Suncourt Inductor HVAC Booster Fan Installation and Review
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- Originally recorded August 18, 2013.
The farthest vents on my HVAC system also happen to be on the southern exposure of the house. In addition, it's the kitchen there so it gets even hotter.
I found these Suncourt Inductor Vent Booster Fans at Depot, they can certainly help with airflow.
This video shows how to properly install them. I later test them with an airflow meter known as an anemometer.
My friend Joe helped me with the installation. He's just starting out on UA-cam, but go check out his channel at / xjoe81x
I love the soundtrack in the background. I would never figured you guys for pop and R&B fans. Too cool!
Thank you, it's just whatever happened to be playing at the time on my SHOUTcast server!
THIS VIDEO SHOULD HAVE MORE LIKES BECAUSE YOUR SO FUNNY
Thanks very much!
jaykay18 you’re welcome I DO NOT KNOW WHY SO MANY ASSHOLES ARE DISLIKING YOUR VIDEO
They're offended at the mere thought of someone saying a "bad word". Well, this is New York, Downstate New York, and this is how we talk around here! Don't like it, don't visit, it's too crowded anyway!
jaykay18 YEAH Exactly
Great video, appreciated the approach. I plan on doing this with our master bedroom as it’s at the far end of the house on a south facing wall as well.
Thanks. I'm sure you will quite pleased, these units are still in perfect operating order after all these years since I recorded this video.
You video is real, just like everyone else trying to install these things lol
Thank you! Finally, someone who actually understands!
Does this make air skip the other vents that are before it this one? If the whole unit is sealed that air has to come from somewhere right?
No, not really. What it does is forces more air to the vent it's installed on. The air won't "skip" any vents. You might notice slightly diminished airflow from those vents closer to the air handler. But that will more than be made up for by the extra air being delivered to the farther vents.
See, the air handler is only so powerful. It can only move so much air at one time. The farthest vents get the least airflow, as a matter of simple physics. This helps to combat that by balancing out the airflow.
Every vent in my house has a "home run" back to the air handler; it's not really good practice to install multiple vents on the same run unless the duct gets progressively larger towards the end. Since install, back in 2013, the kitchen and dining room (farthest vents I have) are MUCH more comfortable. It really works well. Although I put a speed switch in, I leave them running at full blast all the time. I might swap that out for a regular on/off switch one day if I need that fan speed controller elsewhere.
you explained the nuetral in detail but didn't show the hot as good - some of us are that dum and need a little more to get it done . please help with that , thanx for the vid
Good video. Are the dozen or so beers required in the installation instructions?
No idea, who reads those?!
All the empty beer bottles...LMAO
It's fuel. Without that, nothing gets done.
Hey do you think a few of those and flexible duct wold work in a cabin to get the heat from a woodstove circulated around?
If the ducts are installed in strategic locations, I'd expect it would probably work pretty well.
Ohhh yes, I remember this! For some reason, I was thinking booster fans for the dryer vents. Hey, your hair color went bye-bye, but my entire brain is going bye-bye. Plus, 5:50 .. *SCIENCE!!!*
Nah I don't need that kine, they do absolutely fine being tied together as they are.
Thanks for the fun walk-through; love your sense of humor! Do you leave these running 24/7? Have you noticed any measurable impact on your electricity bill?
Thanks very much! These are wired back to the main air handler, and the power is tied into the blower there. That way, they only turn on when the air handler does. When the thermostat in the house is satisfied, the system shuts down and the inductor vent fans stop along with the air handler.
I don't really remember how much power they use, but it's a little shaded-pole motor, I couldn't imagine it uses more than 30 watts or so; I installed 3 of them so it's probably 90 extra watts, but may be actually less, since the airflow in the vent already acts to move the blades already, lessening the load on the motor. They were well worth it, I've never had those far areas of the house uncomfortable again.
My brother tried to power two of these fans off the blower motor lead and it kept popping a fuse in the furnace (it was able to power one fan but not two). Might be better to use the 120v from blower to the coil of a relay, and power the vent fans off of another circuit (through the relay).
If you kept blowing fuses, either it wasn't wired correctly or that circuit is overtaxed--may be worth checking that out.
These are little shaded-pole motors, couldn't pull more than 20 watts apiece. Any circuit needs to have some "leeway" room, otherwise it will keep blowing fuses/popping breakers. While your recommendation with the relay is indeed the correct way to do this for the best safety, I have had no trouble as the blower is on its own circuit.
Dude I love this video. It's like you don't give a dam what people think. I got a bedroom over the garage that I plan on boosting that air to that room. It's like a oven in there at night. So I just cut it in, tape it and plug it up. I think I can do that. Thanks any tips let me know.
