Thank you for your feedback. I live in Florida so it gets used constantly. I was skeptical of the coil comment by the repairman and didn’t know if he was just trying to sell me a new system since mine is out of warranty.

that he wouldn’t be able to tell if there is anything else wrong as well until the blower was in

I would be concerned if a tech told me I need to spend a least a $1000 so he can then figure out what else needs to be repaired. The motor is expensive, so the cost being quoted is not out of line. But I get the feeling he is not an experienced tech and is pushing you to replace the system.

I believe he Carrier Infinity blower has a control module that could also be causing the problem. I suggest you can a second opinion before spending a lot of money. A 10 year old Carrier Infinity system is not that old. Mine are 11 years old and I would be very upset if I had to replace them.

Mike the system has to be run to check refrigerant, many times I am called to homes I have never been before. If the blower motor is inoperable on *any* system you can not adequately check freon charge. If you run the system without the blower motor, the system will freeze up instantly. It will mimic a system that is low on freon.

You can put gages on to see if freon is in the machine, but that does not tell you it is charged properly let alone if there is a leak. Refrigerant leaks can develop in as little as 1 year.

While most of the time when a system breaks it usually from a single problem. But that isn't always the case. We're not fortune tellers.

If this property was under a service contract with the repair person, he would have a service history. This is primarily the reason you do service contracts... but people like to take this mentality that if it's not broke, don't fix it. Then want to play guessing games when it finally does break.

The difference for you Mike is that yours are run no where near the amount of time the units in Florida are run. (Mike is in New Jersey, all day everyday -- the LLL's of HVAC location, location, location.)

When we moved into the home 2 years ago we had a Freon leak. 6 months ago we had another repair company that came out when the blower motor initially failed. He quoted us $1200 for a new one and installed a used part (not guaranteed) to see if that would buy us some time.

The first lesson in HVAC repair is never pay someone to install used parts.

Was the refrigerant leak repaired or did the repairman just add refrigerant? If you have a known leak and need a new variable speed motor, then you should think about getting a furnace or air handler.

We didn’t pay for the used part, he did it for free. The leak was repaired.

You would expect Evap coil to be rusted...tech examined coil and charge is good?...what is history of your system as far as repairs? The furnace should be good for another 10+ years...I assume blower motor is covered by warranty but not the install. Yes?

TD

tigerdunes, not sure about charge. We have been in the house 2 years, so far refrigerant leak, 6 months ago blower motor was replaced (for free) with a used part now failed again. In Florida there is no way we would get another 10 years out of our system. The system is 10 years + and out of warranty l

If the equipment had been registered by the original owner, then it would have a 10 year parts warranty. I am not sure if the warranty only applies to the original owner. It would have been worth investigating this 2 years ago.

When the AC was working properly, were you getting good humidity control? Do you have the Carrier Infinity thermostat? Do you know what condenser you have? What do you use for heating?

When the blower stopped working 6 months ago, it was out of warranty. When it was working we were getting good humidity control. We do have an Infinity thermostat that told us via an error code in both cases that it was the blower. As far as the heat, it’s a

l one unit?? Model # 25HNA9

Once ownership of the home changes hands the part warranty is reduced to 5 years. So if the OP bought this when the unit was 8 yrs old the warranty was already expired once he took ownership of the home.

I doubt he sold you a used motor, these are variable speed motors / not that common. Plus infinity systems are not that common either. Not to mention proper sizing of the motor etc. / For every infinity system out there --- probably a 1000 lower end systems. High end systems are not that common period. It was 1000 to 1 shot doc. LOL.

Well I re-read that this guy didn't charge you for the motor? Was this a home warranty type deal? How was it that you found this guy to do work for free? Bruce Wayne or Mr. Stark?

Because they are variable speed (electronics in the module attached to the motor) they are susceptible to failure just due to a near by lightning strike or really hard power surge / brown out. 2 year failure is extreme but I've seen it happen very close to that time frame. So I suspect this is the more likely culprit. These motors aren't like the PSC motors of old that could run with nary a problem for 20 years or more. I think they call that progress or something? LOL. I call it job security. (That said, furnaces are no longer made with PSC motors... so you won't find one if you want one.)

These kinds of motors rarely last 8 years. Average life is about 3-5 years. I replaced one early this year that was 8 years old on a furnace I installed myself. I also replaced one in my home that was 8 yrs old at time of failure back here maybe 2015 or so. It is rare for them to last that long though.

Just because the Evap coil has rust on it doesn't mean it's leaking... yet. It could be. Rust is more or less an indicator of use / age. Florida is a heavy use AC climate similar to my area.

You might be able to get a few more years out of it, but you'll have to keep repairing it to find out. Which is a double edge sword when it comes to high end AC systems of yesteryear / part prices aren't cheap. The manufacturer knows they can charge whatever they want you only have one place to go. Either that or replace the system.

Unless you call this freebie guy back? Let me guess his number doesn't work any longer.

You have an Carrier Infinity thermostat, heat pump, and air handler. A very nice system assuming it was installed and sized properly. You have one of the best systems for humidity control which is something nice to have in Florida.

You could replace the variable speed motor or the control module if you only plan to live in this house less than 5 years. If you do so, then I recommend hiring someone who you can trust to do the repair properly. If you plan to live in this house a long time, then replace the air handler. You can consider another Infinity model, or step down to the Carrier Performance model. I think a Performance model with be compatible with the thermostat and heat pump. It might require an interface module. Get quotes from a Carrier dealer on a few options.