reader2580
Well-known member
The inducer blower housing in my furnace seems to have a very slow leak. Can I somehow seal this, or should I just replace the inducer assembly for about $200? It is a Fasco inducer blower in a Lennox furnace.
Fix or replace inducer blower housing leak?
- Thread starter reader2580
- Start date
You can usually get them sealed up with a bit of rtv but it's tough to get it 100% dry and give the rtv time to cure when you need heat.
What model furnace and where's it leaking?
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What model furnace and where's it leaking?
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reader2580
Well-known member
Furnace is a Lennox ML193UH series. Not exactly sure where water is coming from. There is some evidence that there is a very slow drip. There was no actual water, but a decent bit of scale and such indicating there had been water. Not enough water to cause rust yet.
If you have a mystery leak with no obvious trace in sight, it is probably a good idea to check the secondary heat exchanger. Best way to do that is to remove the blower fan in the lower compartment and see if there is rust or water on the bottom of the secondary heat exchanger. If you see anything out of the norm, good chance it's bad.
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reader2580
Well-known member
The dripping is up in the other section under the top front cover. Is there still a chance the heat exchanger would be rusted out? If the heat exchanger was bad I might have to think about a new furnace. The furnace is six years old with a 10 year heat exchanger warranty. I would have to pay the labor which could be pretty high.
I don't really want to be taking the furnace apart during the coldest week of winter so far. It is far from an emergency right now.
It is still possible but I wouldn't suspect a bad heat exchanger on a 6 year old furnace. There might be a crack in the condensate collector/header box. This is the part that sits behind the inducer motor. If it's not an emergency, I would wait to disassemble anything until spring. Just make sure water isn't dripping on anything critical.
Look very closely at the connection at the outlet of the inducer motor, there is a rubber connector there that tends to leak, sometimes just tightening the clamps will stop it, sometimes loosening and turning the clamp to the side a touch and retightting it will fix it.
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reader2580
Well-known member
I'll probably just wait until spring as recommended. The amount of water is very minimal. There wasn't even any liquid water when I opened it up. There is just a lot of white mineralization left from evaporating water and no rust, yet.
Jim greengo
Well-known member
Picture? Could it be coming from the flue pipe/chimney,or maybe the ac condensate drain?
nadogail
Well-known member
IMHO, wait until it gets worse or until the weather warms up, but don’t allow the warranty to run out.
While it is still working you might consider buying one of those home owners protection plans before the problem can be determined to be. preexisting when you ask for repair or replacement.
While it is still working you might consider buying one of those home owners protection plans before the problem can be determined to be. preexisting when you ask for repair or replacement.
OP
reader2580
Well-known member
There appears to be a ten year parts warranty so long as the dealer registered the furnace with Lennox. The issue is a service call would probably cost more than me just buying the part.
OP
reader2580
Well-known member
Worst idea ever.........there’s a service fee with those “services”, they will likely hire the cheapest repair “guy”, they will likely deny the claim the first three times, plus the policy premium cost, plus the might be delay in coverage on large components, plus the current Lennox warranty is still play.
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reader2580
Well-known member
I have enough ethics that I am not going to get a service plan knowing I have an issue already. As others pointed out they use bottom of the barrel contractors. A good HVAC contractor that has plenty of work won't do this work since the pay is not great. I have a towing plan for my motorhome. I know from experience that tow companies won't do night work for the low pay they get except if blocking a street or something.
I suppose I could call the HVAC company to fix this, but the service call would cost more than me just buying a new inducer assembly and installing it.
Having said that I might just call the HVAC company because they will properly diagnose it rather than me throwing parts at it. I will need to confirm I have the 10 year parts warranty.
I suppose I could call the HVAC company to fix this, but the service call would cost more than me just buying a new inducer assembly and installing it.
Having said that I might just call the HVAC company because they will properly diagnose it rather than me throwing parts at it. I will need to confirm I have the 10 year parts warranty.
That is caused by blocked flue gas condensate drain(s):
https://www.behler-young.com/tech-t...ate-drainage-in-a-high-efficiency-gas-furnace
https://www.behler-young.com/tech-t...ate-drainage-in-a-high-efficiency-gas-furnace
I can see where it's dripped down from the connection above, tighten the hose clamps and see if it stops.
It's possible that it could also have a leak at the cold header box behind the inducer but that connection at the outlet of the inducer has seemed to be a problem on those furnaces for a while, at some point they either changed something or showed the guys building it how to properly tighten it as leaks there haven't been as common. For a few years it seemed like we would see a leak there on startup of half or more new furnaces.
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reader2580
Well-known member
I will check the drain line but I believe it is clear. There is still condensate draining into the condensate pump. I heard the pump running the other day.
My house has a strange layout. It has a partial walkout basement with a back door going into the utility room. Since that door goes straight out to the driveway and detached garage I use that door as the entrance to the house. This means I constantly walk by the furnace. Occasionally when I walk through I will hear the condensate pump running.
Jim greengo
Well-known member
Ok,that looks like a 90plus from that picture anyway.
Put a towel under it and pop that rubber plug out to catch any water sitting in there,then pop the plug back in.
Check drain hoses coming from inducer motor and secondary heat exchanger for clogs.
Is the little catch basin the hoses run into draining?
C2F
Well-known member
In addition you can try to use a leaf blower at the furnace and blow out. Sometimes a bird/bees may have made a nest.
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In addition to tightening the top connector check the location where the drain connects on the opposite side of the drain trap, there is a 3/4"(or 1/2" if earlier model) plug that will sometimes leak, we would pull and add a layer of teflon tape and repipe dope those during install, there was a point in time where those all seemed to be under torqued and would leak if not resealed, currant models use a plug with an o ring seal.
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