Replacing chandelier with a ceiling fan

[radhak]

SWMBO wants me to replace the chandelier in the living room with a ceiling fan.

Before I even buy a fan, is there any thing I need to be aware of? How the wiring works? Or if the same box would strong enough for a fan?

I have installed fans before, just not replaced a chandelier to do that.

[pelligrini]

Is the fan going to have a light kit? I bet your chandelier only has just the two. Most fans with light kits need three wires, in order to control the fan and light with a wall switch. Otherwise you'll be using pull switches, or maybe a remote solution.

[Daryl]

You won't be able to use a dimmer on the lights unless you have a separate run for them. The fan will likely put a bit of torque on the box, check the instructions as to what is needed for installing.

[atgcpaul]

First take off the chandelier medalion and see how the light is hung from the
ceiling. If there's a joist right then, then you just need to buy a new ceiling
fan specific pancake box and go from there. If there's no joist around, they
sell these expanding ceiling fan box braces that get wedged between two
joists. Don't use the existing electric box your chandelier is mounted to. The
new box or brace is not much more money for peace of mind. If you have
access to this area from above, you can also make your own wooden brace
and screw the pancake box to that.

As far as electrical, is it just a fan or a fan with lights? Do you want to
control the fan from a wall switch or at the fan? At the fan is easiest. You
just need to supply power and you can turn the fan/lights on/off with the pull
chains. If from the wall and you have fan and lights, then you need to have
3-wire cable running between the switch and fan. The easiest move in this
case is to buy a fan/light kit with remote control. The remote will switch
power to the fan/lights/both and you don't have to run any additional wire.

Paul

[Mr__Bill]

Just get a wireless remote for the fan/light. You get full control of the fan speed and lighting. You just need power doesn't even have to be switched.

The fan may weigh more than the chandelier but the real factor is torque and vibration. It is best if there is a joist there to attach to. Fans often come with a mounting bracket that is meant to be screwed into the joist. Second best is if you have access from above and a brace can be added between the joists. The wedge in place fan mounts are my third choice but may be your only choice. Hope you have a high ceiling, that always makes the fans look better and do a better job circulating the air. If you have a normal height ceiling I would go for a fan that is large in diameter. That way on low it moves a lot of air but you don't feel the need to duck. If you want lights on the fan then one of the ceiling huger fans is necessary.

That's my opinion based on experience, one such experience was repairing a friends ceiling when he just mounted the fan to the existing ceiling box.

Bill
the rain has stopped for the summer, now it's fog

[Uncle Cracker]

If the house is a newer build, you may find that it's pre-wired for a ceiling fan (has a switched "hot", a constant "hot" and a neutral, or two switched "hots" and a neutral, already in the ceiling box). This would make your install much easier, so it pays to get a look inside the ceiling box before you do too much planning...

[radhak]

Wow, lotsa inputs, thanks!

I have yet to buy the fan, but I was thinking of fan+lights. After having tried the light kit with a dome cover, was not happy (not enough light because these only use the candleabra lamps).

So I am gonna be forced to get the kit with 'open' lamps, something like this :


In other words, will need more space. But the ceiling is pretty high : around 14'. Unfortunately, that also means I don't have access to the space from above, and I need a tall ladder .

I installed a (separately bought) remote for another fan in the house, and it works pretty good. Might prefer that again, but may not be up to me.

The house was built in 2001/02, so maybe UC is right and lesser hassle for me.

[parnelli]

Wow, lotsa inputs, thanks!

I have yet to buy the fan, but I was thinking of fan+lights. After having tried the light kit with a dome cover, was not happy (not enough light because these only use the candleabra lamps).

So I am gonna be forced to get the kit with 'open' lamps, something like this :

In other words, will need more space. But the ceiling is pretty high : around 14'. Unfortunately, that also means I don't have access to the space from above, and I need a tall ladder .

I installed a (separately bought) remote for another fan in the house, and it works pretty good. Might prefer that again, but may not be up to me.

The house was built in 2001/02, so maybe UC is right and lesser hassle for me.

They ALL use candelabra lights now. And they all pretty much have the same light output I think. The units with 4 lights are limited to lower watt bulbs than the ones with 3 lights. If you really want to, you can remove the current limiter- but I haven't done so even though that delay when you flick on the lights annoys me...

Just this weekend I took down a fan, also about 14 feet up, that I had installed about 18 months ago with the included Hunter remote. The remote died at about month 13. The reviews on Amazon for the remote system are horrendous.

I went old school and snaked an extra wire (50 feet(!) of THHN-and 3 junction boxes- talk about taking the long way around!) and installed a combo dimmer/fan control. Kind of a pain, but hopefully I won't be doing this in another 18 months now....