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Aluminum foil blowing out of the vents

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Small pieces (smaller than an inch) of aluminum foil have been blowing out the vents of my package unit (combination furnace/air conditioner - gas furnace - Bryant 574D) for at least 9 months. They blow out when heating and cooling. Perhaps coincidentally it started when the power company installed a power-saver. It's 15 years old.

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  • Snowmelt
    Snowmelt Member Posts: 1,415
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    Any pic .?
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,286
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    I doubt very much that it has anything to do with the power saver -- but it's not right, and I'm wondering just what in the air path has disintegrated
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    mattmia2ArthurPeabody
  • ratio
    ratio Member Posts: 3,626
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    Aluminized foil face on the interior insulation. While I hate to point fingers over the internet, if they had the blower door off it's possible that the insulation was loosened & is now getting pulled into the fan.

    While it's not at all good for that to come out, it'd be worse for it to stay in there, stuck on the fan wheel.

    ArthurPeabody
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,524
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    Agree wit @ratio

    A can of spray contact adhesive should fix that
    ArthurPeabody
  • ArthurPeabody
    ArthurPeabody Member Posts: 32
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    Snowmelt said:

    Any pic .?

    Of? The insides of the unit or the pieces of foil? They're much thinner than the stuff in the grocery store.

    I doubt very much that it has anything to do with the power saver

    Me, too. I just noticed the coincidence. A month before that I replaced the indoor blower's capacitor. It was bulging but intact. The blower was probably blowing harder than it had for a while
    ratio said:

    Aluminized foil face on the interior insulation. While I hate to point fingers over the internet, if they had the blower door off it's possible that the insulation was loosened & is now getting pulled into the fan.

    While it's not at all good for that to come out, it'd be worse for it to stay in there, stuck on the fan wheel.

    Agree with @ratio

    A can of spray contact adhesive should fix that

    When I looked afterwards it was full of dust and the foil face of the access panel's insulation had been damaged as though tromped upon. I sprayed it with contact adhesive and applied a layer of the thick aluminum foil over the whole thing, dressed the edges with aluminum tape.