Attic Fan Issues, Troubleshooting, Common Problems!
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- In this HVAC Training Video, I Show How to Diagnose an Attic Fan that is Not Working Step by Step. I Show How to Test the Fan Motor and Thermostat with a Multimeter along with Common Problems. I Explain Attic Ventilation Issues and Attic Fan Installation Problems as well. If you are Troubleshooting whether an Attic Fan is Good or Bad, the Wiring , or why the Attic Fan Won't Turn On, this video is for you! Supervision is needed by a licensed HVACR Tech while performing tasks as Experience and Apprenticeship garners Wisdom and Safety.
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Information in this video is intended for educational purposes only. Any work related to the topics in this video should be performed by licensed technicians or by apprentices under the supervision of licensed technicians. AC Service Tech LLC is not responsible for any possible damages or injuries caused by the use or misuse of any information provided. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
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I just replaced 8 of these exact fans in the office building where I work. You can buy the entire assembly with whip and thermostat at supplyhouse. The new ones don’t need run caps. This is a great video brother thanks for posting.
good catch on the ridge vent. For others... you want more square inches of intake(at the eves) than you do exhaust(at the top of the roof) If you have more exhaust, whether it's ridge vent, gable vents, turbine vents, etc, it will pull air where ever it can. To much exhaust will cause a vacuum/negative air pressure in attic and pull air from the living spaces through cracks in electrical boxes, no air sealing at other wall/ceiling penetrations. Pulling air from the living space into the attic, will cause an imbalance in the home, too. In return, this will cause dirty air to be pulled in form crawlspaces, cracks in floors, electrical boxes and an open window, which will make your home's air unhealthy. Neighbors home has 5 attic vents, 2 whirly birds, 2 gable vents, and practically no intake vents. He complains that his AC/heat is constantly turning on during the summer and in the winter....his heating and cooling costs are almost double mine and my house is 50% bigger.
I liked the fact that you follow NFPA 70E by checking with the NC Voltage Tester then before exposing the wires verified that the power was off with a multi-meter.
That's great information!
Had a metal roof put on and I'm going to install a gable mounted fan this weekend.
I was curious on where to set the temperature.
Now I know. Thanks for the help... Again.
*Well-made, delivered quickly, and easy to install with **Fastly.Cool** . I may be imagining it, but it seems quieter than the 14 year-old unit that I pulled out. Of course it was noisy at the end due to failed bearings, so hard to compare. :)*
This was unbelievably informative, especially in reference to the ridge vent and location of the fan. I am trouble shooting my fan for not working but i just had my roof done, and it's location is that close to the ridge. I guess it make no sense to even try to get it to work. I have some high temp issues in that section of the house during the summer and i thought i may need that fan to work but i see that insulation may be to close to the fossits.
Excellent video! This was exactly what I needed. Even had the same fan motor and thermostat that I do. Thx!
Me too!
I like to say thank you for your video I had a professional come to my house and install a attic fan the fan was installed correctly but the electrician did not check the wiring before he left, the fan was not coming on he told me that I had a bad fan so I did a voltage test and found out that the hot wires had came a loose once I connected the hot wires the fans working perfect now I have it set at 90°, thanks.👍😃
You could easily do a whole video just on venting an attic. A uncommon subject that is important. Even for hvac
Craig, so glad that you did CORRECTLY address the ventilation issues in this attic. Passive ventilation (soffit vents and ridge vent) is always best. This attic has "competing" ventilation which will not properly ventilate the underside of the roof. As soon as I saw the ridge vent and small gable vent and fan, I said to myself "big mistake" by builder/homeowner.
CRAIG , I just installed a gable vent AC INFINITY FAN that has the LCD controller and temp sensor seperate . Now i can control my fan from in the attic acesss area down stairs without having to enter the attic ever !!!!!!!!!!!!! best of all it has several options and a timer so you can set it . i used a old pro honeywell back thermostate plate to notch out the size of the controler and mounted it into the plate and onto the drywall . I have to say this is one of the best installed items ive done well worth it .I went with the T12 model that has about 12 feet of thermostat sensor wire i ran up to the attic from the controller and the power wire. both ran perfectly . Also displays the attic temperature and humidity % and seems to cool 5-8 degrees after running for 30 min and is absolutely quiet !!!!
ua-cam.com/video/WePdiehECtU/v-deo.html
Great video! Very helpful! Aside from the electrical risk... it must be a hazard to work with all those nails poking through the roof!
Very informative! It’s sad the previous owner not aware of the power-venter before ridge vent installed!?
