to last as long as 20-35 years as the old one did and maintain the efficiency throughout that period of time with minimal repairs.

   If your motor is a psc, it will be much cheaper than a ECM.  There are quite a few brands to pick from, so prices vary.
 A control board that has it's coating turned yellow doesn't mean much- flip it over and look at the back of it- see any black spots or corrosion? I've had the ugliest discolored boards function just fine.

 Thousand bucks for a couple of caps and a start kit-  Just like going to the parts place for RV parts.  



 20 year Rheem/Ruud-  Start getting ready. They make a great outdoor unit as always- the indoor units are having the same problems as everyone else.

[blackhat]

20 years is approaching the end of life expectancy.  Approaching, because every single unit is different.  As mentioned there is a huge price difference between costs on an ECM or a PSC motor.  Some early ECM motors are obsolete and may require a board upgrade at replacement.  Local labour rates vary dramatically and ease of access to the equipment can simplify or complicate the job.  An easy PSC blower motor change here would be in the $400 to $500 range done by a shop.  An ugly ECM could be near 3 times that.  As Daddo mentioned, I would never condemn a board based on its colour and a wiring harness change is so uncommon as to be nearly unheard of.  Replacing a blower motor is easily within the skill set of a half handy DIYer.