+thurm101 Thanks! I wired mine back to the main blower so they come on when the blower does. It's not going to make a world of difference but it should help!
Another thing you can also do is try balancing the system. This will require a few days of small adjustments and then waiting to see if it will make a difference. On the output of the air handler, where each duct connects, there may be a small lever that you can move one direction or another. Most HVAC guys leave them wide open. These are dampers that close off airflow to particular ducts. So you'd open the duct to the hottest room all the way, but partially close off the ones to all the others. These levers don't move very far, so a little movement can make a significant difference.
So if you open the vent to the room that's the hottest all the way, and close off the other rooms a bit, you'll get more cold air being delivered to that hotter room, and less colder air elsewhere. The unit may run longer if the system is completely out of balance, but eventually you end up with a nice cool house in all rooms.
Usually what I do, when it becomes A/C weather, is I turn the system on, set the temperature to 70, and walk away till September. First day it runs all day, second day not as much, third day even less. Every item, every wall, every piece of furniture acts as a heatsink and has to be cooled to that same room temperature. Once everything has acclimated, the system runs less because there are no large objects radiating their heat back into the room.
Hope that all helped out some! Thanks for watching!
+jaykay18 Thanks. I will try that. Because it gets so hot at night. But will the fans still work or should I try adjusting first?
thurm101 These booster fans are only going to increase airflow. The best result will be the combination of both, which is exactly what I did. Oftentimes in the summer I find myself going outside to warm up!
+jaykay18 So both would be putting 2 inline boosters to that room?
thurm101 No, sorry. I meant adjusting the dampers and installing one booster fan.
I had three vents in my video that were farthest away, so I installed three fans, one for each. Those 3 are also on the back wall of the house, which faces south, and is farthest away from the unit.
Nice video. Install question for you. We had a local HVAC company install an in-line booster fan for an addition we recently did since we noticed it was cooler in that room than the others. The way they installed it, the fan comes on when the thermostat calls to the furnace and then shuts off when the thermostat clicks for furnace to go off, but the blower doesn’t actually come on until a minute or so after the thermostat calls for furnace to heat up and the blower blows for a few mins after the furnace clicks off/booster fan had already shut off. Would you have any suggestions if this sounds right? We had anticipated the fun to sync with blower, not so much with the thermostat. Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated!
It was probably easier for him to wire it up the way he did, and faster. That way he can get on to the next job sooner. That's the long and short of the story. Now, typically, this isn't going to make a lick of difference in the end, you're not gaining or losing heat really as it's for a very short while.
Another reason it may have been done that way is if your blower has 2 speeds, and it automatically switches between them. Barring that, "audibly aesthetically speaking", I would have definitely preferred it to come on and off with the blower. If the blower is 1 speed, and the blower motor runs on 120 volts, there's no reason you couldn't tie in the inductor fan with the blower. But that's ONLY if those 2 conditions are met.
On mine, there's no furnace as I have a hydronic boiler instead of forced hot air. The air conditioning is a proper single-stage unit, only on or only off. It's tied to the 120 volts that my blower runs on, so it comes on and off with the blower.
Another thing you can do, that the installer should have done, was balance the system. The air handler should have adjustable louvers inside for each vent. Balancing the system would entail slightly closing every other vent while opening the addition's vent(s) fully. It will take a day or two to feel the difference, which is why most installers won't do it. Sometimes it needs several adjustments over several days. But it is something you can do easily, provided you have easy access to the air handler, and it is so equipped. Mine is, and in addition to installing these inductor fans, I also balanced the system. Nice and cool all throughout. That's especially important because all 3 vents these are on, are on the southern exposure of the house.
The first motor you hear when the heat comes on is an induced motor that removes fumes before the heat kicks on. The reason the blower runs a little bit after the heat cycle is to prevent overheating wires and circuit board.
I'm wanting to add one or to fans, but that could be too much juice to fire 2 fans and a blower at once.
Lol. This is as funny as it is helpful! Thanks!
Your problem is the flex. 5' of flex is equal to 15' of hard pipe.
+Dan Snowwhite That sounds very reasonable. The biggest problem is those 3 registers are on the south side of the house, and that part absolutely bakes in the summer sun. The flex certainly didn't help any, but these vent fans did, it stays considerably nicer there now.
I'm sure the 100 more cfm helps, but I wonder how much electric they use. It may be cheaper to drop/increase the t-stat 2 degrees. Having multiple duct fans has to pull some decent power running numerous times during the day.
They're little shaded-pole motors. Not a lot. The already-moving air actually lessens their wattage use. Since I've installed these, it's been much more comfortable in the far corners of the house. Really work well. Glad I did it.
