Any HVAC Techs or Electric Motor Gurus Here?

[boatboy63]

I just bought a used squirrel cage blower that I want to use to distribute heat from a wood stove to other rooms of the house thru ducts. Problem is, I can't find any sort of wiring info on it. Did pull the motor loose and have info from it, but no sort of wiring diagram. Can't find it on net either.

Emerson motor model K55HXFBM-1124
Part # 51-21764-01

I know it is 230v 2 spd and it has 4 wires. They are black, brown, red and orange. I also found where it is supposed to have a running capacitor (5mfd, 370v) but it doesn't have it so I will have to get it.

Can someone help me out with wiring info? TIA.

 

[benjamin]

My blower is black=high blue=medium red=low yellow=common and the browns go to the capacitor.

I'd guess black is high, red is low orange is common and two browns go to the capacitor, but you say you have four wires so I'd take another look at the motor and see if it says anything like blk-H r-L etc. It should run without the capacitor, but it will use less power with it.

 

[semipro]

You didn't ask but FYI:

You'll probably need to restrict the inlet(s) on that blower to keep it from over-amping/overheating. These are centrifugal fans and are designed to work with a certain amount of backpressure or restriction. If you run them in free air they will usually pull too much air and put too much load on the motor. I usually use a clamp on amp meter and compare that to the ratings on the motor.

 

[boatboy63]

There isn't anything at all on motor showing wiring or even mentioning colors. I did pick up a capacitor today and asked the guy at the parts counter. I even took the motor in and he was surprised by the colors. He got another guy over and was surprised too. One of them even pulled a similar new motor off the shelf, opened it up, and looked at the diagram. Since the colors were different, it was apples and oranges. Have a commercial HVAC guy coming out to work on a unit at work tomorrow and I will be with him. I will see if he can figure it out.

As for the motor over speeding, I have that covered. I am going to be running a duct at the ceiling about 10' away from Buckstove. This duct will be about 15' long and will be connected to this blower in room where furnace is. My furnace is a downdraft with all ducting going under the house. I am going to be running new ductwork at ceiling level throughout the house and installing a drop ceiling. I plan to eventually "flip" the furnace since it is reversable and connect it to the new ducting after heating season. Until the furnace is flipped, I will connect the input side of this blower to the 15' side of the ducting ending at stove and connect the output side to the new ducting. I will still be able to use existing furnace and ductwork together for now and use the blower to supply to new ducting. The existing ductwork is under the house and missing insulation which causes the air to be very cold for the first few minutes. The old ducting is also in areas that are very hard to get to and I think about 1/3 of the air is leaking out under house. It will be easier and more assuring to have my ducting inside the house. I am building an outdoor gassifier and was hoping to be finished in time for this winter. So far, work and other issues have slowed me down and I don't think I will be finished before the cold arrives.

 

[mrfjsf]

Black will def be High and your browns will be for your capacitor. Im not sure about the red and orange. What I do know is that ive never seen red as a common so im guessing orange=common and red=low speed. That motor will need a cap to run. Otherwise, it will sit there and just hum or run slow and burn out the windings. Make sure to match the microfarads. The voltage rating on the cap can be higher, just not lower than the voltage rating on the motor.

 

[boatboy63]

Black will def be High and your browns will be for your capacitor. Im not sure about the red and orange. What I do know is that ive never seen red as a common so im guessing orange=common and red=low speed.

That's just it. There is only 1 brown, 1 black, 1 orange and 1 red.