No More Ceiling Fan Wobble!
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- čas přidán 3. 12. 2020
- Are you tired of seeing your ceiling fan wobble? Did you know it’s a simple process to get that wobble to go away? DirtFarmer Jay will walk you through the steps to get that fan running smoothly and looking great again!
Not only is it annoying to see a ceiling fan wobble, but it’s hard on the motor as well, introducing unnecessary wear that leads to premature failure of the fan. Those of us that JUST DO IT YOURSELF are too “thrifty” to have to spend money on replacing something before you have to!
You can buy a very inexpensive fan balancing kit ($2 or $3), or you can make your own using a common office binder clip and some washers and glue. If you go the DIY route, you’ll also need some double sticky tape for temporary weight placement.
There are four things that you must look for when balancing a fan: 1.) what speed is the wobble the worst? 2.) Are the fan blades all attached the same way to the blade holders? 3.) Are the fan blades all the same angle and the same distance from the ceiling? And finally, 4.) Are any of the blades heavier than the others?
Fortunately, determining all these things are easy to do by measurement or by a simple sequence of trial and error. You can invest 10 to 15 minutes and eliminate that wobble and the hassle that goes with it! Quit avoiding certain speeds on your fan, listening to clinking pull chains, or just putting up with it. With what you will learn, you can get rid of the aggravation and when someone asks how they can take care of the problem on their fan, you can say, “You can JUST DO IT YOURSELF!
At the time of the production of this video episode, the fan balancing kit from Home Depot is the Commercial Electric brand, “Ceiling Fan Blade Balancing Kit” - model number 404-867, and cost $2.13. www.homedepot.com/p/Commercia.... - Jak na to + styl
Tilt the fan as far as you can in any direction and wait. The heaviest blade (or blades) will rotate to the most low position. The highest part is where you need to add the weight. This just speeds up the locating process. If the fan is balanced, it will show no preference (will not rotate) when tilted.
GREAT IDEA BOGY WAN KENOBI We will share this suggestion in a future follow up video and give you all the credit!!! Best. DFJ.
That's great! Thank you.
Then what?
@@iggitwilliams4424 Then you know where to put the weights. You move them in or out as necessary and when tilting the fan does not motivate the rotor to turn anymore then you have properly located the weights. I thought this much would be obvious.
@@bogywankenobi3959 In the "Dude Where's my car Korean ladies voice"... And thennn?!
I think I just found the grandfather I never had. Thanks for the teaching lesson.
sorry you got the wrong Godfather. He is mine
@@trueforum378 What the bloody hell are you talking about?
Thanks for watching and commenting alwayssearching1. We have 16 grandkids....what's one more!! Best to you, Dirt Farmer Maggie.
Great Video. Two things (may have been already stated) 1: Clean the top of the blades. They can be so asymetrically filthy that it causes a wobble. 2: Make sure to remove any old weights put on by previous owners. Like balancing a car tire, get rid of all the old weights and start from scratch. Removed 2 old weights from my fan and it was already better and I made it perfect with one properly placed weight.
10 cent Fix!!
Someone suggested using office clips as practice weights. I grabbed a couple of nickels to hold as extra weights. Fan went from wobbling like it was gonna fall out of the ceiling to SOLID as a ROCK!!
Office Clips, Double sided tape, and a couple of nickels. Saved me over $152 dollars. ($150 for the fan $2 for the weight kit 😂)
Thanks DirtFarmerJay!!
Subscribed and Liked! 😎
Just saw this! Thanks for the tip, writing, AND subscribing. Best, DFJ
I am now a "fan" of yours from watching this video!
Thank You, I no longer need to replace my 40 year old Livingroom ceiling fan. The frugal side of me is happy.
Glad to hear my wife is not the only one with a frugal side these days! Best to you Joshua. DFJ
I’m with you Joshua, a lot of people would say heck after 40 years just replace it… if I can spend a little time and keep it working more coins in my pocket…. Good for you!
