You've got two problems to deal with - some financial resolution or settlement with the contractor for costs incurred due to their incompetence and irresponsible up-selling and what to do going forward.

This contractor has had multiple opportunities to provide good advice and has failed to do so. The consequence is one you need to either fix by doing the job again with more appropriate equipment or by living with it as best possible. I would end the relationship by trying to recoup some past spending as you suggest. Enough is enough.

To deal with the problem going forward. I'd hire a new HVAC contractor and hope for a fix by maybe enlarging the return/supply duct capacity, slowing down the airspeed, or whatever else an expert would know to do. Good luck.

Hi folks!

Thanks for the replies/help!

Update - My contractor calls and tells me the motor is out of warranty , even though it's a 10 yr warranty, and will be $1500.00 to replace, ($1100 if I sign up for a maintenance program with them)!

Also, I forgot to mention in my first post that when the unit was installed, one of the supply ducts runs directly in front of the access panels for the electrical/blower compartments! It has to be removed to change the blower! This will be another cost to permanently extend the duct away from the unit for access to the compartments. I have yet to discuss this with the contractor, but you can bet i will. I have no problem paying for this, I would have had to pay anyway during installation, I just prefer it had originally been done and included in cost 6 years ago!

I call Carrier support and am told that the contractor registered this unit as a rental property installation, rather than a second home, and that's why it's not covered. I'm currently working with Carrier warranty support to correct this, (They are being very helpful with this...so far).

I doubt I will continue using this contractor after this is done! They have apparently merged with another company and that is the company I have had to deal with instead of the company who installed it!

Again, thanks for the support and help!

My guess is that your return or ducts or filter are not the cause of the motor failure. Most likely the motor is a Gentec X10, a form of an ECM (electronically commutated motor). This is now a common blower motor many manufacturers use in new equipment. The motor will be identical from manufacturer to manufacturer, with one exception; the programming. These motors are programmed/ configured for air flows and ramp up times to increase the efficiency of new equipment. Unfortunately, the quality is very poor. It's not the fault of your contractor (bless his heart). It's just that these motors almost never hold up. Another kick in the teeth is the cost. These motors typically wholesale for around $500 each, meaning that the installed cost can be as much as $1,500 for a fan motor. It's not an issue as long as the motor is under warranty, but if it fails out of warranty, I would recommend replacing it with a good old fashion PSC (permanent split capacitor) blower motor. Your contractor might have to install an aftermarket kit to make the conversion or just add a relay, but it will still be much less costly and the PSC motor will last longer and be more reliable. I've written an article on these new motors if you're interested. I don't remember if I addressed this particular issue in that article, but if you're interested, you can find it HERE. Just my two cents and worth what you paid. Hope that helps.

On a side note, your contractor is probably correct about your return being undersized, and YES,he should have said something about this earlier and he should be ashamed of himself for not. Undersized ducts are a big issue and create all kinds of problems from lack of capacity to a lack of air flow. That said, I don't think that's the source of the chronic motor failures. I would suggest finding another contractor if you can.

Sorry, did I mention that most equipment and supply wholesalers usually have a box full of these dead motors in their warehouse. I replaced one under warranty just last week. They're just not reliable.

"Air and energy solutions", thanks for the reply!

I went back today and verified that it is a Genteq X13 motor on the blower. I'm going to try to attach a pic!

Also, the return air grill is 20" by 30", which according to HVAC forums appears to be at least the minimum required for a 3 ton unit. In the forums, it is stated as a general rule of thumb, there should be 200 sq. inches of grill area for each ton of A/C. Therefore, a 3 ton unit would require a 600 sq. in. grill, which would be 20 x 30! Is it possible this type motor may require more than the standard?

As far as the motor, I have seen posts and videos that one of the most common reasons for these motors failing is a thermistor inside the top of the motor. Anyone seen or heard of this?

Thanks again!

Have a great day!

Hi folks,

Last post.

Yesterday the motor was changed under warranty, ( got that straight with Carrier). Total cost $434.00!

I did take the top off the motor and the thermistor was missing one leg!

Looked back and found that both times the motor failed, the house had experienced a power outage approximately 10 - 13 days prior. Hope the manufacturers get this issue resolved soon.

Thanks again!

Jerry P.

Two-things, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were places
that would repair these motors for a reasonable fee just as there are shops
that rebuild automotive starter motors and alternators. As someone that worked
in audio electronics and has been an amateur (ham) radio operator for many
decades, I would not accept this at all. I’m quite sure that unless the
windings were shorted or burnt opened that I could repair the controller for
about the price of a ‘Happy Meal’ with a trip down to my electronic parts
supply store or with parts off the web.

Second, you need
‘Whole House Surge Protection’. I’ve posted many times over many years
about this on this site, you can do a search.

Square D Surge Breaker Plus

IMPO

SR

I don't think the ecm motors are repairable. A psc motor might be an option if you don't have a gas furnace on the system. You will loose some efficiency, but gain some reliability.

My question is, shouldn't the contractor have known the vent was too small when installing the unit?

Yep and he should have known that 3 ton was too large also. Proper design is 400 CFM per ton and proper design for return is 2 CFM per sq in. So you would need return/supply design of 1200 CFM (which is too much for that sq ft), and a return grill total of 800 sq in (aka 20 x 40)

I wouldn't want him to come back and do anything further, get someone else. Glad you got it covered, if parts are under warranty it is through the MFG not through the HVAC company.

Perhaps a battery backup between the power source and the furnace is an option if somehow power outages are causing it. Maybe you are getting surges (or the blower motor is causing surges) and the battery backup would filter out the surges as well.

The X13 blower motor went out on my Payne unit after just two years. I have to wonder how long the replacement will last.

I have a 5 year old Rheem RRPL 5-ton, mounted on the roof. The X13 totally failed about a week ago which was easily observed by opening the side panel and watching the squirrel cage turn spastically, and then just stop. This was an easy repair with basic hand tools. The motors are on Amazon for $315 delivered. I got a new, open box unit for $200 on Ebay and put it in last night. It took about an hour to do. I would rate the job maybe a 2 out of 5.

Great post. I hope your "new open box" motor was truly new open box. There are thousands of low-lives on e-bay selling used equipment as "new - other", "open box", etc, etc. Unfortunately, you just can't trust seller on e-bay any more.

Nonsense. I've bought hundreds of things on Ebay and never had a bad experience. The Sellers are extremely conscious of their reputations and the transactions are protected both by Ebay and Paypal. And the motor still had the seal-sticker on the connector, looked exactly as described, and works perfectly.

Nonsense. You've just been lucky!

;)

ECM Motors: Badly designed, bady tested for life cycle requirments , and simply not fit for purpose!!!

We all get the upsell at the installation phase about how wonderful and efficient these systems are , and then they fail after just a few years service and we end up footing the bill for nearly 1/3 of what a complete installation costs!

The service Industry make out and earn thousands in servicing costs so they don’t give a damn!…Joe Public gets shafted once again!

To boot all of these crap motors and control modules are made in China or Vietnam, to save costs! What a freakin joke that is.

IT IS A JOKE THE X13 MOTOR IS A FAILED MOTOR RIGHT FROM THESE MANUFACTURERS AND THEY ARE STUCK WITH THEM THROUGH CONTRACTS AND THEY NO ITS A PROBLEM AND WONT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THEY WANT TO BLAME IT ON AIR FLOW WHICH IS NOT TRUE.THE BEST ALTERNATIVE IS REPLACE THE X13 WITH A PSC MOTOR WITH A RELAY AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANYMORE ISSUES

Silly. My eBay bought open-box X13 is now 2 years old and going strong in Tucson heat.