Sidewall Power Venter very loud!

Verisimilitude1

Hello,

So within the last two weeks I have noticed that our Sidewall Power Venter has been going off a lot more and that it is very loud. It's so loud that at night I hear it go off every couple minutes or so for 30 seconds and it sounds like a garage door is opening, so it has been affecting my sleep.

The Sidewall Power Venter is from "The Fields Controls Company" and is model SWG-4HD and the motor is 115 VAC and 3000 RPM.

I am just noticing that this loud noise is from the last couple of weeks ago, when the temp. has dropped below 0 a couple of nights. Does the cold have anything to do with the frequency in which it goes off? Is there any way to turn it down or shut it off completely? I live in a house with a couple other people, so one of them may have touched something to affect it going off more. I'm new to this stuff and all I really want is a better night sleep/less noise since my room is right next to the vent, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks

lchmb

generally if the unit is getting louder something is going wrong. The amount of run time is based on the run time of the system so with colder temps you will of course hear it on more. i would strongly suggest you get it looked at in case it's close to failure. A scheduled day time call is cheaper than a night/weekend call when no one has the part... They may be able to oil and clean the unit or get a replacement motor kit for it depending on it's shape

Verisimilitude1

What do you mean the run time is "based on the runtime of the system" - what system? Is there any way I can just turn off the vent at night time and then turn it on in the day when im not sleeping?

Any idea how much it would cost to come check it out?

Leon82

Is there a door or flap on the outside that can be icing shut?.

My bathroom fan has done this a few times after the condensation freezes the louver shut. You can hear alot more fan noise when this happens

lchmb

this powervent unit has the motor/fan on the outside wall of the house. it requires yearly service to oil the motor and clean the blades of the fan. Experience with this type of unit has shown that when they start to get noisy they are asking for attention... dont ignore it or hope it goes away... I just left a house that had the swgII-5 on it.. they failed to listen, the house is frozen solid...

MilanD

System is your heating system. You can't 'turn off' the vent. Well, you could, but you could die from CO poisoning. Not advisable. Get a tech and have it serviced. It'll cost you the same as going to see a family doctor without insurance.

Verisimilitude1

Who do you recommend getting it serviced by, "The Fields Controls Company" or a local mechanic?

Jamie Hall

Verisimilitude1 said:

Who do you recommend getting it serviced by, "The Fields Controls Company" or a local mechanic?

Whoever services, cleans, and adjusts your heating system would be the proper person... assuming they are competent. It's and integral part of the heating system, after all.

Verisimilitude1

Gotcha, and how frequently should these things be getting serviced? once a year? once every 3 years? Also, is mine going off too frequently if it goes off every 2-4 minutes? if so, that may be another sign something is faulty.

Also can anyone explain to me why these things go off? I know we have heat in the house during the day time, but at night we pretty much turn down all the heat to a very low 62 degrees, but it still goes off. Why is that? Does the vent run according to heat being run in the house or does it run according to outside temperatures too?

Jamie Hall

At a minimum, annually. Complete service.

On going off too frequently (and every 2 to 4 minutes is too frequently) -- that is because something, or somethings, are rather poorly set up with your heating system. Can't say much more than that without knowing a good deal more about the system as a whole.

As to going off all night -- 62, at least in this weather, is still a good deal warmer than what it is outside, and therefore the system will have to run very nearly as much as it does during the day. The vent runs when the boiler needs to heat the house...