I installed more than 2000 new ceiling fans of all types during my 34 years as a service electrician and have serviced many more. When faced with a new or old fan having a wobble, I'd first check the mounting screws and fan blade screws. If it had a light kit then I'd also check the mounting for the light kit and make sure the glass is firmly in place. Many times the problem would be solved at this point. If not, then I would start with the fan blade balancing.
It is crazy how many fans I came across which did not have a proper ceiling box rated for hanging a fan. Many used the existing plastic ceiling box which was not rated for fans. I came across a couple of fans which were hung on cut-in boxes! Many others were bouncing around after being hung on a plastic box supported by an adjustable bar hanger. I'm surprised at the ones that did not fall from the ceiling.
Ed, thanks for writing - you have some great insights. We are working on another episode based on viewers' experiences and wisdom. Indeed, I've seen some silly things when it comes to mounting a fan onto boxes that are not rated for this type of duty or mounted only to drywall. Like you said, crazy. We are going to emphasize the properly rated boxes and correct mounting methods as part of that video. Best Regards, DFJ
I'm obsessed with ceiling fans
It helped!! I measured the distance between the blades to the ceiling, then figured out that one of them was 2 INCHES lower than the other ones... tightened the screws and it works perfectly now :)
Wahoo! We LOVE IT when our viewers "Just Do It Yourself!". Best to you Chenxi Gao. DFJ
After so many years asking my husband to fix this noisy,wobbly ceiling fan and he has always tell me how do you want me to fix it !! And I just got tired of hearing this annoying noise for so many years I start searching and I found you 🙏🙏🙌🙌🙌 and I fix it Thank you!!!
Excellent!
Tightening the loose blades is good, but I've found that the blade arm to the motor screws get loose also. That often requires some disassembly of the light kit for access. For blade marking ... I love painters tape.
Thank you for sharing this. First home buyers and feel so clueless about home repairs. I've put in in my tool belt to accomplish with confidence.
Great info Jay... I usually just tighten all the screws first before measuring because its so easy... then go to the drudgery of locating the imbalance if tightening doesn't change the wobble. Thanks!
Porsche924Tim - right on. Many times, simply restoring the fan to original condition as it was installed on day one solves the issue. Best Regards, DFJ
The ceiling fan in my dining room wobbled the most on medium speed, (which is like high speed on most fans because it's a smaller fan.) After I put the weight on the blade that gave me the most improvement, there is now very little movement.
Just did this job now. I bought two balancing kits for one fan and stuck on five weights onto two fan blades. Took some patience and lots of trial and error but it’s much better now, barely any wobble at all now. Thanks!
Ian, glad to hear it! Thanks for writing. Best, DFJ
Thank you so much. One of my blades screws was loose and had dropped over two inches from the others. You saved my sanity.
Thanks for watching and commenting Richard Bellamy. Glad I could help. Best to you, DFJ
I am very impressed with this tutorial. thanks
I'm glad I watched this. My husband one time slid a piece of cardboard between the ceiling
and the base of the fan. I never thought about it may be the blades are off kilter. I have
another ceiling fan now that wobbles on high, so I'm going to try your plan. Thanks.
Your hubby is a dummy 😃
Very helpful video. Measuring the blade tips to the ceiling was the trick. Found the loose blade immediately. Tightened, fixed, no wobble. Many thanks!
Glad it helped! - DFJ
That is Hampton Bay Huntington III. Most fans wobble most on high.
Every time I open this channel I learn something new, thanks And greetings from Chihuahua México.
Rene, Glad to hear it! Thanks being a part of our viewer family! Best Regards, DFJ
Fantastic, thanks so much. I went through your steps and my issue ended up being tons of dust and random globs of paint on top of some of the blades. Generic furniture polish (like Pledge) made cleaning a breeze then I used a paint scraper to get the globs off and for the 1st time since moving in it's spinning with zero wobble. Amazing.
We had one where the screws on the bracket were coming loose from the motor. Had to remove the outside cover to fix it. Worked wonders though in fixing the problem.
