Over time, your ceiling fan may become imbalanced and start to wobble. A small amount of wobbling (up to one-eighth of an inch) is normal, however, if your ceiling fan is largely shaking and wobbling this indicates a bigger problem.
Continue reading to learn how to balance a ceiling fan, the tools you’ll need to do so, and why you shouldn’t delay this repair.
Reasons a Ceiling Fan is Out of Balance
A ceiling fan imbalance can be due to the wear and tear of regular use or because parts of your fan have become damaged. A wobbling ceiling fan could be caused by the mount loosening, imbalanced blades or blade arms, loose screws, dust buildup, or the blades becoming misaligned.
Dangers of an Imbalanced Ceiling Fan
If you let the wobbling continue it can worsen and, over time, cause damage to your fan’s motor. What’s more, excessive shaking is dangerous as it can cause the entire fan or parts of the fan to loosen and fall.
What You’ll Need to Balance Your Ceiling Fan
To balance your ceiling fan, you’ll need a ladder, screwdriver, tape measure, and cleaning materials along with the necessary replacement parts.If the problem is a warped blade or damaged blade arm, replacing the faulty parts is cost-effective compared to purchasing a new fan. Get the replacement parts from the manufacturer that you purchased your fan from. If the issue is a damaged part, this consistency will guarantee the fan stays on balance.
After you’ve inspected your ceiling fan and replaced the damaged parts you may find that it’s still wobbling. A balancing kit could be the solution. Your balancing kit should include balancing clips, weights, and adhesives.
How to Balance Your Ceiling Fan Step-by-Step
To balance your ceiling fan, you’ll first need to identify the problem. Before you perform any repairs, be sure to turn off the power at the breaker to eliminate risk of electric shock.
- Clean your ceiling fan with a ceiling fan duster or microfiber cloth.
- Loosen the fan’s canopy cover and inspect the mount. Check that all screws are tightened on the mount, downrod, and blade holders.
- Inspect your fan’s blades and blade arms, motor, and fasteners. Look for loose screws, dust buildup, and blades that are warped, damaged, or uneven.
- Measure the distance between each blade’s edge and the ceiling with your tape measure — ensure all blades have the same space between.
- After you’ve inspected your fan and identified potential causes, work your way through each issue. Tighten any loose screws, swap any parts that need to be replaced, and ensure everything is secure.
Between each step turn on your ceiling fan to test if you’ve fixed the imbalance. If wobbling is still happening, check that your outlet box is fan-rated — if not, it won’t be able to hold the fan’s weight and could be the cause of the wobbling. If your outlet box is fan-rated and all other efforts don’t improve the issue, try to balance your ceiling fan with a balancing kit.
How to Balance Your Ceiling Fan With a Balancing Kit
At Dan’s Fan City, we offer balancing kits for standard blade and large blade fans. To use your balancing kit, the process is simple:
- Find which speed makes your fan wobble the most — this is usually the highest speed. Once you’ve done this, turn off the ceiling fan.
- Place the balancing clip on the middle of the rear edge of a blade.
- Turn on the ceiling fan to see if the wobbling has gotten better or worse.
- If there’s no improvement, repeat the process until you’ve identified the imbalanced blade. When the least wobbling occurs, you’ve found the blade that’s causing the imbalance.
- Once you’ve identified the blade, you now need to find where to place the weight. Move the clip along the length blade, turning the fan on and off and adjusting the placement between until the fan isn’t wobbling.
- Adhere the balancing weight in line with the balancing clip and the centerline of the blade.
- Turn the fan on to verify that you’ve fixed the instability.
If wobbling is still happening, it may be time to call a professional for help or replace your ceiling fan altogether.
Contact us today with any questions you may have regarding how to balance your ceiling fan — our team of knowledgeable experts is always here to help.