Range hood fan runs backwards

[sreigle]

A week or so ago I dug into our range hood following a discussion about replacing the fan. I discovered why ours never blows the outside hood door open when running. It runs backwards! Looking at the fan you can see the direction it would need to turn to push the air out. But it goes the other way. I reversed the wires on the switch. Still runs backwards. The fan blade unit pulls right off. Turned it over and put it back on but it didn't change anything.

Anybody have an idea how get this fan turning the other way? This is the original fan installed by the hood range manufacturer.

Thanks.

[Montana_2821]

Turn it over?

Or a switch?

If it's an AC circuit then switching the wires won't work, if it was a DC circuit then that should have worked.

[palebluedot]

Steve,
Is the fan motor AC or DC? Reversing the wires would only affect a DC motor as regards direction of rotation. Reversing the wires to the switch would probably have no affect because the switch is probably in series with one side of the circuit, the other side being connected to the opposite side of the motor winding. If it is AC, it is possible that they installed the motor backwards (stator installed into the field with the shaft sticking out the wrong side of the motor. I think i've probably confused my own self LOL.

[Countryfolks]

Steve;

Can you remove the fan/motor assembly and reinstall it backwards?


Eg; |out| motor>>>>fan>> to |out|

[stiles watson]

Not to diminish the seriosness of your problem, but I am sitting here, laughing my fool head off. Of all the things that could be wrong, you win this week's prize.

[Montana_2821]

Yes it is Country. Without seeing the fan I don't know, but it is possible that the whole unit could be removed and turned over.

[Dave e Victoria]

Steve,
If it is an ac motor, it is most likely a "shaded pole" motor. The direction of these motors is determined by a single copper winding around one side of the field magnet. This copper strap is usually visible as it is large gauge copper and is seperate from the normal field winding. If this is the kind of motor, you can take the motor apart, flip the field over and put it back together. This changes the relationship of the field to the rotor and it will now rotate in the other direction.

[Karl]

Steve, I agree with palebluedot. I also have the 3295. You were on the right track since it is a DC motor, however you need to reverse the wires independently of the switch rather than reversing the switch wires since the switch is indeed wired in series.

In my opinion the easiest way would be to go to the fan motor, clip the wires that go into the motor, then reverse them and wirenut them back together.

[sreigle]

Thanks for all the great information. I will dig into this in the near future.

Stiles, I also have to chuckle when I read my own post but when Vicki's cooking something heavy on onions it can get a bit "ripe" in here without some good way to exhaust the odors! Plus moisture from cooking, etc. We recently added a fantastic fan and that effectively exhausts the odors and moisture so it's no longer a big deal other than we do want it to work correctly. Had to chuckle at your comment, though. With all the things that **could** go wrong, I think I'll keep this one.

Another one I have to address this afternoon. We ditched our sofabedfromh*ll (long story) and replaced it with the jackknife sofa that's an option in these rigs. It sat a bit too low so I put some blocks under the legs. But, now, when Vicki goes to exit the couch, it wants to tip over. I am a big fan of marital harmony so this one is on my 'to do' list for this afternoon.

[CountryGuy]

So, where did you get the jackknife sofa?? Dealer?? Not that I need one, since I replaced the sofabedfromh**l with a futon. Just wondering!

Carol

[Karl]

We also replaced our ##$$## Sofa bed... But my son has a high end leather furniture store, so my replacement is a leather loveseat. Cuts down on the room for bottoms just a bit, but very comfortable. And it also gives more space for other things.

[vickir]

Carol, We ordered the new couch through our dealer in KC ... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much money, but I just couldn't take that horrible sofa bed any longer.

Karl, We gave very serious thought to just buying a house-type sofa to replace the sofa bed. But when we weighed the cost of a house-type sofa with the cost of the jackknife couch, it was pretty close. The deciding factor was that the jackknife has storage underneath and the house-type didn't As full-timers, we can always use more storage.

Also, I frequently have trouble sleeping and will lay on the couch to watch a movie and wait for sleep to come ... this jackknife couch is really easy to use and actually pretty comfortable.

[CountryGuy]

Well, I certainly understand the switch! Most of you remember my rantings about the sofacouchfromh**l last spring. And, my oooos, and ahhhhs, about how wonderful my futon sleeps! I had a jackknife in the TT (previous rig) and it was better than the SCFH (abbreviation). My new futon and your new jackknife probably cost close to the same amount of $$, and aren't we happy campers now that we can sleep at night!

The real HUGE bonus of the jackknife and the futon is the fact that when you want to put them into the sleep mode there are no longer sofa pillows all over the rig taking up room!

Congrats Vicki, ENJOY!!

Carol

[sreigle]

If we had a son with a high-end leather furniture store, though, I'd sure be giving Karl's solution some serious thought. Or maybe a nice leather easy chair.

[Montana_657]

Steve... Coachconnect has been down or I would have got back to you sooner. Reverseing the switch wires has no effect whatsoever. Reverse the motor wires.

It's a DC motor... change the hot and the ground lead and you'll be fine. Can't imagine you've gone this long and not noticed.

[Karl]

YUP! Do what Gruffy said, Steve. He said it better than I did. As usual I was too wordy.

[sreigle]

Thanks to both of you. I'll try it when Vicki clears out of the kitchen. She's cooking dinner right now.

As for noticing, I had noticed it doesn't push the door open but always noticed that when I was busy with something else. Therefore, remembering it later requires memory, which is something I seem to be having CRS problems with. For that reason I carry a small notebook and pen in my shirt pocket. Now if I could just remember to use it...

[Karl]

ohhh...that's right.... the CRS thing made you buy another Ford too, didn't it, Steve?

KIDDING

[sreigle]

Meant to say above, Karl, that you're preaching to the "king of wordy".

That must be it, Karl. Can't remember (LOL).