Monitor 441 Noise Issues

[Belmont]

Hello,
I've owned my monitor 441 since 1997 when i purchased it new. I recently
decided to put new bearings in the combustion blower motor because of
a jet engine like sound.
Installing the new bearings seemed to quieten the noise somewhat, but i still
have a sort of intermittent, high pitch sound, coming from the motor area.
This is the item number on ebay 261627493737.
At first i thought this was a factory kit but the more i looked, it seems to be a made up kit.
The bearings were skf and the loctite was of the blue type.
The factory bearings i removed were nmb 608z made in tailand.
Now i'm wondering if the bearings were a high enough speed rating ,any help would be
much appreciated. Thanks!!

[hawkins111]

Just looking at the EBAY picture of the bearings tells me they are not shielded bearings. An NMB 608Z bearing has a metal shield that keeps dirt out of the bearing. Any bearing I have purchased from Monitor in the past had a metal shield. I will say however, every once in a while a rebuilt motor will give off a whine and you have to start over. It's a PITA to have to do over, but I think if you get a Timken or NMB shielded bearing you will be better off. Be sure the metal spacers or washers are in the well. It has been a while since I rebuilt a Monitor motor so I can't remember the correct order for the spacers. Tom

[Belmont]

Just looking at the EBAY picture of the bearings tells me they are not shielded bearings. An NMB 608Z bearing has a metal shield that keeps dirt out of the bearing. Any bearing I have purchased from Monitor in the past had a metal shield. I will say however, every once in a while a rebuilt motor will give off a whine and you have to start over. It's a PITA to have to do over, but I think if you get a Timken or NMB shielded bearing you will be better off. Be sure the metal spacers or washers are in the well. It has been a while since I rebuilt a Monitor motor so I can't remember the correct order for the spacers. Tom

The skf bearings have black rubber or plastic shields while the nmb bearings had metal shields.The instruction sheet that came with the kit says the one pressure washer goes in the back half of the housing where the wires come out.The appliance store that sold me the monitor still carries some monitor parts and the bearing kit is $32.50 there.The store is 15 miles away from where i live and i don't drive very much anymore which is why i ordered the kit from ebay for $19.00 shipped.Maybe i should have gotten the bearings at the store.Also in case anybodys intrested the name of the store is Brannock & Hiatt Furnature 420 N Main Street Mount Airy, NC 27030 Phone 336-786-8659 not sure if they ship or not. Thanks!

[hawkins111]

My relatives are from Sandy Ridge, NC.

Tom Hawkins

[Belmont]

My relatives are from Sandy Ridge, NC.

Tom Hawkins

My sister and brother in law live in Madison NC which is close to Sandy Ridge and i live in Dobson NC.I think i just might try to live with the the noise untill warm weather because my heater has other issues too. For instance i've never been able to keep the glass from sooting up even when the the heater was new.The pipe has always been free of debris because i cover it up in the summer.Although i've never had an error code i have had air get in the fuel line a few times but all it took was pushing the lever on the bottom right of the heater to fix this.I did have the burn chamber rebuilt once in 2008 for $233.25 but the guy neglected to clean the glass at the time.

[hawkins111]

You can reduce the time between overhaul by using the Economy Plus feature if you can stand the 12 degree swing in temp. Before I started using Economy Plus I had to service the burner every three years. Using the Economy Plus the heater will go 6 or more years before the ring warps. Hickory Home and Garden in Hickory NC has a fair inventory of Monitor parts as well and they will mail out. Tom

[Belmont]

You can reduce the time between overhaul by using the Economy Plus feature if you can stand the 12 degree swing in temp. Before I started using Economy Plus I had to service the burner every three years. Using the Economy Plus the heater will go 6 or more years before the ring warps. Hickory Home and Garden in Hickory NC has a fair inventory of Monitor parts as well and they will mail out. Tom

I would probably have to set the heater on about 58 or 60 to stand the 12 degree swing, we don't like it too hot.That might be causing my sooting problem, i've always ran the heater on 62 or 64 when we are sleeping and 66 or 68 when we are up.Occasionally we will turn it up while we are sitting around watching TV or have company.I've never used more than 200 gallons of oil in a season in our 14'x56' mobile home.

[Bryand]

Had the same issue with the non metal shielded bearings. I now buy them in bulk off ebay but have one dealer I get them from. you can buy the 608z in a abcef7 which is a higher grade bearing at a good price. you can also use finger nail polish insead of the lock tite due to the price of lock tite. Most of the bearing fit extremely tight any way.

[Belmont]

Had the same issue with the non metal shielded bearings. I now buy them in bulk off ebay but have one dealer I get them from. you can buy the 608z in a abcef7 which is a higher grade bearing at a good price. you can also use finger nail polish insead of the lock tite due to the price of lock tite. Most of the bearing fit extremely tight any way.

Can you post the ebay item number of the bearings you use?

[akaothermick]

Just put in 608ZZ in the eBay search, lowest price to high, 608ZZ bearings are the same used in roller blades and inline skates, extremely common type, go for the highest ABEC number you can find, equals higher precision bearing. scary just how inexpensive these bearings are compared to buying from a monitor dealer.

[Bryand]

Can you post the ebay item number of the bearings you use?

Here is the item number 281574199236 and this is the guy I always buy from but I buy them 16 at a time. Send me your address and i can send you 2. I am not that far from you live about 15 miles from Grandfather Mountain.