Are you having trouble balancing your ceiling fan? It is very important that you do this properly or you could be doing more harm than good. A wobbly fan or one that is not balanced can damage the fan’s motor. It can also damage your ceiling and prevent the air-flow benefits the fan is intended to provide.
A fan that is not balanced can also excess noise. An unbalanced fan is a particular pain point in a bedroom as the noise can prevent quality sleep.
The steps to balance a fan
- Make sure that the blades are not touching each other. You can tell if a fan is balanced by looking at where the blade meets the hub.
- If the blades are touching then you need to remove the blades and swing them around to find out.
- If the blades are touching but not touching each other the problem is with the hub. You should try to straighten the fan out as much as you can.
- The next thing you want to look at is the weight of the blades. A heavy set of blades will make the fan work harder and take more energy to move. A light weight set of blades will actually decrease the amount of effort that is required to move the fan.
- To find out how much effort is required add two to three inches to the height of the blades.
Balancing kits and heavy blades
You can find a ceiling balancing kit when you can buy heavy duty blades. You can buy these online or from most home improvement stores.
To learn how to balance a ceiling fan simply follow the instructions that come with your new fan. It is important to remember that with some fans you have to pay for the blade balancing kit separately.
Some of the manufacturers will include the blades and hub in the purchase price of the fan. Others will charge extra for this. If you have an expensive ceiling fan it is worth buying the blade balancing kit. You will want to ensure you get this step exactly right. Of course you can also pay for fan installation which should solve this pain point.
If you want to find out how to adjust a ceiling light fixture then you should go through the instructions that come with the light switch first. This is usually found on the bottom of the fixture. With many light switch controls you will need to remove the power cord first.
Your light switch controls will have markings on them to indicate what setting you need to adjust the outlet box for. With some switches you simply adjust the power cord to the desired setting and that setting is how the fixture looks. With other switches you have to remove the power cord first and figure out what setting to adjust the outlet box for.
Final thoughts on installation
Installing a ceiling fan can be a lot of fun because the final product looks great. But if you mess up – and the fan or its blades are not balanced, you will need to course correct. If you want to mitigate this concern, buy a fan with fewer blades like this two bladed beauty. Fewer blades means less work 🙂
If you have never installed one before then you should consider getting a ceiling fan installation kit. You can hire someone to help as well.
If you want to be the brave soul who balances a fan, ensure that the motor is straight and tightly aligned with the ceiling and that the blades are in balance.