Kurt, good to hear from you. Indeed, we have one viewer who made the comment that he always starts the process by tightening all the bracket screws and many times that solves the problem right off. Glad to be of help. Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already! Best Regards, DFJ
I have my first ceiling fan to install and this was very informative. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful David Halley. I must admit that we have had these fans for over 20 years. They are the original fans that were installed when we built the house and are still working. Best, DFJ
Thanks for the video. Very well- done. Your directions were concise and "blew" me away. I'm sure you've acquired some new "fans".
Thanks for the comedy! (Don't quit your "day job") Best to you, DFJ
Thank you so much! I really needed this info, have 3 fans that need this! 😁
Glad it helped! Best, DFJ
Thanks Jay!
This was incredibly helpful. You are a good explainer. Thank you! Mine has been out of whack for years and now it clunking so I can't sleep. Will fix it tomorrow!
Glad I was able to help DivineMizE. Happy dreams!
Also, pro-tip… when first placing the stickie weight to do a final test, only peel/stick - corner of the stickie weight until you verify it works as expected, then peel/stick.
Great tip, bobby kelley! Best, DFJ
Great video. I love simple, easy to follow presentations like this because they helps to empower everyday home owners and tenants alike to be more hands-on (if they're not already:) around the home.
As an electrician though, having installed scores and scores of ceiling fans over the years, I've found that the most common cause of significant ceiling fan wobbles have more to do with the hanger balls at the top of the down rod assembly not being securely seated in the fan's mounting bracket registry.
This registry slot acts like a gravity aided twist lock of sorts that helps to prohibit the torque produced by the ceiling fan from twisting and swaying itself in and off from the mounting bracket.
Now of course this isn't always the cause of a ceiling fan wobble, but I would check that first, especially if the fan is pendulating. And sometimes too, it could be that the fan's down rod isn't angled down at a near ninety degrees relative to the mounting bracket and/or ceiling pitch.
But if after determining that the hanger ball is indeed seated in the said registry and the down rod is angle straight down, then by all means focus on the blades and the blade irons as the next culprits for inspection along with their mounting screws.
Again, great video. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks for commenting Godfrey. Our tagline is "Just Do It Yourself" and sounds like that is fitting for you as well! Best to you, DFJ
Would it be possible to simplify your explanation further for those of us who know nothing about ceiling fans or those terms that you used? Terms such as registry, hanger balls, down rod, etc?
Onli Mi, forgive me, if my initial previous post wasn't as understandable as it could've been.
The terms I used there, those are from the ceiling fan manufacturers. Do an online search and type in "ceiling fan anatomy" and then browse through images. You'll see exploded views of all the major ceiling fans parts along with their names.
As to the registry memtioned...once you spin the hanger ball in the mounting bracket with fan's motor attached, eventually it'll fall down into a slot. When that happens, you've found the registry.
The ceilong fan anatomy images will help you understand the terms and most importantly, see what they represent.
Thanks for your insights.
But what is hanger balls at the top of the down rod assembly? And the fan's mounting bracket registry?
I'm not familiar with those.
Would I have to take the fan apart?
@@radurautescu3832 No-no, the hanger ball is the half circle that fits into the ceiling bracket, it's usually black....the registry I mentioned is a knob on the bracket that fits into a slot on the hanger ball that prevents the fan's torque from spinning outta wack, keepng the hanger ball, wiring, down rod and motor stationary allowing just the blade irons and attached blades to spin as designed.
In short, you spin the whole assembly until the hanger ball "drops" into place and only then is the ceiling "registered" for safe use.
Fantastic explanation! My old boss knew how to do the weight setting and all that and I remember seeing him do it but i just never picked it up
Excellent description how to balance a fan. Well done.
Glad it was helpful! Best, DFJ
Thank you Jay. We have a fan that has wobbled from day one and will give your method a try.
Linda, did the method work? How did it turn out? Best, DFJ
@@DirtFarmerJay We haven't started to build the system yet, but I saved your demonstration video. I'm really looking forward to giving it a try. Thank you again.
