Fan Troubles

        Over the last few years the unbalanced ceiling fan has increasingly become one of the most problematic fixtures in the home. What once was an unstable, rattling mess has now evolved into a homeowners nightmare.

The trouble started when a newly selected safety device was adopted into the Homes electrical system. The AFCI or Arc Fault Current Interrupter was designed to limit the potential for electrical fires by cutting off power to a circuits path whenever an electrical arc was detected.

At first the AFCI seemed faulty and riddled with problems but as it was improved a particular problem began to surface.

Whenever an unbalanced ceiling fan was on the same circuit as the AFCI, power would continually shut off.

After coming across a number of these incidents I was able to find a common problem in some of cases. When the light bulbs of an unbalanced ceiling fan had shaken loose the AFCI would shut off.

As the light bulbs came loose a small gap between the socket base of the fan fixture and bulb base would get bigger, so when the bulbs were drawing power the electrical current was forced to jump across the two points and cause an arc. 

Before the AFCI was adopted most loose light bulbs in ceiling fans just flickered until they either burned out or lost connection completely. Now a loose light bulb will trip the circuit.

So whats the solution? Well the easiest answer would be to check your bulbs every so often or wait until you have an outage, but thats not really fixing the problem. The easiest and long term solution is to balance your ceiling fan.

The process is simple, all you need is a step stool or ladder, a Ceiling Fan Balancing Kit, and a small piece of tape. If you don't have a balance kit one can be purchased at the local hardware store or online.

Quick note: Look for a balancing kit that has flat weights, they have more surface area and tend to secure better and longer to the blade. The ones I used for the example later fell off. 

Start by making sure power to the Ceiling fan is OFF. Then, with the balance kit open, take the U-shaped rubber or plastic clip and slide it onto the center of one of the blades. It doesn't matter which blade you start with just pick one. 

 Then mark the blade with a small piece of tape so you know where you started. 

Next, turn the unit ON to its highest speed. Look and listen for wobbling, shaking, rattling or any other indication that the unit is out of balance. If there is a lot of wobbling, shut the fan OFF and move the U-shaped clip to the next fan blade. Repeat this process until the ceiling fan is running smoother. 

If the fan is running smoother but still has a slight wobble to it try sliding the U-shaped rubber or plastic clip halfway, closer to or away from the motor. Again make sure the fan is OFF. This should reduce the problem even more.

Once the Ceiling Fan is running smoothly turn the unit OFF and wipe the top of the blades surface clean. Then take one of the weights from the kit remove the backing and line it up with the U-shaped clip. Center the weight to the blade and press down firmly. Be sure to brace the bottom of the blade with your other hand. 

Hold the weight down for a few seconds, once secured remove the U-shaped clip and test the ceiling fan once more. The unit should continue to run smoothly.

If you have any trouble with the balancing process reread the steps above or watch a link I found of a video that does a pretty good job of the process. 

I Hope you've enjoyed the article if you have any question or comments feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Until next time stay safe.