Ceiling Paddle Fan

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tom baker

tom baker

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Master Electrician
Time to upgrade my ceiling paddle fans in my home. Any recommendations on make, model?
Go to Paddle Fans R Us to purchase?
 
Big Asterisk Fans (that's not their real name-- real name has a different middle part) has a lot of high-power, large-size fans! But probably oversized for your living room.

ps-- last time I upgraded a fan, I just went to Big Box Hardware and picked a 'nice-looking' one.
 
If you want high quality no swinging, go with Casablanca ($$$). Monti Carlo isn't bad.($$).
I find the box store brands are okay for the money as long as you don't hang them on a pendant and don't mind a little noise and swing.
 
I like the looks of minkaaire fans. A bit pricey but nice look.

Or you get nuts with fanimation fans.. The have standard fans and some pretty pricey and strange fans

fp510bl_3-heads.jpg
 
Knuckle Dragger said:
If you want high quality no swinging, go with Casablanca ($$$). Monti Carlo isn't bad.($$).
I find the box store brands are okay for the money as long as you don't hang them on a pendant and don't mind a little noise and swing.
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If you are the meticulous type and have a lot of patience there are balance kits that fit any fan. Static balance is easy, dynamic balance is harder, but less likely to be a problem in the first place. Noise, on the other hand, you take what you get.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Or you get nuts with fanimation fans.. The have standard fans and some pretty pricey and strange fans
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I just installed a 72", 9 blade, brushed nickel fan by Fanimation for a customer and he loved it ( he had it when I got there). It had a DC motor and 6 speeds with remote and LED light (naturally). The price seemed reasonable when I looked it up, sells at Lowe's for $300 ( I don't think that's where the customer bought it).. Kind of a high ceiling so needed a 3 foot down rod.

It did seem quite enough and very stable.

It's looked very good and kind of classy in that particular house.

The best way to choose a fan is to see what may look right and what size would work well and then choose the quality you want.
 
Knuckle Dragger said:
I find the box store brands are okay for the money as long as you don't hang them on a pendant and don't mind a little noise and swing.
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Many of the big box stores sell the hunter original fans. High priced and heavy but extremely quite and last almost forever. I love the instructions where it says that after 10 years you may want to check the oil.
 
growler said:
I just installed a 72", 9 blade, brushed nickel fan by Fanimation for a customer and he loved it ( he had it when I got there). It had a DC motor and 6 speeds with remote and LED light (naturally). The price seemed reasonable when I looked it up, sells at Lowe's for $300 ( I don't think that's where the customer bought it).. Kind of a high ceiling so needed a 3 foot down rod.

It did seem quite enough and very stable.

It's looked very good and kind of classy in that particular house.

The best way to choose a fan is to see what may look right and what size would work well and then choose the quality you want.
Click to expand...

Good advice. Also, before putting in any fan with a high ceiling, make sure there are no lights above the fan shining down through it!!! Worst case the customer will just have to leave those lights off whenever using the fan. The strobe effect is incredibly annoying, especially with point source lights. Linear fluorescents or LEDs might be OK, as would indirect lighting.
 
GoldDigger said:
Good advice. Also, before putting in any fan with a high ceiling, make sure there are no lights above the fan shining down through it!!! Worst case the customer will just have to leave those lights off whenever using the fan. The strobe effect is incredibly annoying, especially with point source lights. Linear fluorescents or LEDs might be OK, as would indirect lighting.
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We got lucky on this install and no ceiling lights. The customer wasn't so lucky with another installed a bit earlier. They put up another fan with a remote and left it powered by the dimmer. Messed up the remote. I actually think the customer did it himself and didn't want to admit it.
 
GoldDigger said:
If you are the meticulous type and have a lot of patience there are balance kits that fit any fan. Static balance is easy, dynamic balance is harder, but less likely to be a problem in the first place. Noise, on the other hand, you take what you get.
Click to expand...