Can these fans be mounted vertical? The directions do not say.
+Bob Rynes I don't see any reason why not, as long as you obey the airflow direction.
Hey Jay, I know this was installed back in 2013, but wanted to see how much it ended up costing you to install this. And for the wiring, I'm assuming u hooked them up with the existing fans that are turned on and off by the control board so it only runs when the blower is on, correct? I'm getting a crazy quote from an AC guy for adding a booster fan and wanted to see if I should just try to do it myself when it gets cooler.
Yeah the AC guy is going to be WAY out of line. It's been a few years, but here's what I remember:
1. Installation of them was very easy. You can cut the flexible ducts with a utility knife, then use a wire cutter to cut the wire spring. Try to make the cuts straight.
2. You'll need the vent fan(s) themselves, for a 6" like these back then they were $30 or so, now they're hovering around $37. Close enough. Self-tapping screws are nice to have.
3. You'll need a "handy box", an electrical box to mount to them. You can be crafty and install an on/off switch in it if you'd like the option. Also whatever wire tools, cutters, strippers, you'll need wire nuts and electrical tape.
4. The fan itself gets mounted in place pretty much with duct tape. Tape it up good, you don't want any leaks.
5. You'll need to run a wire back to where the main blower is, so you'll need 14-2 (14 gauge, 2 conductor) wire. If you have some around already you're set. If not you'll have to buy a spool, and copper ain't cheap anymore, but it will never go bad so you'll always have it.
6. Find the wires connected directly to your blower motor. Should be a white (neutral) and another color wire (hot). From the wire connected to the vent fan, white to white, black to whatever the other color is. You may need to cut/splice/wire nut things together.
All told, if you have to buy a spool of wire, probably around $100. If you have wire on hand already, probably more like $50. Time is going to be a couple hours taking it nice and slow and doing it right and meticulous. You can leave the entire system powered up and running until you're ready to connect the vent fan wiring in. Good luck, let me know how it goes!
Was that an IBM 5140? I have one but I lost the power adapter do you know the specs on it?
It sure is! The power adapter for that one failed actually. The original power adapter is 15V at 2.7 amps. I didn't have a 15V supply laying around, but I remembered that there was an option available for the 5140 for the car that plugged into the cigarette lighter.
If I recall, the booklet for that strictly stated that the adapter could power the system but not charge its battery. So I figured if that's the case, the system should be able to run on 12V since that's what a car is. I don't care about the battery charging because that's long long dead.
I cut the cord off and rigged it to a 12V adapter with enough amperage, and it works fine. Finding a plug to fit, well that you'll have to experiment with since it was a funny plug. Standard size barrel jack, center positive, but finding one that will fit inside the system is key, and may require some trimming of the plug body with a razor blade to make it fit.
Feet per minute is not CFM. An increase of 100 FPM on a 6 or 7" duct will get you about 20-40 CFM, not 100.
Thanks for pointing out my error, I stand corrected. Either way still an increase in airflow.
Wrong. Cfm and fpr are not the same. Look at a ductalator hasan.
I need one of those. How long are the flex duct runs from the handler to the vent?
The longer the duct run, the more these will benefit you. The vents these drive are on the opposite end of the house, so those vents are probably run between 40 and 50 feet from the air handler. I "cut in" the booster fans probably 15-20 feet from the vent itself. The closer you mount them to the vent, the more you'll feel a difference, but likely the more you will hear them.
Where I have them mounted, they certainly help, and the only thing I can hear (even with 3 of them whizzing at top speed) is in the basement when I stand right below them, a quiet whir. At the vents, the airflow is stronger, so there is a little more "rushing air" sound, but it's just barely perceptible.
So will this correct the hot room issue?
Yes, for me it did.
awesome video im getting some for my house
Thank you.
Great video bro, I just installed one and it works great.
Thanks, great to hear!
Awesome i need this for one of my bedrooms that's hot asf. Great video !
Thank you!
I installed 2 booster fans at my house. They have a normal house plug. How would I go about connecting them to the furnace
You can do it any way you want.
What I would do is find the wires that supply power to the furnace's blower. Run a 14/2 line out to where the booster fans are, install an electrical box and a duplex outlet, and plug them in. Bonus points if you use a double-ganger and install a speed switch as well.
Other ways are to cut the plugs off, wire them all back to the same 14/2, or you could also get airflow switches for the boosters, and plug them into whatever outlet is available, that way when the furnace blower comes on, the airflow switches will activate, turning on the booster fans. When the furnace blower drops out, the boosters will spin down a few moments later.
Blower motor runs off 240V, so it'd be problematic to run the duct fan off that power. Any other solution you could see?
