There are no centrifugal blower repair shops in the US that are in business solely to repair blowers, at least not that I am aware of. There are not enough blower repairs to keep a shop busy. So it is a part time business, even for the manufacturers. Repairing PD blowers and maybe vacuum pumps could supplement, as well as selling new centrifugals and PD's. So all centrifugal blower repairs are being done by technicians who are hired and trained to do something else.

 

Your best option is usually to have the manufacturer repair the blower. They have the sales and engineering staff to identify/support any "special" modifications that might have been used in the original manufacture of your blower. The down side is you will pay dearly for the "factory trained" tech to work on your equipment. OEM's generally have the most expensive repair, because, let's face it, they want to sell you a new blower, not repair your old one. They only do repairs because you will take the blower to someone else, resulting in lost sales.

 

However, not all manufacturers have qualified technicians. The manufacturers can, and do, make mistakes in the repair/re-assembly of their own equipment. Some manufacturers have established "authorized repair centers" in many states for the sole purpose of helping their customers. As a national Service Manager many years ago, that was one of my pet peeves. Every customer should have a "local" shop they could count on for service and parts for their centrifugal blowers. With some factory training, these shops were in many ways better than the factory.

 

But all blower repair shops are in business to do something else, which is usually sales and service to motors & pumps, or other equipment. They are only as good as the technicians who do the work. There are many self-taught, or former factory techs, who do superb work. If a shop has been in business for a long time(+25 years), they may have established blower training programs for new mechanics. Finding a shop like this can be very difficult, but if you do, you'll obtain better all-around service.

 

One thing to remember about your blower is it was manufactured specifically for your application. It was built to a specific set of parameters involving pressure, volume, elevation & temperature. There may be a blower that looks like yours, but you can't be sure it has the same identical properties without a performance curve. There are many numerous other options a blower may have that might make it different than another blower. The technician needs to be able to identify these manufacturing differences--hence, the qualified technician.

 

As I've stated above, only the manufacturer knows what that special change is that was added to a particular blower. Having a close relationship with the blower manufacturer is required to identify that modification. Not all blower repair shops have, or use, qualified personnel and parts. Be sure to select a qualified repair shop. It will save you money!

 

Copyright © 2015   Snyder Technical Services, LLC.  All Rights Reserved

Maintenance Minute is published each month by Snyder Technical Services, LLC and is based on the work of former Lamson National Service Manager, Bill Snyder.   Should you have any questions, or problems to discuss, please contact me.

Sincerely,