Are these two stove fans compatible?
December 22, 2018 9:03 AM Subscribe
The convection fan on my 15 (?) year old Maytag Gemini oven has stopped working. I can not find a replacement specifically for my stove but I found one that looks exactly like it, has the screw holes in the same place, and is basically a carbon copy. However, the amps marked on the motor are not the same.
Here is a picture of both fans. The old one is dirtier, the new one is cleaner.
As you can see, they look exactly alike other than the connectors, which I can deal with. The motors are the same, the fans are the same, everything is the same about these two.
Both motors are marked 120v, 60hz. However, the new fan motor says 20A, while the old one says 66A. The model numbers on both motors are the same, 67B2.
The range is on a 50 Amp circuit.
What does the amperage rating on these motors mean? Is that how many amps they can handle before they go kablooey? If so, it would seem the new motor can't handle as much and might be unsafe.
However, I'm sure the fan is controlled by a relay or circuit board or something so that more than 20A would never go through it.
I'm pretty safety conscious, especially when it comes to not burning down my house, but given that I can't see any differences in these two parts, and everything I need to see is visible, I'm inclined to use it.
I could possibly disassemble both and use the old motor with the new fan, but I don't think that will solve my problem.
I'd appreciate factual information that will assure me I'll be ok, or that will convince me to not use this fan. I am not looking for people to vote on whether or not I should use this fan.
Thanks!
Here is a picture of both fans. The old one is dirtier, the new one is cleaner.
As you can see, they look exactly alike other than the connectors, which I can deal with. The motors are the same, the fans are the same, everything is the same about these two.
Both motors are marked 120v, 60hz. However, the new fan motor says 20A, while the old one says 66A. The model numbers on both motors are the same, 67B2.
The range is on a 50 Amp circuit.
What does the amperage rating on these motors mean? Is that how many amps they can handle before they go kablooey? If so, it would seem the new motor can't handle as much and might be unsafe.
However, I'm sure the fan is controlled by a relay or circuit board or something so that more than 20A would never go through it.
I'm pretty safety conscious, especially when it comes to not burning down my house, but given that I can't see any differences in these two parts, and everything I need to see is visible, I'm inclined to use it.
I could possibly disassemble both and use the old motor with the new fan, but I don't think that will solve my problem.
I'd appreciate factual information that will assure me I'll be ok, or that will convince me to not use this fan. I am not looking for people to vote on whether or not I should use this fan.
Thanks!
I am guessing it's .20 and .66A, or 20 watts and 66 watts. Nothing draws 66 amps except a welder or something ridiculous. See if you can fix the pic link--it's broken for me too.
posted by Slinga at 9:18 AM on December 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Slinga at 9:18 AM on December 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Sorry, here is the correct link. Mods?
posted by bondcliff at 9:18 AM on December 22, 2018
posted by bondcliff at 9:18 AM on December 22, 2018
Response by poster: I am guessing it's .20 and .66A
You're absolutely right. My bad.
posted by bondcliff at 9:20 AM on December 22, 2018
You're absolutely right. My bad.
posted by bondcliff at 9:20 AM on December 22, 2018
Best answer: Yep, this sounds fine. If the old fan was made 15 years ago, the difference in current is probably due to the new fan being more efficient.
What would be riskier would be swapping in the other direction. You'd have to check that all the wiring feeding into the fan was good for the higher current. (Which it probably is, considering we're talking about 0.2A vs 0.66A.)
By the way, as a way to get more intuition for these numbers, consider that power in watts is current in amps times voltage in volts. (Let's pretend these are all DC circuits.) And that 800W is 1 hp. So a 66A fan motor would be turning a fan that needs a team of ten horses.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 9:43 AM on December 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
What would be riskier would be swapping in the other direction. You'd have to check that all the wiring feeding into the fan was good for the higher current. (Which it probably is, considering we're talking about 0.2A vs 0.66A.)
By the way, as a way to get more intuition for these numbers, consider that power in watts is current in amps times voltage in volts. (Let's pretend these are all DC circuits.) And that 800W is 1 hp. So a 66A fan motor would be turning a fan that needs a team of ten horses.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 9:43 AM on December 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The pictures show the motor, but don't show the impeller (the fan part). Are you going to reuse the old impeller?
1. If you are reusing the old impeller, that is a large difference in load capacity. Like 3 times as much. It seems like it should overload the motor. A relay does not limit the current.
2. If the fan comes with its own new impeller, the motor is designed for that load, but may put out less air.
Things that could be different are RPM and rotation direction.
Since the part numbers are the same, and especially in case 2, I'd say go for it. It will probably work.
posted by H21 at 9:47 AM on December 22, 2018
1. If you are reusing the old impeller, that is a large difference in load capacity. Like 3 times as much. It seems like it should overload the motor. A relay does not limit the current.
2. If the fan comes with its own new impeller, the motor is designed for that load, but may put out less air.
Things that could be different are RPM and rotation direction.
Since the part numbers are the same, and especially in case 2, I'd say go for it. It will probably work.
posted by H21 at 9:47 AM on December 22, 2018
Response by poster: The motor and impeller are exactly the same. Size, shape, everything. Identical.
It’s looking like consensus is that I’m fine. I do have to get some high temperature wire connectors but once I have those I’ll swap it out and all will be right in the world. Or at least my oven.
posted by bondcliff at 9:53 AM on December 22, 2018
It’s looking like consensus is that I’m fine. I do have to get some high temperature wire connectors but once I have those I’ll swap it out and all will be right in the world. Or at least my oven.
posted by bondcliff at 9:53 AM on December 22, 2018
It's probably a failure of lubrication. That little hole on the back of the assembly which holds the shaft of the rotor is an oil port, and there might be something similar in front.
I'd want advice from Maytag about which oil to use, and they might sell you some, but I'd try that first because even though you have the new fan in hand, in my experience, connector problems are hard.
posted by jamjam at 9:57 AM on December 22, 2018
I'd want advice from Maytag about which oil to use, and they might sell you some, but I'd try that first because even though you have the new fan in hand, in my experience, connector problems are hard.
posted by jamjam at 9:57 AM on December 22, 2018
Response by poster: The new fan works beautifully. Nice and quiet. A bit of a tight install, I basically had to stick myself inside my oven, but it was just a few screws and splicing the wires into the twist connectors.
Thanks, all!
posted by bondcliff at 1:06 PM on January 21, 2019
Thanks, all!
posted by bondcliff at 1:06 PM on January 21, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'm also very surprised to hear that something at 120V would have been marked as drawing 66A- that sounds like a mistake/typo. Very few things in a residential setting would be rated that high, and certainly not a fan.
20A sounds like a fairly power-hungry but more normal fan. Range circuits are almost always 50A so 66A would be popping the breaker if it actually drew that. Most of what needs the 50A is for is the heater.
posted by twoplussix at 9:17 AM on December 22, 2018 [3 favorites]