Fix A Wobbly Ceiling Fan With Balance Weights

Fix the wobble with weights

Few things are as annoying as a wobbly ceiling fan. Most wobbly fans are the result of an imbalance in the fan blades and not the motor. Fan blade weight kits are available at home improvement centers. The process of identifying and correcting the faulty blade is a time-consuming trial-and-error process. However, once you balance the wobbly blade, your ceiling fan will run quieter and smoother.

Instructions

1. Turn off the fan and allow it to completely stop rotating. Before adjusting the blades with weights, determine whether a fan blade bracket is bent. Pick one side of a blade, and measure the distance between the blade and the ceiling with a tape measure.

2. Rotate the blades by hand until you get to the next blade in line. Measure the distance to the ceiling from this blade using the same spot as the first. Measure all the blades in this manner. The distance should be within ¼ inch for all the blades. If you have a blade that is off by more than ¼ inch, you may have a bent clip. Replace the clip and test your fan for wobble.

3. Place the u-shaped clip-on weight on the trailing side of a fan blade, between the blade clip and the end of the blade. Turn on the fan to the speed that you notice the most wobble. Turn off the fan, and place the clip-on weight on the next blade in line. Turn on the fan again, and check the wobble. Repeat this procedure on each blade to determine which blade reduces the wobble most with the weight clip.

4. Turn off the fan, and attach the clip-on weight to the blade that is making the wobble. You will have to turn on and off the fan to slide the clip-on weight in small increments down the blade until the wobble is gone. Turn off the ceiling fan, and allow it to stop rotating.

5. Remove the self-adhesive plastic from the metal weight and place the weight on top of the blade directly across from the clip-on weight. Press down slightly on the metal weight so that the adhesive adheres to the fan blade. Pull off the clip-on weight, and run the fan.

Tags: clip-on weight, between blade, blade line, blade that, metal weight