Hi! I’m new here. I’m panicked a bit. We’ve had our attic fan for about 5 or 6 years and it started squealing about a month ago, but quit. (I’m 28 year old female here, no male to help out so, I’m a little unsure of everything) This doesn’t have a belt (I believe it’s called a direct drive shaft fan?) and it is hard wired into the house .. no plug! It started absolutely screaming earlier and scared the beegeezus out of me so I hauled into the attic and found the temperator sensor mounted right next to it, It goes from 50F to 120F. I got a flat head screwdriver and turned it up past 120F (It was set at about 115F and was running all day into this time which was about 9PM EST!)
I noticed if I pressed downwards (Towards the floor) it would shut off as well. I turned it up past 120F and it finally shut off. I haven’t heard it come back on. I’ve googled since then and only found scarce answers (oiling, replacing) but I’m afraid this will cause a fire. I’ll be up all night because of it. Is it a fire hazard?
I will be having to call an electrician out to replace/fix/permanently cut off this fan but won’t be able to do that until Wednesday. We recently had a brand new heat pump (Goodman) put in with new duct work in the crawlspace and new air handler, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. Also, one of the attic vents (One on each side of the house up there) was boarded up per my mother’s instructions when the fan was installed.
So, it’s hard wired, there is a mesh screen around the fan in the roof and it appears to be bent but this is not what is causing the problem, it has a temp sensor that is now turned far past 120F, and I’m lost. And panicked!
Any help would be so greatly appreciated. We have left the attic door open (It is in a closet type area) and then the door to that closet cracked to let air through. This is a split level house if it matters (Three levels minus the attic, technically). There was nothing marked “off” and no switches -anywhere- which really perturbs me greatly. Thanks again!!!
Replies
Don't panic...
it's highly likely that things are O.K.. until the electrician can have a look.
You did everything right, so perhaps you have more home repair aptitude than you think; turning up the thermostat so that the motor stays off is the right move, as is calling a pro to diagnose and repair or replace the unit.
As far as the cause of the noise, it sounds like a bad bearing. The way to check is to disconnect power to the unit and try to move the fan blades by hand. If the fan doesn't move freely, there's something causing friction, and it's probably the motor bearings. Motors these days generally aren't made to be oiled or greased, so the fix is probably a replacement unit. Attic fans (gable vent fans) generally aren't made to be serviced, the fan is probably pressed onto the motor shaft and there's no practical way to replace it in the field.
It could be something causing the fan blades to bind, but that'd make a clattering noise (as in a playing card in the bicycle spokes). Unless the fan is locked up solid. But if that's the case, the circuit breaker would trip (that is, open, cutting off power to the unit) or the motor thermal overload cutoff (if it has one) would cut power to the motor. When the motor cooled down, power might be restored and the racket would resume, or there might be a "reset" button that would have to be pressed to restore power. But my bet is a failing bearing, screaming for help.
One other thing you might check is whether the fan unit is on its own circuit; in a a good installation, it will be. If there's a circuit breaker labelled "attic fan" or similar, you can shut if off and rest totally assured that things are safe until the electrician fixes it.
Cheers,
Cliff
Oh thank you so much for replying so quickly! That is one serious problem we have that I want fixed, none of our circuit breakers are labeled. So if there is ever an issue or one is tripped we have to turn them all off and back on. I am glad that things will be ok, I can rest easy knowing that for at least this evening. I did feel of the backside (motor end) of the fan and it was extremely hot, so I am glad it is turned off. It shouldn't come back on this evening (I am guessing perhaps the blank area between the 120F and 50F is the non-technical "off" position?)
Thank you so much for your help! Bless you! :)
The 120-150 area on the t-stat is....
not really an "off" position; it's just a setting high enough that the temperature will likely be below that point, so the fan will not come on. This depends on how hot things get in your area. Attic temps in central and southern California can get very high in the summer (160 degrees).
If the unit starts squealing again, start shutting off breakers one at a time and find the one that stops the noise. And hope that the fan is the only thing on it. Or, go into the atiic in the early morning and turn the t-stat up to 150.