Some people move too fast before they realize what they have on a house already! Some have whole house fans which can also cool attics before you store things in the attic too!
Have them removed for more storage space & because some are noisy!
If they only knew what they’re used for!
They are great for emergencies like when the AC goes down! U can pull cool fresh air in at certain times of the day/night!
Well done all around. More YT videos should be this concise.
So far, so good! I installed this fan yesterday. ua-cam.com/users/postUgkx7yWIKcrbA9KMHkGSfcgxW2lsjHT6B8Sh I've been watching a continuous radon monitor in my house for about a week, and the levels have been running between 4.5 and 7.9 pCi/L. Shortly after I installed this fan, the radon level started dropping, and in less than 24 hours since I installed it, the level is now 1.9. My basement is approximately 2,000 square feet. Total home square footage above basement is approximately 4,000 square feet. The noise level so far is very quiet. Mine is installed indoors, so I had to purchase a cord and connector. If I have any problems later, I'll update my review. But for now, I'm very pleased with it.Update after 48 hours: Using a constant monitor, my radon is now fluctuating between 0.38 and 0.45 pCi/L. I've moved the monitor to my basement and am getting a constant 0.43 reading. After 24 hours, and when I know the weather will be safe, I'll place the monitor outside for about 12 hours. I'm thinking that the 0.38 to 0.45 may be the outside "ambient" radon level. I'm using this monitor (purchased from Amazon): Corentium Home Radon Detector by Airthings 223
I'm still using a Sears Roebuck fan with oilable bearings my Grandfather bought in 1961!
60 years so far and when fully oiled up is virtually silent ( well balanced).
Even has original fan belt on it( extreeeeeemly frayed and ratty but still holding).
Lucky! Lol, mine needs replaced, but hell, I'm glad that all of the wiring, supports and thermostat / manual switch are already in place, I just need to unbolt a couple bands and chuck the old one in the trash can and throw a new one in the hole! 😃
Awesome to see a product like your SR fan working after 60+ years, we have a 1927 Buick that runs fantastic and while I work in the auto industry I know the cars we sell today will NEVER last as long as my 96 year old Buick has, just like your Grandfather’s fan!!
Thanks for posting
Very good explanation and demonstration
Great recommendations. Thank you
Glad you like them!
Excellent job!!!!
like others mentioned, glad you addressed the ridge vent / power fan combo. I had my shingles and roof sheathing replaced (sheathing w/foil on bottom side) a while back, deleted 1 power fan, and two turbine fans since the roof already had a ridge vent. I think homes like this start off with turbine vents and power fan, and the ridge vent is added years later. To avoid dealing with 3 big holes in the roof, people just leave the power vent / turbine vents.
I have a similar situation, I had a new roof installed, with a ridge vent. And the attic fan is still there, the bearings seized some years ago, it does not work, and I think it's actually bringing air into the attic instead of letting the ridge vent bring air up from the soffits. Right? That's why deleted the power fan?
@@robeaston5046 yup. vents in the roof can interfere a bit with the natural convection current pulling air up from the soffit up and out of the ridge vent. The power fan I deleted was attached to the roof sheathing
Attic fan you mean like my first house there was a 30" fan in the hallway ceiling, with louvers that opened when the fan was running? It pulled hot air from the living space up into the attic. I would open windows in the evening when it cooled down so I could turn off the AC.
@@thebluelunarmonkey that's perfect! I am trying to justify the cost of paying a roofer to remove the broken attic fan now. thank you!
@@robeaston5046 Welcome Rob.
Would have been much easier removing the power vent during the reshingle.
Since you already had the new roof installed with your old power vent, you might just want to block off the vent. Remove the fan and block off the hole, doesn't have to be airtight since the outside vent keeps the rain out - you just don't want an air current flowing thru that vent which disrupts the flow from soffits to ridge vent.
You can DIY this. Tack up some rigid foam board or cut a 2ftx2ft project panel to fit between the rafters. If the vent has louvers that open and close, you can tack them closed with construction adhesive, but not vital to do that if you can't reach from inside the attic.
@@thebluelunarmonkey great idea, I should be able to do that! (even I, a guy who types for a living).
Excellent teaching ability
Whar are your thoughts of using the powered attic fan as a whole house fan and draw the ambient air from the living area up through the Suttle hole and out into the attic and then through the fan to exhaust outside?
Such an awesome video!! In my case, there is no on/off switch. Does that mean I’ve got to cut the power from the electrical box?
Thank you for making this video. Good advice
Glad it was helpful!
