Ceiling mounted whole house fan---Washer motor???

[akronman]

Friends moved into a home with a routine ceiling mounted/louvered whole house fan, come spring they turned it on and nothing. So I got into the attic to inspect, and there's NO MOTOR!!! Wiring from the switch is taped off, someone years ago was starting repairs and stopped. I have a spare washer motor from Whirlpool, 1725 and 1140 RPM, should be easy to install, but does anyone know about these fans? Am I going overboard with those RPMS? I have seen other belt driven fans and the motors "look like" washer motors, but I have never inspected one.

Any past experience?

 

[cfz2882]

in the past most of those fans used a "split phase"motor of around 1/4-1/3 hp,1725 rpm belted to the fan-if you can mount it,and direction is correct,that whirlpool motor should do nicely-the low 1140 speed could be used if the fan is loud on high speed.Some of the more recent belt driven fans(~last 25 yrs),use a split capacitor motor-these start up slower but don't dim the lights on startup as much.

 

[yogitunes]

I can take a pic of mine for help if needed Mark.....not that I have replaced the motor yet, but it is a two speed, and even for a swap out, the most you would have to do would change pulleys for keeping within the same speed....and of course make sure it turns in the right direction...

these are great to have......I want to install a smaller one in the master bedroom....for a cool breeze, better than any window or ceiling fan...

the only change I did to mine is put a wider belt on, increases the speed some, this is mounted in my hallway, turns it into a windtunnel...if you have hat on, IT will pull it off your head and up into the attic!

for noise control, these can also be mounted further away from the living space thru ductwork.....

 

[whirlcool]

Usually you only need one fan per household.

We had one when I was growing up and when you opened the windows in each room and then turned the attic fan on you had a pretty strong breeze coming in each window of the entire house. Like the Vornado window fan if you left the attic fan running around 2am you'd have to put a blanket on.

Attic fans are great in areas where you have hot days and cool nights.

 

[akronman]

Thank you

Thanks for advice, I will continue along the lines of thE Whirlpool motor. As far as where the fan is located, it's their house, not mine, so I will gladly isntall a motor and get it working, but it's staying where installed, pretty far from the bedrooms. I'll do some motor bench tests before I install it, I bet I can easily get the correct wires for 2 speeds, give them a choice.

 

[yogitunes]

Normally one is fine...for most...my partner and I love a major breeze thru the house you can feel.....and with proper adjustment of opened windows each room can cool off nicely......it's just the idea of keeping all doors to bedrooms open, so thats why I am thinking a second smaller unit for the master bed/bath....

ApplianceLou has a NuTone kitchen fan mounted near the ceiling in his bathroom.....that has got to be the best fan for a bathroom ever, moves air/moisture quickly, and the mirrors never fog...plus a vent screen thats easy to clean...a regular bathroom fan can never seem to handle the air movement that is needed for these areas...

 

[neptunebob]

I would think a DRYER motor would be more appropriate at about 1/3 horsepower. The one from a washer might turn the house into an wind tunnel and be as loud as an air show.

 

[whirlcool]

Or maybe use a variable power type control on the motor so the owners of the home can vary the fan speed according to the amount of cooling needed? Is this even possible with motors?

 

[cfz2882]

speed control

a triac type varible speed control shouldn't be used with a split phase motor-start winding burnout could occur,but these work good with split capacitor types.

 

[mattl]

I was doing a Google search for my issue and this thread came up so I thought I'd resurrect it.

 

Finally dropped in my Whole house fan, it sits over my attic access - pull it up into the attic for the winter, and have been thinking it would be nice to have a variable speed control for it.  It has a basic 1/3 hp 1725 rpm motor that I know can't be speed controlled, but not adverse to looking for a replacement motor.  Question is what kind of motor should i look for?  Not really interested in 2 or 3 speed, but that might be a cheaper option, I know many people in the past had full range speed controls on their whole house fans, just not sure what is needed.