Brink MVHR bearing replacement - bearing size?

[jack]

The fans on my 9 year old Brink Excellent 400 have been slowly getting noisier, so I'm going to replace them.

 

Our unit is installed in such a way that it's going to be a complete bear to get to the motors so I can replace the bearings. I'd therefore like to order the bearings before I take the unit apart, so I can do the whole job on the same day.

 

Does anyone happen to know what size and number of bearings Brink uses on these units? I could contact Brink, but I expect they're closed until the new year, and I can't find anything about it online.

 

@Nickfromwales, is this something you've encountered?

 

Thanks.

[dpmiller]

are the fans unique or generic? See if you can get an info off photos of spare fans and you might be able to scare up videos of someone having done it before.

[Nickfromwales]

On 29/12/2024 at 12:34, jack said:

The fans on my 9 year old Brink Excellent 400 have been slowly getting noisier, so I'm going to replace them.

 

Our unit is installed in such a way that it's going to be a complete bear to get to the motors so I can replace the bearings. I'd therefore like to order the bearings before I take the unit apart, so I can do the whole job on the same day.

 

Does anyone happen to know what size and number of bearings Brink uses on these units? I could contact Brink, but I expect they're closed until the new year, and I can't find anything about it online.

 

@Nickfromwales, is this something you've encountered?

 

Thanks.

I can make some enquiries if you can hold until normality returns? First week back will be chaos for everyone, but I may be able to sort something for you. 

[jack]

22 hours ago, dpmiller said:

are the fans unique or generic? See if you can get an info off photos of spare fans and you might be able to scare up videos of someone having done it before.

 

I've figured out the motor (EBM Pabst R3G190-RG19-22 (previously R3G190-RC05-09)), but can't find out anything about the bearings. It seems Brink would prefer you buy a new motor for several hundred quid rather than replace the bearings.

 

1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said:

I can make some enquiries if you can hold until normality returns? First week back will be chaos for everyone, but I may be able to sort something for you. 

 

Thanks Nick. I've shot off emails to EBM Pabst and the UK supplier, but am not particularly expecting a positive reply (if any) before the new year anyway. If you know someone who could give you the necessary info, that'd be great. There's no particular rush, thanks!

[dpmiller]

 

608s?

[jack]

Thanks for that.

 

I did find that (and a few other similar videos) yesterday, but it has a different motor. I suspect most of them use the same bearings but I'd rather not risk it!

[joe90]

Can you not take the bearing out and go to a bearing supplier for a replacement, I have done this on motorbikes etc when not sure what bearing to order. 

[Iceverge]

Did ours recently.

 

Watched that video too. A small circle pliers would have been nice to have had as the blighters have a habit of bouncing to the far side of the room when fiddling them off with a screwdriver. 

 

Here's the fans and the bearings I used. 

 

[Iceverge]

 

That's the original bearing. It was a 608Z but I couldn't find any easily online from a reputable supplier so I opted for 608zz instead. I think it's the same thing other than sealed on both sides. It fitted and is working fine anyways. 

[jack]

13 hours ago, joe90 said:

Can you not take the bearing out and go to a bearing supplier for a replacement, I have done this on motorbikes etc when not sure what bearing to order. 

 

I'd do that with something like a plumbing component that I can get locally, but I have no idea what sort of bearing supply places are near me. Seemed just as easy to start by seeing whether anyone else had dealt with the issue given that I know quite a few people have these Brink units installed.

[ProDave]

I did a bearing replacement on my ASHP fan.  I did not want it to be out of action long, so I took the motor apart, measured the bearing and put it back again while I ordered one.

 

In my case it was impossible to measure the shaft diameter without pulling the old bearing so I made the best measurement I could and ordered two, and one of them was right.

 

I might suggest if you can't get one locally, you wait until summer when you can shut it down, leave a few windows slightly open then dismantle the motor, measure and order the bearings, and then order one with no hurry to re fit it until the new bearing arrives.  

[jack]

Thanks @ProDave

 

Is there a reason you took your own measurements rather than contacting the MVHR or motor supplier and asking them for the bearing specs? 

[ProDave]

3 minutes ago, jack said:

Thanks @ProDave

 

Is there a reason you took your own measurements rather than contacting the MVHR or motor supplier and asking them for the bearing specs? 

The fan motor in most ASHP's is considered a non servicable item and the only option from the manufacturer is a new fan motor, list price about £400  they are a variable speed motor with the control electronics built in.

 

In my case, I found it was possible to remove the front plate, pull the armature out and gain access to the 2 bearings, so it cost £5 to fix mine.

 

A neighbour had a fan failure, his was an electronic failure and in these fan motors the electronics are potted into the plastic housing.  I did not even manage to get the front plate off his to get to the bearings even.  We found a "new old stock" replacement motor for his on ebay for £200

[joe90]

One wheel bearing for a BMW Motor bike I had was over a hundred pounds from the BMW dealer, the same bearing from the manufacturers was about £30 (SKF) and there are many on line bearing suppliers.

[jack]

7 hours ago, ProDave said:

The fan motor in most ASHP's is considered a non servicable item and the only option from the manufacturer is a new fan motor, list price about £400  they are a variable speed motor with the control electronics built in.

 

Sure, MVHR manufacturers see it that way. But many MVHR units (at least those from Brink and Paul) use similar EBM Pabst motors that are certainly serviceable based on the many reports of people replacing bearings in them.

 

I don't know much about bearings, so I'd be concerned about whether non-dimensional parameters such as loads, duty cycle, or tolerances might be relevant.

 

I'd therefore much rather get the right spec (if it's available) than estimate based solely on measurements.

 

I think I'm going to start a pinned thread pulling together bearing information for different MVHR models that people have encountered. Might be a useful resource given these things inevitably fail and are much cheaper to replace than the motor as a whole.

[jack]

7 hours ago, joe90 said:

One wheel bearing for a BMW Motor bike I had was over a hundred pounds from the BMW dealer, the same bearing from the manufacturers was about £30 (SKF) and there are many on line bearing suppliers.

 

Yeah, with the full spec sheet, it's easy enough to find the right bearing from whatever manufacturer. From what I've read, it's worth spending a bit more on SKF branded bearings (still only a tenner a pair - enough for a single motor).