Tom Lopez If there's a neutral leg in that 240v line, just hook to one side of the 240, and the other wire to neutral.
jaykay18 no such luck. I'll keep researching. Thanks.
Tom Lopez Suncourt also sold some sort of "wind sensor" that you'd also install in the duct, when it sensed moving air, it would turn on its outlet, which you'd have the inductor fan plugged into.
Commentary is epic. Great video bud. 👍 30% loss with flex. Hard pipe that shit! 😜
Thanks! It's been working great since, 7 years ago now!
now does this work with cold and hot air?
Yes, it works with both. As shown in the video, I tied the power for these into the power for the main blower, so they come on whenever the blower comes on.
could you please explain in detail how to wire the fan to the main blower
11:38 in the video is the black wire to the main blower. I tapped into that. The white wire is neutral, so tie into any white wire in there provided it's neutral (check with a good-quality tester first.)
thank you - it worked out fine and no loss of fingers or burnt componets .
Love the cursing haha
I consider it pepper for my speech. I like things spicy.
Thank you!
Are these fans still installed?
+Andrew Gallucci Oh yes, and still working. People always play with the speed switch when they're downstairs there in laundry central. Those fans make the nicest hum when they are running.
Do they move a lot of air?
Andrew Gallucci They help move air. If you really had vents with very low airflow these can help bring hot or cold to those rooms. I installed these 3 on the ducts going to the 3 farthest vents from the system. Do they work/help? Yes. Kept the house a perfect 70° all throughout the summer.
I guess they could be worth it depending on the location of the vents to the air handler.
Andrew Gallucci Yes. Not only were these 3 vents the farthest away, they were all also on the south side of the house. More cold air to the hotter areas. Brilliant!
you sound like ray ramano on everybody loves raymond! xD
bloodypulp88 Never watched the show, but I guess thanks for the compliment!
I'm glad you love China
(You not have much options anyways)
Exactly.
Well... At least they're induction motors... Instead of POS DC motors... And they seem to serve their purpose!
They're C-Frame or what us old fogies call "shaded-pole" motors. I remember seeing a lot of electric pencil sharpeners that plug in that were using puny DC motors, and most reviews of them stated they were utterly useless. I have 4 AC motor Panasonic pencils sharpeners that will last me the rest of my life, and then likely many lifetimes thereafter.
jaykay18 I have a sharpener from x-acto that also has a huge motor. I have another x-acto that is much newer, and it has a puny dc motor that I can stall without trying. it also takes about 30 seconds to sharpen a new pencil. The other one has a nice big, heavy, powerful AC motor that no matter what I try I can't stop it! And it sharpens in about 2 seconds! It's not as old as a old Panasonic, but it's before they switched to crappy dc motors.
Smurdle450 The DC motor one is garage sale fodder now. The AC one is something to hold on to.
jaykay18 I can't disagree.
Love it. Funny
Thanks.
🍺
I sure could use 1. Or 10!
wheres the grow room?
Same place as your manners--there isn't any! Go troll elsewhere...
jaykay18 oh snap...
jaykay18 would have been a lot better with a grow room, but I got what I need here.
Tim Weber Thanks, Tim.
Hey Jay got one more?, can I ground out on the fan with the green card.
China doesn't say plastic is good enough. The company's manufacturing spec says it's good enough. And you decided to buy it even though there are other more expensive options, so....
...So surprise, surprise, what do you know, 7 years later them plastic bladed fans are working like day 1.
Canadia eh LOL you kill me. Cheers
I think here in America we should say "Bee". In Mexico they say "Sí". In Canadia, they say "eh". "Eh, Bee, Sí!"
why don't use a relay. and install outlet close to the booster fan just run thermostat wire. is more professional
+Gabriel Martinez Velazquez That was certainly an option. I just so happened to not have a relay or thermostat wire on hand. Rather than go out and buy those items, I used what I had in stock.
This way, these additional blowers are controlled by the same air handler circuit as well, if I shut the main disconnect for it, these also go dead for additional peace of mind.
I suppose many people enjoy the profanity. Not me, sorry.
I like my speech spicy. Some like it hot!
Complaining about “China” as he buys Chinese product 🤦🏻♂️. It’s like complaining about the drug cartel as he is sniffing coke. 🤔 alway, always someone else’s fault. I appreciate the how to part. ✌️
People always say "buy American". Great. Nothing's made here anymore. If they were, I'd buy. Therefore, I complain.
not everyone can stand sailor talk
clean it up and do it again please
Oh, that's too bad. They're already installed and working great!
jaykay18 Fucking Awesome!
Canadia 🤣🤣
Yes, that's the country to the north of the USA.