Does squirrel cage need to be centered side to side in air handler?

[tracyballard]

I'm currently replacing the blower motor on my old Carrier upflow gas furnace, and the new motor is not the exact same height as the old one. When I have it mounted as far inward as it can go without the clamp band hitting the wires, the wheel spins freely without hitting the side of the air handler, but it's pretty close, and there's a whole inch of clearance on the other side of the wheel. Is that ok, or do I need to add a spacer of some kind to move the blower wheel more toward the middle of the air handler? thanks in advance!

 

[Jeremy7835]

Please take a picture

 

[Sponsor]

 

[tracyballard]

 

[Jeremy7835]

I can’t see the motor but it appears to me ya could slide squirrel cage over to center but to answer your question no it will not matter as long as it isn’t scraping

 

[Jeremy7835]

All you need to do is loosen the square head screw and slide it over and tighten back up
Make sure screw tightens on flat portion of shaft

 

[tracyballard]

So the fan doesn't have to be tighted up against the motor as far as it will go?

 

[Jeremy7835]

No it doesn’t it can go anywhere on the shaft the squirrel cage is balanced like a car tire

 

[tracyballard]

I installed it as it was since the fan was spinning freely with no interference, and also installed a new flame sensor instead of cleaning the old one yet again. I also cleaned the squirrel cage real good because it was covered in compacted dust - including cleaning with wire brush, air compressor and carb cleaner - I don't recommend the last as it took off most of the paint too. This replacement motor was a $75 unit I got at Grainger since nobody had an exact replacement of the old 4 speed motor in stock. This is a 3-speed motor but the thing is the old motor was only hooked up for 2 speeds, black wire in the 1 spot, red wire in the 2 spot. I wired this one with the blue wire in the 2 spot instead of red (which I assume will give me high and medium, no low speed), and everything seems to be working great. It's so quiet you can barely hear it running, and it actually stays on until the house heats up to the set temperature and keeps it there. I can't remember when it didn't shut down before the right temp was reached and we've lived here for 12 years. I think this is going to be good for a few more years now.

 

[Jeremy7835]

It was probably going out on high limit before.
At least that’s what it sounds like
A dirty blower wheel can change your temp rise a lot because less air is being moved. Now if it were me ide change the limit switch if I thought it had been repeatedly hammered.

when it comes to speed faster isn’t always better
Lower speeds will yield better comfort in heating but you must set according to temp rise on name plate!

now for cooling.
Check your static pressure and find a chart for your furnace and see what’s delivered at your static and change the speed accordingly
A good rule is 400cfm per ton

 

[Jeremy7835]

The slower you move air over a coil the better as long as your not freezing the coil