Cheers,
Cliff
Interesting. I am in Central North Carolina and we have outside temps of 80-90 degrees during the day, and the fan would come on and go off throughout the day, not stay on constantly so I'm guessing it usually stays below 120 degrees, I hope anyway.
Thank you for your help!!
Well, as of 12:30 pm today that attic fan started up, with the T-stat set well above 120F. It's 86 outside so I have no idea what it is in the attic. It's not squeaking right now, but if it does start squeaking I can't do anything about it. We still have to wait until tomorrow to get someone to come fix it. I guess I could open the attic door closet door up a little more to get more air up there, I just hate the idea of it running. It still looks fairly new so I'm hoping if it does get too hot it'll cut off. Sorry guys, woman here worrying herself into a minor frenzy :T
If it's running, start flipping breakers until you find the one it's on.
Paul has a good point.
Perfect time to find out which breaker it is on.
Well, as of 12:30 pm today that attic fan started up, with the T-stat set well above 120F
Welcome to solar energy. Sun heats the shingles which then heat the sheathing with then heats the rafters, all of which radiate heat into the attic. And, the sun shines longer in the summer. So there is more insolation to keep attics hot.
You've discovered one of the major problems with attic fans -- they only last maybe 5 years, and then the fan motor needs replacing.
While there is a theoretical fire danger it's very slight -- the fan has two different overtemp sensors that should shut it off if it overheats, and the current through the thing is theoretically "impedance limited" to where it can't get hot enough to catch fire, even if stalled. (The bigger danger is that the squeal makes you want to kill someone.) It's certainly safe for a week or two (especially after you adjusted the T-stat), but you should get it fixed in a month or two, if only so that you can seal up the attic again.
When you get it serviced, have the guy install a disconnect switch (or a plug and outlet), so that it can be more readily disconnected in the future. In theory this is probably required by code now anyway.
I will have the guy install a disconnect switch or a plug or something. Should I have the other attic vent opened up? I am not sure why Mom boarded it up, but it seems to me that the poor fan would be working much harder with just one vent nearly 20 feet or more away while the other is boarded up tightly and is about 6 feet away...
I will be getting it fixed ASAP. I don't like everything opened like this, it's creepy to begin with. The house was built in 1975 and this is a "closet" leading up into the attic, but with no steps, just a carpet ramp. So we've had our fair share of falling out of the closet, sliding down, losing shoes, nearly breaking our ankles and watching Fire and Rescue cuss about it (when responding to a chimney fire call once) so steps really do need to be installed in there. The door itself is just a very small pop out door with no hinges. Creepy.
Thank you for all of your help. I haven't heard it come on this morning yet but it's to be up to 90F today. We have the closet door cracked open to suck some A/C up there if only for a few days. Hoping this bill isn't too huge from the electrician!!
Thanks again :)
Venting an attic is a bit of an art. The long-term solution is probably to remove the fan and install ridge and eave vents, but how practical that is depends on the design of the roof. Whether opening the other gable vent would be good or bad is hard to say. Opening it all the way would "short circuit" things so that very little air would be drawn through the farther vent, but making a small opening might be appropriate.
Sorry I haven't updated you guys! We've unfortunately not got the money in to call an electrician in yet to fix it, but the temps here lately have been cool, so the fan hasn't been running as much. I have heard it come on during the day but it has not squealed again yet (Needed a vacation I guess?) But still going to get it replaced/fixed/put in a disconnect so this doesn't happen in the future. We opened up the attic door and left the closet door cracked open so it would suck some cool air up there. Kept it off for quite awhile even during the day. It really busts my rear that this thing is doing this because it still looks brand spanking new. I am wondering why the mesh screen around the edge of the blades/inside of the roof is partially bent in. I swear it looks like a bird took a flying dive at it. Not touching the blades, though.
I am looking into seeing if Lowe's will come out and replace it or something, since we have credit with them.. an electrician came out once to replace a simple loose breaker in our box and charged us 180 bucks. Hurt. My wallet and my feelings. :D
Thank you guys for all of your help. Will update as soon as I get something new.
Did you try turning off breakers to find out which one it was on?