The Celiera ductless mini split I installed in 2006 has performed flawlessly until yesterday. No cold air. I checked the outdoor unit and the fan was not turning. Closer inspection revealed it was humming so I give it a spin and it spun a few seconds. Hmmm. I turned off the power and shot a little W-40 where the fan shaft exited the bearing. That helped so I added some spray oil and worked the fan back and forth. Fired 'er up and it works fine.
Of course I can’t leave it like that. I checked online and couldn’t come up with an exact replacement motor. The Celiera website lists it but no longer available. And it was $165 anyway. It’s a pretty simple mount so anything that fits the fan shaft could be made to fit but all I can come up with is 220v motors and mine is 120v.
Today is Saturday but Air Rite is open until noon. That’s the good local HVAC supply place. Alas they could not match it either as they service mostly larger commercial mini splits. Drat.
However - when I pulled the motor I noticed it was not a crimped and sealed throw away motor. It was a bolted split case so I took it apart. Yay, standard ball bearings with the specs easily read. 608Z is what I need, but it is Saturday so bearing houses are closed. But as I searched online for 608Z I noticed it was also sold as a skateboard wheel bearing. Cowabunga, Dude!
A quick run to West Side Skateboard in Lakewood paid off. The young lady had an opened box (they come in sets of 8). Two bearings - four bucks. I cleaned the coils since I had it apart and we’re good for another 17 years.