You inspired me to fix my kitchen fan. Thanks
Yay! Thank you so much! Very easy to follow instructions without any extra BS.
Glad it helped! Keep watching and commenting Tiffany Russll. Best, DFJ
Thanks for sharing,, very informative
Thanks, Mitchell. Good to hear from you! Best, DFJ
WALKED INTO RESIDENTIAL ceiling fan with light fixture wobbling heavy followed your video and on first try of 'clip on' blade I
was successful in stabilizing the fan. Thanks for good clear instructions.
Tony
Fantastic! Glad it helped, Anthony. Thanks for watching and writing! Best, DFJ
Thanks for all the tips! Im trying it this evening when i get home.
Good luck!
Great information,thank you I did this to my fan and it fixed the wobble!
I weighed each blade holder and found that some were up to two ounces difference. I ground the heavy ones down until all weighed the same. Then I weighed each fan blade and did the same on them.
JumperDumper - that's a great insight. Thanks for sharing! Best, DFJ
I’m surprised that you found that much difference. Interesting.
I balanced each blade on a triple beam scale reinstalled them and it made zero difference ☹️
very nice presentation, great video..
Well I just found your video while trying to resolve fan noise. But out of my 7 ceiling fans I have had two that do wobble, figured it was the age (house is in it's 80's and the fans, lord only know's) I am on my way to my local hardware store to get the kit and fix the wobble fans, and get the oil for the noisy one. Thank you so much for this information and showing despite the time how easy it really is, you are a godsend, thank you again.
James McBride, thanks so much for watching and commenting. I'm happy I could help. Nothing more annoying than a wobbling fan! Keep watching and commenting my friend. Best. DFJ
Thank you so much for your informative video. I checked a couple other videos out there, but your video had one element that helped me where the others didn't. I had one noticeably higher blade while the other four were measurably close. Of course I thought the high blade needed the weight. My problem was solved by putting a weight on the next blade. Doesn't make sense to me, but it worked and I tried it because you had the same issue. Thanks again from this old granny!
Very nice , will try !
Before I even had this fan question you made a video answering my question, thanks! Thumbs up and subscribed!
Thanks for the info. When we replaced the capacitor & put it back together it started wobbling, now we will know what to do to fix it👍🏻
Thanks for watching and commenting vicki Linsdau. Best, DFJ
Thanks,
Your CZcams information was right on. Tightening the screws is what made all the difference for me. :)
Thank you the most helpful video that we have seen
Well done sir. I also use an angle finder on the blades and make sure they all have the same pitch; I've had to bend a couple blade mounts slightly to get them all at the same angle. Particularly if it's a used fan or one that has been taken down and moved around.
Thanks for watching and commenting. It's "fan season" right now where we live in the Mountain West of the USA and we are using both of our bedroom ceiling fans every night now. The breeze makes it so comfortable to sleep. Best to you, Dirt Farmer Maggie.
Very informative, Thanks A lot I did it Thanks to you Sir🤗
I invested 2 bucks in mine. Glued a Toonie ( 2 dollar Canadian coin ) on the light blade. Also I will never be broke. LOL
Now THAT'S ingenuity!
This was helpful... Thank you😁
Excellent job on the video. and very helpful.
Glad it was helpful! Best to you John Tollen. DFJ
Very helpful, thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Best, DFJ
Thanks, the tool came in the package, now I know how to use.
I used binder clips to check the balance of the wobble.
I was wondered how ceiling fans balanced thanks
One blade was off like in step 2 and that fixed our problem thanks for the video
I used this video to troubleshoot a very annoying fan and wanted to share that, in a pinch, a penny affixed with some duct tape works as a weight and then you're only out the little bit of tape and the penny for the repair :) Thank you so much for the knowledge share!
Nice work!
This helped to fix the issue!! Thank you for making this video !