RE: the fan location issue--> What about mounting a regular box fan ( airflow "up"), ...right under a ridge vent?...locating the fan inches below the ridge vent? Would this "help" the hot air to escape upwards through the ridge ( as would normally occur anyway)...by drawing air from the eave vents ( as would occur normally).....basically an "assist" ? I would also think the low airflow volume would have less chance of sucking-in air through cracks and such from the living area...it's just a mild assist.
Great video guy.. greetings from Northern Jersey
His videos are always so useful.
I would like to know many degrees you should your attic fan for the winter.
Great info! thank you!!
Great explanation
dang Craig your awesome man!!!!! love all your videos man!!!!!.
90! Mine would be on all the time. Lol.
Nice hole cut. My roofer just cut a random hole.
Good information 👍🏾
Great video and comments. Possible dumb question but I also got a new roof a few years ago, house actually seems hotter. I now have ridge vents and I have this OLD attic fan that is seized up, no longer works.
1. Was thinking about replacing the whole house fan in my ceiling (it pushes hot hair into the attic), but is that what I really need
2. But should I pay a roofer to remove the attic fan, it's not needed, and apparently(?) based on the 5:56 mark of this video, the ventilation of my attic is now goofed up, because the fresh air ventilation is now being sucked in FROM the attic fan hole and NOT from the soffit (which I have a lot of) vents. The roofer thinks the attic fan "hole" is short circuiting the airflow.
Hi,
Can we fix actuator for 2 way valve if there is no actuator. What all changes we need to if we want to fix it. Can you please explain.
Great points thank you sir years ago I had my house re-roof and had the roofers install multiple vents. Our roof fan died not long afterwards.I was going to replace it but after research I find that the power vent is unnecessary since I already have multiple roof events and soffit vents.Thought’s 🤷♂️
Unfortunately my fan is installed at that same exact location you stated. I had it replaced and it never worked again. It’s a brand new fan that won’t turn on after doing the diagnostics you showed everything is fine but won’t turn on . I live in a row town house colonial style and it has multiple soffit vents on both front and rear side.Should I call to get it checked out again or is it not worth it since I have soffit?
I have gable vents on each end of the attic and an attic fan in the center. There is no soffit ventilation. If I understood what you said if you have gable vents and a properly installed attic fan w/o soffit ventilation is that the right way to do it?
While there are no spots to oil the bearings, it does not look like it would be too hard to disassemble the motor and add some synthetic oil to the bearings. If it was done when they are new wouldn't they last a bit longer? Just thinking about my locked-up motor and how many have locked up in Home Depot reviews.
Thanks
Interesting video on testing a motor. I think these fans are usually a waste of electricity.
in extreme heat conditions they are good when the AC can't keep up, that is why the thermostat should be set at 90 degrees...
There are two oil eyelets on the upper and lower motor covers near the sleeve bearings… they’re not sealed… I just oiled mine on the same motor shown here…sadly when the soffit vents are clogged with blown in insulation, your motor will run indefinitely until it burns up… Tip… clear the intake soffit vents by using a strong leaf blower from the outside…
Thank you for a well informative video.. I have noticed the nails are sticking out over your head.. I would highly recommend a safety helmet to be used.
6:
I've got a question. I've recently replaced a broken attic fan motor and it vibrates/wobbles slightly when running. It's fully screwed and clamped in and as far as I can eyeball is not clamped unevenly. Is this normal for 1500 rpm fans?
I have an attic fan that quit working entirely. The motor's 10 mfd capacitor was OK, the motor spins freely, and power is applied, but it will not run, indicating melted windings or thermal overload tripping. It has been a couple hours since it quit working. Is it possible to revive the motor or does it have to be replaced? Thank you for any advice. If it helps, it failed about 10 minutes after one of the capacitor leads unintentionally slid off. This fan was also on a Z-wave speed control dimmer which has been confirmed to still function as a dimmer.
Edit: The motor has been used since 2006 in a detached garage attic mounted on a standard attic fan wall vent.
I have a solar attic fan not working. Theres two wires coming down from the motor in the attic. I found them disconnected. Should they be connected? I have tried and still not working? Any ideas?
Craig it appears that you're on an actual service call, hilarious that you just have a piece of sofit vent with you lmao
Nice change up 🥃🍺🏌🍇🍺🍺😆
Stay safe.
Retired(werk'n) keyboard super tech.
Wear your safety glasses.
Power ventilation is great! Unfortunately to me the motors tend to wear out 3-6 years! Some don’t make 5 years!!! Kinda like car/vehicle batteries!
