Pain in the --- fans

[stidge]

Any tips on balancing them crappy wooden ceiling fans lads ! Instructions are naff and I have 3 x 3 gram weights to help but struggling to get them right ? Cheers

 

[SparkyChick]

I agree with @Sooby2 .

Doing it with it mounted on the ceiling is going to be tricky. Take it down and hold it so the blades are running in a vertical axis and the heaviest will roll to the bottom, add weights to the others.

Alternatively, since you're unlikely to see the tops of the blades, countersink the heaviest slightly on the top surface to remove weight. Then you don't have to worry about securing the balancing weights. If it rolls quickly, countersink near the outer edge as the turning moment will be greater at the outer edge, slower, move nearer the centre. When you're done, stain the countersunk sections.

 

[Dave OCD]

That sounds like a great way of getting it just right but the problem is these jobs are usually priced low and the customer will be expecting a small bill. In fact these fans are best avoided imo.

 

[Wilko]

Never have I ever done this so so many times that I can fix em by the time the kettles boiled - comes from being raised somewhere hot and without air con. For the doubters, I've never once had a blutac escapee

 

[SparkyChick]

I've never done it, but if I really wanted to do it properly, it's how I'd go about it... it's how I've seen lots of stuff balanced in say engines, but as pointed out, it could take a while

Either that or take the blades and rotor off and drop in to KwikFit for a quick spin on their wheel balancer

 

[Dave OCD]

Nah they'd say the brakes were worn out and it needed 2 new tyres.

 

[ruston]

That sounds like a great way of getting it just right but the problem is these jobs are usually priced low and the customer will be expecting a small bill. In fact these fans are best avoided imo.

Essential if an open gas appliance etc flue is in the room too.

 

[valleybilly]

Temp Colour the tips/ends with different colours , spin at high speed while looking horizontally at them not too close mined ! . The highest spining colour will be the lightest so stop + add wieght to this / others till they aligned horizontally while spining . Used to do this with my RC Helicopter all the time n works no probs.

 

[Marvo]

Couple of things you could try is remove all the blades and weigh them on an accurate scale, apply compensating weight to the lightest blades but do it with small weights (pieces of blutac) applied evenly along their length. Secondly make sure all the blades are mounted the same way up, I've seen a few ceiling fans where one of the blades is mounted upside down and it's not obvious without looking closely.

 

[DPG]

Temp Colour the tips/ends with different colours , spin at high speed while looking horizontally at them not too close mined ! . The highest spining colour will be the lightest so stop + add wieght to this / others till they aligned horizontally while spining . Used to do this with my RC Helicopter all the time n works no probs.

That's got to be the most unusual reply I've seen on this forum

 

[telectrix]

bloody 'ell. throw it up, make sure it spins, get paid, go pub.

 

[D00DY_T00DY]

Never have I ever done this so so many times that I can fix em by the time the kettles boiled - comes from being raised somewhere hot and without air con. For the doubters, I've never once had a blutac escapee

Show off.
Never fitted a ceiling fan