it may dry perfectly flat or it may warp or twist.
If one or more of the blades is warped or twisted the entire set will need to
be replaced. This is because your blades are weighed to within 1 gram of eachother.
You cannot just replace one blade or one blade holder.
Another way to check for warped blades is to remove all of the blades from the
blade irons. Stack the blades on top of each other and look for gaps. If the blades
do not lay flat, they are warped. In some cases a fan may not wobble with warped
blades. If after tightening screws and balancing the blades the fan still wobbles,
a new set of blades should be purchased to replace the warped set.
Using a measuring device, as shown in (Fig #5) (ruler, yardstick, or even a piece
of stiff paper and pencil) measure the distance from the tip of one blade to the
ceiling. Leaving the measuring device in place on the ceiling, carefully rotate
the fan blades (if it is a ball mounted fan be sure not to change the angle at
which it hangs) so you can measure the next blade. Repeat with the remaining blades.
Most likely you will find one or two blades either too high or too low.
Check the blade irons for cracks, especially near where the blade iron widens
to accept the blade. If you notice ANY cracks, do not proceed with the next step;
REPLACE the complete set of blade irons! If a blade iron is bent, do NOT attempt
to bend it back. You might crack the blade iron causing the blade and blade iron
to fly off the fan and possibly injure someone. Again, you will need to REPLACE
your complete set of blade irons with a new set.
Another possible cause for wobble has to do with the blade set. Ceiling fans have
matched sets of blades, each with only a one-gram difference. Fig #6 shows how
to check blades for a weight problem.Tilt the fan body as shown, and the blade
with the most weight will rotate to the bottom. It is possible that when the fan
was installed, the blades were intermixed. In fact, this problem happens quite
often, especially if you are installing several fans in the same room or even
the same house. If you believe this may be the cause for your fan wobble, remove
the blades and use a gram scale to weigh each blade. Then divide them into sets
so you have alternating weight, thus creating smooth movement. Wobbling
and Rocking Fans - ( CONTINUED ) |