Mounting a ceiling fan has come a long way from the days when an extremely heavy fan, complicated wiring and mounting along with design omissions nearly made an installation a dreaded task. Now the process is easier, less heavy and well within the reach of almost any do-it-yourself individual.
Before You Begin
First, read or skim the manual. At the very least, find the page with the parts list and make sure everything is there. Take note of any options including different ways to mount the fan and light kits that can be added. Decide in advance if you will be flush-mounting the fan, using a drop rod or need an extension rod (for a high or vaulted ceiling). Consider organizing the parts according to the order in which they are used to avoid hunting for the next piece.
Electrical and Structural
Shut the power off at the circuit breaker when working on the fan installation. If there is already a fixture where you will mount the fan, shut off the power and remove it. Take note of the electrical box and wires coming out of it. If there's not a box where you want to locate the fan, you or an electrician must install one. (Check local laws and codes to see if it's legal for you to do electrical work.) Consider a specially made ceiling fan box, which attaches to the ceiling joists on either side for more support. You may even want to retrofit if the existing one doesn't seem up to the task of holding up a fan.
Check to see how the electrician wired your particular box. You can have a constant hot wire, a switched hot wire, both or more than one hot wire. Hot wires are generally black. You will have a neutral wire (white) and a ground wire (green or bare copper). Carefully test and manipulate the wires: you may not find out a wire is hot until you get a shock. A circuit tester is a cheap and wise purchase, but it won't tell you which wire is hot if there's any ambiguity. For that, get a multimeter, or call an electrician.
Mounting Bracket, Wiring and Hanging
Most fans have a mounting bracket of some kind. They improve the solidity of the installation, give the fan a ground and give you somewhere to hang the fan temporarily while you attach wires. Generally they mount using two screws just like a light fixture, but getting the screws tight is more important when installing a fan. You don't want the fan to wobble its way loose from the ceiling. Attached to the mount likely will be a ground wire. Attach the wire to the electrical box or the ground wire inside the box. You may have to attach the flush mount, down rod or other attachments to the fan before hoisting it to the mount you've attached to the electrical box. Then lift the fan and attach it to the hook on the mount. This will support the fan while you connect the wires. Generally speaking, the fan will have three wires: a black hot wire, a blue light wire and a white . Depending on what's available in your electrical box, you might attach the hot wire to a constant hot supply, the light wire to a switched hot, or both to a single constant or switched hot. Make sure the hot and light wires are connected to some sort of hot wire, or the fan and lights won't work. The neutral wire is connected to the neutral supply. Use either wire nuts or electrical tape to insulate the connections from the electrical box and fan to prevent short circuits.
Once the wires are connected to your liking, it's time to mount the fan to the bracket. Usually, there are slots for sliding the fan mount onto two screws then twisting the fan to hold it up, with two more screws lining up with simple holes. Use all the screws necessary to hold up the fan; only using the slots may allow the fan to wiggle loose.
Blades and Light Kits
Next it's time to put on the blades. This is usually a matter of screwing the blades to brackets, then screwing the brackets to the fan. After you mount the blades, turn on the power and test the fan for excessive movement. If the fan wobbles, check the mount and electrical box to make sure they aren't moving. If the box is moving, you may need to replace it. For a bracket problem, take the fan down and make sure the screws holding it to the box are tight.
Another issue may involve balancing your blades. Balancing is done with a clip-on weight and some trial and error. Put the weight on a blade near the middle, and turn on the fan. See if the wobble is better. Stop the fan, and move it to another blade (marked pieces of masking tape will help you keep the blades straight). Repeat the wobble test. When you find the blade where the weight has the greatest effect, move the weight closer to and further from the fan to see if that improves the wobble.
Attaching the light kit, whether you bought one separately or the fan came with one, is a matter of connecting wires with either wire nuts or using connectors already attached to the wires. Then attach the kit to the fan with screws before attaching globes, shades or light bulbs.
Tags: ground wire, neutral wire, either wire, either wire nuts, light wire, make sure, Take note