Thursday, October 17, 2019

lennox heat pump and mountain valley home comfort

problem: the "fan only" mode in our less-than-two-year-old lennox heat pump stopped working. 

the fan works in the heat and cool modes.

mountain valley home comfort (https://mvhc.net) says that we need a new fan motor. what? the fan works in the heat and cool modes. we ask MVHC questions: 
  • our question: why does the fan motor need to be replaced when it works in the heat and cool modes?
  • MVHC's answer: "your motor is working, but not working properly".
  • our reply: "your motor is working, but not working properly" doesn't answer our question. the problem seems to us more like a signal or wiring problem than a motor problem. please have a technical person knowledgeable of the workings of the heat pump, including control, contact us with an answer to our question.
  • MVHC's answer: "you're right, there may be a signal or wiring problem. the motors come with a module attached to their base that is the "communications/wiring" part of the motor. there is a chance that's where the problem is. I will have the technician call you..."
  • our reply/questions: is the control for the fan motor part of the fan motor itself, or are they two separate parts? if they're not separate parts, then why not? it seems to us that they should be.
  • MVHC did not answer these two questions. also, the promised call from a MVHC technician never came.
MVHC insisted that the fan motor needs to be replaced. we were told earlier by the MVHC service call technician that diagnosed the problem in our home that the fan motor costs somewhere in the vicinity of $1700 (part only). 




$1700 for a fan motor that doesn't last 2 years!?! does this sound fishy to you? yes? us too.


public domain

I'm not an HVAC expert--FAR from it. needless to say, I want the people that I'm paying to be HVAC experts to know more about HVAC than I do. with MVHC, I wonder if that's the case.