ceiling fan unbalanced

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stewdish

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hey guys i have very heavy and expensive fan that wobbles on med and high. i know about the weights to balance them, but wondered if there is any other good ideals for stopping the wobbling. this one is wobbling at the stem half way down ,not at the top connection. where the bolt and pin connect.

thanks guys:-?
 
it should not wobble . go back and make sure every screw is tight . Weight should be the last thing you use and remember some fan needs to break in .
 
First, if it's an 8' ceiling, I ALWAYS flush mouunt them.

If you MUST use the stem, it is likely that you will have to balance it. The heavier the blade hardware, the more they seem to wobble.

If the customer supplied the fan (which is the case 99% of the time), and the job is bid, I will only spend about 5 minutes on it and then turn it over to them. If it's T&M I will just keep after it until the customer is satisfied.

As far as the weights, pick a blade, clip 1 weight in the center and turn it on. Next, move the weight out toward the end of the blade. Move to the next blade and repeat until you see some progress. If there is improvement, move the weight in or out on the blade.

Worst case you will have multiple weights.:mad:
 
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The first thing I do after assembling a fan is to make sure the blade tips are on the same plane. I rarely have to do anything else.

220/221 said:
As far as the weights, pick a blade, clip 1 weight in the center and turn it on. Next, move the weight out toward the end of the blade. Move to the next blade and repeat until you see some progress. If there is improvement, move the weight in or out on the blade.
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I believe the proper method is to place the clip in the center of every blade, one at a time, until you find the least wiggle, then fine tune that blade.
 
nafis said:
it should not wobble . go back and make sure every screw is tight . Weight should be the last thing you use and remember some fan needs to break in .
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Also, some fan manufacterers' instructions state that the fan will wobble with longer downrods - it magnifies any small issue.
 
JohnJ0906 said:
Also, some fan manufacterers' instructions state that the fan will wobble with longer downrods - it magnifies any small issue.
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Uh-huh. I point this out, most of the time, before I even start to put the thing together. Making sure all the hardware is absolutely tight goes a long way towards correcting and preventing wobble. Quite often, that's all it takes. Naturally, if the box it's mounted on is moving around, you'll never keep it from wobbling.
 
it should not wobble
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And I should not have to work for a living.

Most fans wobble to some degree depending on the blades/blade hardware.



I believe the proper method is to place the clip in the center of every blade, one at a time, until you find the least wiggle, then fine tune that blade.
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Why....I believe you are correct :) It's been a while. When I first started my business we would hang a LOT of fans. Sometimes 12 a day at differnt locations. I got it down to a science with no trips to the truck but I still couldn't do one in less than 30 minutes. The new clip on blades would have helped though.

A couple of years ago, a new apprentice hung a fan. She neglegted to tighten down the bolt that keeps the rod from spinning off. We were not on site. Customer was sitting at the table below the fan,. GC was demonstrating fan to customer and hits the reverse switch. Fan unscrews and falls on the toward customer (65 YO woman). GC reaches out and makes a nice catch but gets clipperd by the fan.

Gaaaahhhh!!

My partner took the call from GC and asked him to go to the ER. Damn did we look and feel stupid/bad. I showed up on site an hour later to investigate and do damage control.

I found the untightened screw and rehung the fan (no damage).

No reprocussions from that one.
 
Try this peice of magic.

Try this peice of magic.

Make sure the screw tightning up the downrod is done and if there is a notch in the gimble its set.
Blades are supposed to be balanced. If all mechanical things were done right try this. If its a 5 blade fan swap 3 and 5 blades around. If its a 4 blade fan swap out two next to each other. If this doesnt work, walk away with a good excuse. I have never gotten balance kits to work. This trick will work to at least reduce the wobble. Im not sure why.
 
Most wobble issues I've had are due to a poor manufacturing design with a small mounting base. Give me a large round base and a flush mount. I don't even ask the client if they want it flush or downrod on an 8' ceiling.

Dave
 
Most wobble problems I've encountered were solved by aligning the blades. The srew that hold the blade on usually has a bit of slop. I just loosen the screws and pull out on the blade as I retighten them.

A bent arm will cause wobble also. I never inslall the blades on the motor before I hang it. Yes it is a PITA to do it in the air, but I have very very few problems with fans wobbling.

Gene
 
Ebow said:
Most wobble problems I've encountered were solved by aligning the blades. The srew that hold the blade on usually has a bit of slop. I just loosen the screws and pull out on the blade as I retighten them.

A bent arm will cause wobble also. I never inslall the blades on the motor before I hang it. Yes it is a PITA to do it in the air, but I have very very few problems with fans wobbling.

Gene
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I'm with you on that one Ebow. You're not supposed to put blades on first according to the instructions anyway. Also I think it's easier to put them on after the motor is up anyhow. I've only had a few wobble on me and I believe it's because they were very cheap fans. I've only tried to use a balancing kit once. Man that was one of the most frustrating things I've tried to do. I never got it balanced and I swear I'll never use another balancing kit. I throw them out right away...I don't even like the sight of them. Lol.
 
steelersman said:
and I swear I'll never use another balancing kit. I throw them out right away...I don't even like the sight of them. Lol.
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I always leave them with the instructions, the HO can knock themselves out.... :D
 
I don't even ask the client if they want it flush or downrod on an 8' ceiling.
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Exactly. The only thing I ask is which color down on the blades.

I always put the blades and as much of the light kit as possible on first. The fan never has to sit on the blades.



You're not supposed to put blades on first according to the instructions anyway
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in...struk.....shuns ????
 
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steelersman said:
I'm with you on that one Ebow. You're not supposed to put blades on first according to the instructions anyway. Also I think it's easier to put them on after the motor is up anyhow. I've only had a few wobble on me and I believe it's because they were very cheap fans. I've only tried to use a balancing kit once. Man that was one of the most frustrating things I've tried to do. I never got it balanced and I swear I'll never use another balancing kit. I throw them out right away...I don't even like the sight of them. Lol.
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Totally agree 100 percent. All it takes is one bump with the blades on and it can be enough to knock them out of whack. Trying to balance a fan involves way to much physics to try to "Kentucky windage it". If the wobble is real bad ill just tell the HO they need to return it.
 
All it takes is one bump with the blades on and it can be enough to knock them out of whack
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All it takes is one slip of a screwdriver to go phase to phase on a panel bus.

Just be careful :grin:
 
When I tighten the downrod screws I always hold the fan in the air with my left hand using the weight of the fan to make sure the downrod is straight. I tighten each screw a little at a time and try and torque them about the same.

When building the blades I leave the center screw somewhat loose until the side screw are properly seated and tight. I then snug the center one.

When I do have one that wobbles I measure fan tip to ceiling to find the problem and kink it a bit up or down.
 
As most of you, I use to hang more ceiling fans than I wanted. I balanced, bent the blades so they would be same distance from the ceiling, etc. Sloped or cathedral ceilings can be a killer if the blades are to close. One home I was ready to give up when I noticed the oscillating fan running in the corner. Shut it off & everything smoothed out.
 
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