But at least the opening will still exhaust heat even when the motor isn’t running…… install whole house fan & the heat can exhaust through that opening too🤘🏼👌👍🏽
My roofer doesn't agree. He thinks my defective attic fan is short-circuiting what the ridge vent should do. thoughts?
Ideally, the thermostat should be mounted lower away from the roof. That roof is going to radiate heat during sunny days and possibly fake out that t stat. Fan could run continuously.👍👌
Good video though on diagnosis and operation.
I disagree, Heat rises. If that stat is lower it will come on a lot later and your playing catch up as well as higher temps. If anything I would turn down the set point to 75 or 80 so when the sun isn't shinning your cooling things off after sundown or cloudy days.
@@TheEZGZ lmao, how about 40 years in the field. Ok, so let’s assume your in Florida then ,and attics get to 130 degrees often and that thermostat is 4 or 5 inches off the roof deck which during the day the sun is beating down . 150 to 160 degree deck. Mount that stat 8 to a12 inches down and still kicking on in the 130 to 90 degree range for long periods.
So, in summary this all depends on geographic location, roof type and attic ventilation.
I made a general statement based on an average so, carry on.😎
You make some valid points. There are many variables. You know what they say about ass u me. hehehe I'm in Colorado all my life. I too worked in HVAC industry. I'm glad to be retired. Stay safe my friend. Peace!
What do you do if the fans drip water when the rain is blown into the screen?? What i supposed to do?
My attic fan (similar to this one in the video) is working but it's making noise like it's hitting the sides of the metal enclosure. When I turned off the power and spun the fan by hand, the blades were clear from the side housing and not touching anything. However, when I spun it by hand the blade had a bit of a wobble to it. The center shaft also had a bit of a wobble. Does this mean the shaft is loose causing it to flutter and make noise? Do you think it needs to be replaced? Thanks.
Worn-out bearings. Time to replace the motor.
Meant to say PPE. For that circuit would need 600 volt rubber gloves worn under canvas gloves face sheild and PPE rated long sleeve shirt & pants. Now they are telling use to use PPE T shirts rather than 100% cotton shirts. We even had to wear PPE rated sweat shirts &/or jackets in cold weather.
What? Ppe for residential voltage? Lol. Nah..
Find so often the temp setting is too low meaning the fan is powered far too many run hours meaning an early death. 90F or 32C is better. Even when off they still remove hot air
The most common problem I've found is thermal cutoff. Makes me wonder WHY would you design an "attic fan" with a thermal cutoff of 120 degrees. one power failure during the summer and your done.
Speak to Ed Janowiak from ACCA about those fans 😂. Spoiler alert, he's very against them lol.
I wired my fan 4 different ways, the last being exactly as diagram in UA-cam video yet my thermostat is working backwards. Meaning, it comes on when turned to the left, (colder setting) and turned right (hotter setting), it goes off.
Do you ever use a manometer to see if an attic fan is creating a negative pressure?
Where you located at?
don't agree on 'no need for the attic fan due to the ridge vent' - natural venting is too weak to cool the attic.
I concur, I feel like the attic fan, even with ridge vent, provides enhanced evacuation of the volume of hot air in the attic space (with soffit vents all around). Even if a portion of the intake air would happen to get drawn in from the ridge vent. imo
A power venter will always trump ridge vent! I’ve seen ridge vent & still notice an attic still holding heat! (May be due to poor soffit/eaves vent!?)
Lot of things can be the culprit of a hot attic! Baffles & insulating rafters can help too! Learn where & how to install all these things & you’ll have a cooler attic & house below it🤘🏼👍🏽👌👋🏼
Why doesn't that attic fan have a capacitor(little black box)connected to the body of the fan?Like say a Broan EGV6 attic fan.
Doesn't a attic fan need a capacitor to run properly or not)asking for a friend😊
I guess no one can answer that...😊
Anybody knows why my ac low suction side blue is very high 255 psi and my high head side red is low 100psi? Is cooling home but it keeps freezing the coil?
Also unless your attic is hermetically sealed from the rest of your house (it's not) your going to just pull your conditioned air out of your home and into your attic. Yes the attic will be cooler but at the cost of the rest of the home.
Proper outdoor intake vent sizing 👍
An attic fan is probably going to be sucking expensive air conditioned air from the space below. Better to air seal the ceiling and have a lot of insulation in the ceiling.
true on the sealing the attic part - but the air seeping in (from outside through window sill/door gap etc to replacing the conditioned air ) is much cooler than the air venting out - overall, makes sense to have an attic fan.
I'd you have ridge vent then you don't need a turtle fan.
They are a waste, natural convection ok, insulation best.
🤣
Thanks
Welcome