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direct drive vs. belt drive - servicewiz

servicewiz
servicewiz Member Posts: 7
in THE MAIN WALL
I have always wondered why any of the older furnaces I have replaced have mostly been belt drive blower motors while everything new is direct drive.Any pros /cons for each?

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  • jim bannister
    jim bannister Member Posts: 20
    blower drive

    Wiz,
    The older blowers used fan belts to slip a little and absorb the starting torque before the fan got up to speed. Capacitors usually were not used until you got up to 1/2 hp size or larger. The pros of a fan belt are: Belt is easily changed. Blower motor is easy to change. The cons: Speed has to be manually changed by means of an adjustable pulley. Direct drive motors are capacitor start. The pros: the speeds are usually three or four and can be easily changed by a dip switch, moving a lead on the panel, or be thermostat action on a call for a/c. The cons are: motors are a pain to change and some manufacturers have placed the oil cup inside of the chassis making it often overlooked.
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