direct drive vs. belt drive - servicewiz

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.