You're welcome! Best, DFJ
Thank you for sharing this information helped a lot great video
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching and commenting Jeff Fawver. Best to you, DFJ
Thanks Jay and God bless you. Very clear. Really helped 👍🏼👍🏼
Glad to help!
Thank you! Helped
Glad it helped! Best to you! DFJ
Great video. Thanks from Rio de Janeiro
Thanks Greg Johnson. Bet the weather is awesome where you are right now! Best, DFJ
Thank you sir
I really love that fan! That is a Hampton Bay Huntington three from the late 90s to early 2000s. Those tend to sag. My friends house has two on their back porch and because they sag they wobble really bad. A good solution to sag is to see if you can find blade brackets in brass from another fan.
Thank you Sir!
You had this fan for 15 years!!! And now, you are just getting to fixing it??? Wow.... :)
Yes we had the fan for 15 years but fixed it when it started to wobble. Best, DFJ
Thank you for this video. Its helped solve a mystery in our home.
I love a good mystery! Glad I could solve yours for you! Best, DFJ
Nice methodical explanation. Thanks!
Why can't the manufacturers make us some better fans?
The catch 22 situation is this - more expensive fans are better but not everyone can afford them. Guess it's that situation with many items that people purchase. We've had these fans over 20 years and they still work well. Guess we should thank our lucky stars! Best. DFJ
Hi, Many years ago we purchased 2 ceiling fan lights, one was perfect the other had a wobble.
I then read the instructions, they had some square sticky weights and the instructions were similar to your idea, stay in one point measure the drop from ceiling on each blade to see if similar
If 2 or 3 were out it asked you to unmount it and move it to another position, then turn it on and check wobble the idea being the odd one out in another place would counter balance other heavier or light ones.
Once you had it close it asked to place all weights eg 8 of them on the offender and sticky tape it temporarily ( the weights were in a small plastic bag, then determine if it needed all 8 weight, if to heavy cut it in half and use 4 if to heavy cut in half for 3 etc , it to light add another , they weights were 2 rows of 4 similar to a chocolate bar.
If then said if you cant solve it you may need to spread the weights over other blades !!! great forever mix and match
The final guessing game was to use your home clothes pegs cliped on the edge and move it in or out and add 2 or 3 or whatever was needed, then when perfect weigh the clothes pegs and weight the plastic weights
If you needed more weights you could can the toll free number and they would end more out, or you could use coins and glass / bathroom silastic
One of the other comments mentioned weighing all blades and shave down the heavy ones to match the lightest - this will help but some times the overall weight is the same but the blade can be warped from storage eg it sat on a pallet or those racks with metal tubing and is warped that way
Regards
George
Thank you for this video. Saved me a bunch of time!
Great to hear!
Thanks, great video !
Glad you liked it!
Excellent !
Thank you very much.
Bless you.
You are so welcome! Bless you and your family too. DFJ.
Thank you so much! My fan was sligjtly hitting the pipes above it and I didn't know how to fix it.
Awesome DarcieGlam. Doesn't it feel good to "Just Do It Yourself!!" Best to you, DFJ
Mine was just the screws on the fan blade. As a tradesman I was very upset with myself lol thanks for the video
Ryan, I'm glad the fix was that simple! Best, DFJ
Another great video with a lot of great information! Thank you for making this video!
Thanks Moneypit Homestead. Sounds like we both have experienced the "joys" of building a home on untouched land (ours was a wheat field) and doing everything from scratch including out buildings and landscaping. The good news is, sounds like we all survived the process! Best, DFJ
@@DirtFarmerJay Well, ours was wooded with some pasture land, and we have 73 acres. We still have a little over 40 acres of woods, and we are still working on the house that we have been building since we moved onto this place. A lot of work and a lot of love is here and a lot of money too, LOL.
THANKS ...
COOP
...
Thank you dirt farmer! New sub! Going to try it on my fan now
Thanks for the sub! We hope you have great results, Kathy Ann! Best, DFJ
Excellent thank you for this one 💯💯💯💯💯
You are so welcome RED BONE. Best to you, DFJ
Our ceiling fan had a wobble on it. I took off all the blades and put them on my weigh scale. I found that they all didn't weigh the same. I did add weights using coins and tape to get them all to weigh the same. It worked well.
