Is the attic fan motor supposed to be hot?

Answer 1

What are you doing in the attic in the SUMMERTIME?? Wow. my poor old neighbor went into the attic this summer and was cooked like a roast....he fell apart as they tried to pick him up...BE careful ....and all electric motors fell hot to the touch EXCEPT magnet motors( no friction) and last 7 times as long as the reg.motors.

Answer 2

All motors get "hot." The question is how hot is hot. If it smells of burnt something or other when you shut it off and get your nose in the area, it's too hot. Another measure is can you put your hand on it. If your hand is tender, if you can leave it on the motor for 2 or 3 seconds it's probably OK. (If you hand is semi-tough like mine, you should be able to leave it on the motor for 6 or 8 or ten seconds.

Answer 3

It depends. Most large motors 1/2 HP and over have thermal overload protection so it should be fine, unless the switch is broken.
You can check the motor's temperature with a probe-type meat thermometer. You'll get the best results by
sticking it into one of the vent holes and waiting about 2 minutes. A safe temperature for most motors is about 150F to 175F, some are designed to run hot, especially universal motors (extremely unlikely that you have one) that average 200F to 230F.
If your motor is running too hot, it may need to be cleaned out (attempt only if you are good with motors) or you may need to adjust the belt tension (if belt driven)-see my answer on adjustment & more-
lots of good info!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ao7SSTKtn.mfvhcBXYEPZALsy6IX?qid=20060806073919AA8Sg1i

Answer 4

It depends on how "hot" it is. It should be more than warm to the touch, but not HOT!

If your unsure, get the motor part number, name, and voltage and you can research operating temperatures on line.

Answer 5

Yup........it's normal to be hot to the touch.