I believe I am meticulous and patient, for the most part.;) For me, if the fan is out of balance I return it. I won't bother with the counter weights. I just picture the weights flinging of the paddle blade and catching some one in the eye or breaking something. :slaphead:
 
First thing I do after installing a fan is to make sure the blade bracket screws are tight into the motor, and lift the blade as I tighten them.

Second is to make sure the blades are in the same plane by slowly rotating the fan while sighting along a line to a fixed point behind the fan.

I think I've only had to balance two fans with the weight kit, and I've installed a lot of fans over the decades.
 
Needed to replace an outdoor fan on my porch last year and wanted to go cheap due to salt air environment, it also hung on a 4' stem. Well, I found a $100.00 model that had the look I was after but my wife on another isle found a $51.00 model so I said what the heck and went home with it. I cut a piece of 3/4 EMT to make a stem and hung it, figured it would swing crazy, turned it on and when I was moving the ladder I crammed it into the blades, oooops. Finally got out of the way and this fan is the most stable fan I have ever hung, almost no movement at all.

So if you have a swinging fan just stick a ladder into the blades, it probably doesn't work on a high dollar fan though. :cool:

Roger
 
Roger, I bought a real cheap fan 20 years ago and installed it on the second floor but hardly ever go up there. Came home from vacation, fan was off mind you, and there was a blade on the floor. I grab one of the 3 remaining blades and it broke off with the slightest touch. Same with the next two. The metal had fatigued. I guess that is why it was cheap.

Had another almost fall on a customer after it was hanging for 10 years. The bracket that the ball rests in fatigued and the fan starting to fall... it was hanging by the wires when I got there. She bought the fan so I don't know if it was cheap or not
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Roger, I bought a real cheap fan 20 years ago and installed it on the second floor but hardly ever go up there. Came home from vacation, fan was off mind you, and there was a blade on the floor. I grab one of the 3 remaining blades and it broke off with the slightest touch. Same with the next two. The metal had fatigued. I guess that is why it was cheap.

Had another almost fall on a customer after it was hanging for 10 years. The bracket that the ball rests in fatigued and the fan starting to fall... it was hanging by the wires when I got there. She bought the fan so I don't know if it was cheap or not
Click to expand...

Had this happen in my mother in law’s house while the fan was running. She was in the room at the time. The blade bracket broke and the blade went flying across the room. She’s lucky she didn’t get hit by it.
 
retirede said:
Had this happen in my mother in law’s house while the fan was running. She was in the room at the time. The blade bracket broke and the blade went flying across the room. She’s lucky she didn’t get hit by it.
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Mother-in law you say?
You hung the fan?;)
 
On a related note...

My daughter had her house built in 2013. I installed a Hunter fan she bought from Lowes in her basement family room. 5 years later, her kids lost the remote. I went back to Lowe’s for a replacement remote. No longer available. She has no receipt or proof that the fan even came from Lowe’s.
But they step up and look up that fan from their history in 2013. Since the remote is not available, the give her store credit for the list price of the fan at the time - $169. I get a replacement that sells for $129 that looks identical to the original and she has $40 left to spend. Lowe’s for the win!!
 
retirede said:
On a related note...

My daughter had her house built in 2013. I installed a Hunter fan she bought from Lowes in her basement family room. 5 years later, her kids lost the remote. I went back to Lowe’s for a replacement remote. No longer available. She has no receipt or proof that the fan even came from Lowe’s.
But they step up and look up that fan from their history in 2013. Since the remote is not available, the give her store credit for the list price of the fan at the time - $169. I get a replacement that sells for $129 that looks identical to the original and she has $40 left to spend. Lowe’s for the win!!
Click to expand...

I too had a good experience with Lowe's customer service (although not as good as yours). Went in to pick up some floor I ordered, and after 1/2 hour of waiting because they are so busy I said I'd come back tomorrow. The manager gave me a 20% discount. Pretty sweet. :)

We had that hurricane last year, and the big box stores have been swamped since then, still going on today.
 
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