Thanks
Wow !
Never had a clue this was fixable
Thank you 🙏🏽
Glad we could help Artsorb. Keep watching and commeneting. Best, DFJ
Sometimes it’s the mounting cover at the ceiling. Shims usually solve the wobble.
2:34 Tighten all screws BEFORE measuring. Then go back to 1:30.
Thanks BitSmythe. Best to you, DFJ
Thanks a Million!!!!! Mr Dirt Farmer
I'd first have tried putting the two blades of different height opposite each other. Good trick with the measuring. Saves on some trial-and-error because it finds the problem blades.
Thank you Sir.
You are most welcome! Best, DFJ
your video fixed it thank you 😊💪
Glad it helped!
I used some 2-sided sticky tape and 2 quarters after finding the off-weighted blade. It's so much quieter now at all 3 speeds. Thanks!
Congrats Vinyl Rescue. Sounds like you are a poster child for our "Just Do It Yourself" tagline. Good Job! DFJ
Great video. We used to tape penny to the blade. It worked. Old School. LoL
Great video! For me, it was the height of the individual blades that were off. I bended by hand two of the brackets and now it's dead still 👍
So glad to find out how to fix my fan.
So happy we could help! That's our focus - to help people repair, build and maintain their "stuff" without additional cost for "professionals" to do it for them. Best, DFJ
I installed a new ceiling fan last year and it worked fine, only used it a handful of times but now it is wobbling like crazy. all the blades are tight but I'm tempted to try adding weights or just return it since it is still under warranty. Do new fans come from the factory out of balance?
I'm not very patient. My plan is to take all the blades off and weigh them on a kitchen scale.
Once they all weigh the same, I'll check the tracking. Thanks for that tip because I didn't even think that that would throw it off.
That is a Huntington III by Hampton Bay....I had this issue.. Make sure the downrod screw is tightened with the motor housing and also at the ceiling make sure the entire fan is mounted on the bracket properly.
Thanks Mr Gray. We built this house in 2001 and this ceiling fan has been in use since then. I guess it's earned the right to wobble a bit after 20 years. I know I have! Best to you, Dirt Farmer Maggie.
@CRobertGray My newly installed ceiling fan had a slight wobble. I tired the weights and that made things worse. All the screws were tight so I moved the ceiling fan to one side until I heard a light bump sound around the ball mount. Thought I had broken something but it must have repositioned the ball on the mounting hardware because when I turned on my ceiling fan all of the wobble was gone. Thank goodness because I did not want to add that stick-on weight and have it swing off later. Your "make sure the entire fan is mounted on the bracket properly" helped in my situation. Fixed in less than 15 minutes. Thanks
I found that the blades sometimes are not spaced equally around the perimeter.
To eliminate wobble I first correct any height mismatches and blade pitch inequalities, and then I balance the fan by adjusting the blade spacing and not bothering with weights.
A previous viewer mentioned that they weighed each of the parts FIRST ( blade holders - blades ) to find if individual components are equal weight. That is a PLUS if you are doing an install. After some time, especially if the air has high moisture- say an outside porch or near a hot tub zone, the blades may tend to warp downward. I noticed my blades drooped slightly. So I flipped the blades over. My blades had different decor surfaces on opposite sides...one white, the other like wood grain vinyl. It removed much of the uneven-ness from the blade to ceiling measurements. If the issue is still there after weighing parts and droop, then the
clip test will help isolate the wobble. Using temporary painters tape or ordinary masking tape and a weight like a quarter coin near the blade tip will work if you don't want to buy a balancing kit. To fine tune once the coin procedure has identified the main issue, try moving the coin to various locations along the blade that gives the greatest improvement. It is similar to balancing a car tire....both STATIC vs. DYNAMIC balancing. In other words ...weight versus location. Wish you all success. JwgK