Fans with CFLs

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fisherelectric

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Northern Va
We wired a house recently which had 6 ceiling fans. We set them up with a 1 gang switch for each planning on using a fan control/dimmer switch combination ( we use Lutron Ariadne fan/dimmer switches). We went over all this with the homeowner. Went to do the final today and the HO supplied 6 Hunter fans and all of them had light sockets on the light kits stamped with "use 19 watt CFL only" in addition to stickers that said the same thing. So now the fan control/dimmer plan is out the window. Probably will change to 2 gangs with single pole and fan control to fix the problem. I wonder if these fan/dimmers are going to be a not such a good idea in the future.

On another note...while marking the panel in this house I was using a walkie-talkie with my partner and everytme I would release the "talk" button the 2 Siemans GFI breakers in the panel would trip...consistantly. Never seen that before. ?
 
Be aware. I ran into the same issue with a LED light on a ceiling fan a while back.


I have also heard of radios tripping GFCI's
 
This is why you do a thorough walk-through with the HO before you start rough in.

And yes, 2-way radios (Motorolas) will trip GFIs. I have first-hand experience with it.
 
gfci

gfci

480sparky said:
This is why you do a thorough walk-through with the HO before you start rough in.

And yes, 2-way radios (Motorolas) will trip GFIs. I have first-hand experience with it.
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Just think of all the chest freezers and vending machines that will now be out of power.
 
I did do a thorough walk thru. The HO wasn't even aware the fans he bought had light kits that were restricted to CFLs only. I think from now on I'll be installing 2 gangs for all ceiling fans in the future because I believe this is going to be more and more prevelant . Things change.
Interesting about the 2-way rtadios tripping Gfis. I never knew or heard of such a thing. I wonder why?
 
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480sparky said:
And yes, 2-way radios (Motorolas) will trip GFIs. I have first-hand experience with it.
Click to expand...

Had that happen to me also...what a PITA....we have evolved to cellphones now.
 
ItsHot said:
Just think of all the chest freezers and vending machines that will now be out of power.
Click to expand...

You have to hold the radio within 8" of the GFI to trip it.

fisherelectric said:
Interesting about the 2-way rtadios tripping Gfis. I never knew or heard of such a thing. I wonder why?
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Probably enough RF signal gets into the electronics of the GFI and creates enough current flow through one of the sensors that fools it into thinking their is an imbalance.

celtic said:
Had that happen to me also...what a PITA....we have evolved to cellphones now.
Click to expand...

But it was a neat trick to pull on cubbies....

"Hey Darrin... take this radio down to the main panel. Hold your ear next to it and listen. Call me when you're ready....."

Poor Darrin.... freaked him out!
 
fisherelectric said:
We wired a house recently which had 6 ceiling fans. We set them up with a 1 gang switch for each planning on using a fan control/dimmer switch combination ( we use Lutron Ariadne fan/dimmer switches). We went over all this with the homeowner. Went to do the final today and the HO supplied 6 Hunter fans and all of them had light sockets on the light kits stamped with "use 19 watt CFL only" in addition to stickers that said the same thing. So now the fan control/dimmer plan is out the window. Probably will change to 2 gangs with single pole and fan control to fix the problem. I wonder if these fan/dimmers are going to be a not such a good idea in the future.

On another note...while marking the panel in this house I was using a walkie-talkie with my partner and everytme I would release the "talk" button the 2 Siemans GFI breakers in the panel would trip...consistantly. Never seen that before. ?
Click to expand...


why not use cold-cathodes??
 
Cfl

Cfl

What is preventing you from screwing in a regular light bulb? Does it have the 2 prong sockets which are used by hotels to prevent customers from stealing the CFL's?
Have the customer purchase dimmable CFL's. We install them all the time.

Problem solved.
 
fisherelectric said:
I'll have to check out the dimmable CFLs...haven't seen any around here. People around here don't use many CFLs. Are they expensive?
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yes dimmable cfl's are expensive. so are cold cathodes, but they will handle the dimming better than a standard cfl. their lumens per watt is lower than the cfl, but they will have a longer life span. and they are instant on.
 
"kinda" dimmed is right. make sure the HO checks these out before OK-ing the deal. I would tell them to send the units back and get fans that take regular bulbs. IF they are Earth conscious, tell them about terrapass.com

you can buy off your carbon footprint.
 
i think most dimmable cfl's will go down to about 20% of their full intensity, and most are supposed to work w/ regular dimmers. the CCFL's will dim on any incandescent/magnetic dimmer w/o any problems.
 
I put in some "dimmable" CFL reflector lamps 2 weeks ago. Total pieces of garbage. They dimmed maybe 20% before they just went "off" completely. Sorta dimmed is a good description of how they work. I certainly wouldn't suggest them to a customer until the technology improves.
 
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