Lennox Air Handler Noise

Installation of 13HPD heat pump and CB26UH air handler completed yesterday. The air handler motor has the expected hum but somewhere in the system is a higher pitched noise. I'm thinking possibly fan bearing or maybe resonance in the ductwork. Installer said noises were normal, but the high pitched noise is so irritating that I shut the system down last night and went back to using the space heaters so I could get some sleep. Is the Lennox an inherently noisier system than others? After spending $6000, I'm not entirely happy with the system. Installer says it's not his problem. Should I contact Lennox or is this as good as it gets with this type of system?

Bob

Reply to
RobertM
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You spent 6k and your going to let the guy tell you it is normal? I would be on the phone to him and have the owner back out and work it out. Your warranty is with the installer first. Lennox will just tell you to call the guy that put it in.

Air movement noises are normal. High pitched "sounds", are not. Guessing where the problem is impossible. Did you or the installer put in the old filter?

Reply to
SQLit

There was no old filter. This is a completely new system to replace old propane space heaters. New ducts, new filter, new everything. This installer is listed on the Lennox web site as one of their preferred whatever they call them that has special training and knowledge. I'm not overly concerned at this point because it has to pass a TVA inspection in order for the installer to get his money. I realize a system with moving air isn't going to be a quiet as a space heater and I don't want to be a ball buster, but I'm thinking this noise isn't normal. I'll call the owner and try to get him out here to look at it.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

Aha, you are a genius. I was going to take the new filter out to see if the noise would change. When I opened the grille in front of the filter, the noise disappeared. I then tapped the grille with the edge of a screwdriver, and sure enough, the grille rings like a bell at that frequency. I'll jam some rubber in the sides of the grille to dampen the vibration.

Thanks, Bob

Reply to
RobertM

If it is a high efficiency pleated or washable filter, it will have a higher than normal resistance to air flow. Try replacing that with a fiberglass filter.

BTW, your noise is part of the installation, not part of the equipment. It is the installers fault, not the fault of Lennox. Call Lennox at

1-800-453-6669 in Dallas, TX. Wade through their automated answering system to get to consumer complaints and leave a complaint. Something should happen. I have been a Lennox dealer for years, it guggs me when I see other dealers of any brand pull a line like that. Also call the BBB and any state or local licensing authority in your area. HE should fix it, NOT YOU!

Stretch

Reply to
Stretch

The problem is not the filter itself, but the grille that covers the filter. I took the grille off and everything is quiet. The vanes of the grille are such that the air whistles as it goes through. I'm making a wooden grille to replace the cheap metal grille and that should fix the problem. If it were something big, I'd go to the BBB and all of that, but since this is not some major part of the system, I'm not going to make a supreme court case out of something that I can easily repair in one evening. Yeah, I could fight them and win. Yes, it should have been done correctly and yes, the installer is at fault, but it'll be more of a hassle to fight them than to fix it myself. I am going to call Lennox, though, and try to get an owner's manual.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

How many tons is the system? What is the size of the return duct? I have seen a lot of whistling grates be caused by undersized ducts. I'd be concerned about that if I were you. You may have a larger problem than you realize.

Reply to
Al Moran

It's a 1.5 ton and the return filter size is 16 x 20.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

Bob,

Be careful of using a wood return grille. The net free opening is not as large as a metal grille of the same size, that restricts air flow. If the fins are 1/3 inch apart, replace it with one that has fins that are 1/2 inch apart. the further apart the fins, the less likely it is that it will whistle. Aluminum grilles with 2/3 inches between fins are even better and look nicer. Sometimes you can bend the fins with needle nose pliers to make the air go straiget in so the air does not change direction after going through the grille. Or flip the grille around 180 degrees for the same reason. If the air is moving across the fins of the grille before or after it goes through, the grille is likely to whistle. Hope this helps.

Stretch

Reply to
Stretch

I called the installer and told him he has a problem and that he'll either have to increase the duct size or else replace the grille with something that doesn't whistle. He said he has a heavier grille with the fins farther apart. I asked him why his crew didn't know this while they were here installing it. He weaseled around with some bs explanation, but the real reason of course, is that he used the cheapest grille he had. Lennox won't send me an owner's manual. They said I have to get it from the installing dealer. I called a second dealer and told them I just bought a house that has this model number Lennox in it and I want to buy a set of owner's manuals. They said they'd be happy to send them to me for nothing and they'd also like to be the one to do the maintenance on it and they hope I'll be one of their good customers. I know I have the warranty, but it doesn't cover routine maintenance. At this time, without an owner's manual, I don't even know what routine maintenance is but for sure, I'll go with the 2nd company, not the installer. I'm assuming any Lennox dealer is authorized to do warranty repairs.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

Bob, The labor warranty is covered by the installer. The parts warranty is covered by Lennox. If anything goes wrong the first year, use the installer. After that use the second Lennox dealer as the 1 year labor warranty will be gone (assuming the labor warranty is one year). Hope this helps.

Stretch

Reply to
Stretch

Yep, that's a big help. I don't have a copy of the warranty, nor a sales receipt, nor an owner's manual yet. The only thing i have is the proposal and some good work done and some questionable work done.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

Boy, that chaps me when factories do that. I've got a Bryant myself and when I bought it I had them put in a Bryant humidifier. The first time I went to order a media pad for it I called the installer several times and he never called me back, finally after repeated calling his cell # over weeks of time, he tells me Bryant says the part# is obsolete and he can't order it. So I called Bryant and they said yes, it's been obsoleted, but there's a cross to a new number and gave me that. So I call back the installer and bitch him out for being a lazy ass, give him the new number, and he gets the media pad.

The second time a few years later that I replaced the pad now the installers phone is disconnected, and he's no longer listed in the phone book. So I call another dealer, give them the new part number, and I get the same damn runaround again, that new number has been obsoleted and they can't order it. So I called Bryant again and now they had gone like Lennox and were referring every query to the dealers. I called every local dealer and they were not willing to get a part number for me even when I asked them to order the media filter for me. (which none of them did, claiming that Bryant didn't sell any such media filter)

Finally I dug around on the Internet and found an online dealer of aftermarket furnace parts, and they had the new, new part# online. I called back the same dealer that had claimed Bryant didn't make such a part and gave him the new part number and told him to look it up. Wonder of wonders now it's available. The dealer then asked me how many I wanted to buy and I told him None, and explained exactly why I wasn't going to buy anything from him. Then I hung up and ordered it from the online place and got it a week later. And not only that but it was 1/3 of the cost the dealer quoted. (BTW, Carrier = Bryant)

It's the old story of the dealers are quick to service you when they smell a $500 sale somewhere, but call them for a small $30 item and they just want you to go f*ck off.

I just wish the damn furnace factories would realize that the dealers screw them over just as much as help them, and that customers who are calling the factory are not stupid, and are deliberately going around the dealer chain because the dealer chain isn't doing anything for them. I'm a person who swaps engines and repairs my own appliances, and I'm not ever going to be calling a dealer service department to come out and replace a humidifier filter, so why does the factory think that if they try to shut me out that I'm going to go spend money at their dealers? The dealer chain doesen't want to hear from people like me anyhow, they want to hear from the little old lady who is willing to pay $200 on a service call to replace a $30 media pad. Well, if I can't get an answer from the factory, that's just going to push me right into the 3rd party suppliers and once I start buying my parts from them, the factory will never see a dime of my money again.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

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