why is Lennox blower motor special?

I got this Lennox air handler (CB26UH036R2301) 2006 model (heat pump). the motor is not working properly.

One tech said it needs to use OEM motor because has different speed and draws 2.0 amps (instead of 1.7 ams).

another tech said that universal motor will just work. and it is not supposed to draw 2.0 amps which is indicative of defect motor.

why is Lennox so special?
can you guys comment?

 

I am a big fan of OEM motors.

Did you ask the second tech if he will come back and replace the universal motor with an OEM motor on his dime if it drops out on high amperage?

The most that you should be obligated to pay is the difference in price between the universal motor and the OEM. It is a bad gamble for the installer with a lower FLA rating. Your gamble is lack of operation for a night or weekend and possibly a shorter motor life.

 

Well, the second tech did the repair. He first insists universal one would work. then he called me up later and said OEM motor was required (I wasn't present when he did the repair as house is rented) and raised my charge by $150.00.
when the repair was done, I requested S/N# for the motor on the receipt. Instead, he shot me a picture of my original air handler with the S/N#. I have a record of my air handler S/N#.

I found this is really odd that he didn't provide me with the motor's S/N#. Instead, it's a picture of my air handler with old S/N#.

shouldn't motor itself also have an S/N#? I'm a bit confused and wonder if he even replaced my motor with OEM motor.

Because of this, I called local Lennox parts plus stores and gave them model of my air handler. they said no store in Metroplex (DFW) has that type of motor on stock and they had to order and ship from some place else. It's either a big coincidence that my tech bought the last one or there are other type of Lennox local stores. Or he didn't install OEM motor for me.

Anyway, it cost me $600.00 for that motor thing which I don't even know if I got the OEM.

He did include 1 year warranty. so he will have to fix it if it break within one year.

 

Once a motor is installed you can't read the tag.
The guy already had to do the job twice. A third time would be frustrating.
I don't think that I have ever listed a motor serial number on an invoice either.

 

thanks for the quick reply. what you said makes sense. can you let me know if the receipt from OEM parts store don't even include S/N# for motors? He had to go and buy the part because his own truck doesn't have the OEM motor. I'd think his receipt from the store would have S/N#. Even he doesn't want to show me the part cost, he could just write the S/N to my receipt.
that's what I was confused about.

 

After doing this for 23 years you might think that I should know, but I don't think so. I can see an ECM motor listing a serial number but I am less certain that a standard PSC motor would have a serial number listed on the invoice.

You got me curious so I went out and grabbed an AO Smith blower motor box. I see the serial number on the motor but not on the box.

Perhaps someone that sells more Lennox parts than I do can chime in on Lennox invoice data...