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Thread: High efficiency furnaces noisy fans

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    Default High efficiency furnaces noisy fans

    Had 3 30yr old Carrier furnaces. The heat exchanger cracked on two of them and I got suckered in to replacing them with new Lennox high efficiency furnaces rather than try to repair.

    Now when the furnaces turn on there's an irritating low pitched whine coming from all of their fans that you can hear all over the house. The installation company has been back several times and tried doing a few things like lowering the fan speeds, but on the 3rd call gave up and said it's normal because today's units use much bigger fans so you're going to hear them running and to just live with it.

    Such bullshit that a 30yr old furnace is basically quiet when running and new ones are noisy pieces of shit - are there any brands that are whisper quiet when running, or upgraded fans or something to make it quiet? I'd happily pay to rip these POS out and put new units in if I could find a quiet one (but I don't think you can go to the store and ask for furnance demos of various brands???)
    Last edited by M.alex; 10-24-2022 at 12:51 PM.
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    I think I've heard people say that the fans running on DC motors are quieter.

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    Is it just for a second at startup? Or constantly?

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Is it just for a second at startup? Or constantly?
    whenever the furnace is running. Like a constant 'weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' that gets louder (higher pitched) as the unit ramps up (Lennox 296 variable speed), and immediately stops when the furance stops running.

    all 3 make the same noise when they're running.

    when I look up reviews of the unit everybody either gives it 5 stars and says they love it, or 1 star and says they hear a low pitched noise that drives them crazy when it's running.

    i'm happy to pay $20k to rip out brand new furnaces and replace them for my sanity, but i have no idea how to view furnace demonstrations to see if all furnaces do this today or not.

    my basement is undeveloped so they just sit in the middle of it .... perhaps all high efficiecny furances do this and they expect them to be put in an isolate room in the basement that is sound deadened???
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    It's just part of the new normal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by suntan View Post
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    It's just part of the new normal.
    I hope not, this is god aweful irritating.
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    We have a Carrier Infinity 96 and I never get that. Couldn't tell you if that's a shit furnace or a great one but seems to do the job.

    The ducting on our second story dings and pops though which is fucking annoying. Basement and main floor are fine, 2 floor it's like a gnome is in the wall flicking the ducting every so often. I assume expansions/contractions and I don't know how you fix that.
    Last edited by msommers; 10-24-2022 at 02:07 PM.
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    I bet a major nerd could figure out how to isolate and dampen portions of the ducts to mitigate this noise for way less than the cost of new furnaces. Don't call Wood (Beta Machinery) for help with this if you're looking for said nerd.

    This sounds like your place is going to turn into The Shining.

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    Quote Originally Posted by msommers View Post
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    We have a Carrier Infinity 96 and I never get that. Couldn't tell you if that's a shit furnace or a great one but seems to do the job.

    The ducting on our second story dings and pops though which is fucking annoying. Basement and main floor are fine, 2 floor it's like a gnome is in the wall flicking the ducting every so often. I assume expansions/contractions and I don't know how you fix that.
    Look into Aeroseal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by suntan View Post
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    It's just part of the new normal.
    My furnace wears a mask, super quiet.

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    We got two new Carrier Performance furnaces and they dont have any whine.

    When we were shopping around JPS were selling furnaces which they said were the quietest you can get (they have them set up in their showroom so you can hear for yourself). We didn't go with them though as the reps who came to our house couldn't actually answer any questions. They also dont do any of the ductwork, just install the furnace, and we needed everything done.

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    Quote Originally Posted by msommers View Post
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    We have a Carrier Infinity 96 and I never get that. Couldn't tell you if that's a shit furnace or a great one but seems to do the job.

    The ducting on our second story dings and pops though which is fucking annoying. Basement and main floor are fine, 2 floor it's like a gnome is in the wall flicking the ducting every so often. I assume expansions/contractions and I don't know how you fix that.
    That's called "oil canning" and you can fix it but being that it's your 2nd floor ducting it's probably not worth the hassle to rip up flooring and or the main floor ceiling.

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    This was happening on our new build and they discovered that the furnace wasn't 100% sealed causing a low pitched whistle...they fixed it and now its all good.

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    Can you hear the noise when you're at the source (fans) or just hear it from the vents and returns?
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    Quote Originally Posted by ????? View Post
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    Can you hear the noise when you're at the source (fans) or just hear it from the vents and returns?
    Returns are quiet; vents are making the noise. I think the furnace is also making the noise but I can't tell for certain when I'm right on top of it

    However, what i found is that if I remove the filter and leave the front furnace door open (which exposes the wires, etc.) the noise is like 99% reduced. If you strain you can still make some resonance out, but just barely.

    Maybe it's not a furnace issue but some type of ducting/air-flow issue? Not enough/too much air based on existing duct sizing?
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    Maybe put in a cheaper filter?

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    +1. Our home inspector mentioned that all the really thick (expensive) furnace filters end up choking your furnace making it work harder. Their advice was to get a cheapie filter and if you really need the filtration get a proper air filter.
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    Quote Originally Posted by M.alex View Post
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    Not enough/too much air based on existing duct sizing?
    Just dealt with this issue after I had a new 96% efficiency Goodman put in last month; the old furnace had an annoying harmonic resonance that could be heard in some parts of the house but now it's gone.

    However, the ducts are much noisier due to the greatly increased air flow and then, after a few weeks, it stopped working.

    The guy suspected everything from critters in the vent to pressure switch and high limit switch but ended up replacing the inducer motor and advised me to use the cheapest filters.

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    You guys need the furnace filters mega thread.
    https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/411253-Furnace-Filter-MEGA-THREAD

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    My mid-efficiency furnace also gets weird harmonic noises occasionally that is equal throughout the house. It is 100% the metal louvres in my return air grills. Sometimes they start humming and need to be bent a little or pulled out if the kids have hit them with something.

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