Hi Mike!
MB> I'd like to install a ceiling fan. The room it's going in has no existing MB> wiring to the ceiling (no fans, overheard lights exist). We have 60-amp MB> service and the fuse box is in the garage which is almost directly below MB> the room I want the fan in (the garage ceiling is this room's floor). The MB> fan housing says it draws less than one amp.
I'll have to agree with the others you should not be wiring this yourself but if you have a friend who is knowledgeable this would be a good starter project. (If you're hiring an electrician do _not_ ask him - he's not in the business of teaching amateurs.)
Depending on the locaction of the ceiling lights it may be possible to replace a light with the fan -- just remember the fan will go on and off with the switch that went to the light (and whatever other lights are controlled by the switch).
If you elect to do it this way follow the directions that came with the fan carefully!! The original light wil have two or three wires: black, white and green (or bare). (The green/bare is the optional one.) The fan will have three or four wires: black (fan), blue (light/s), white and green/bare. The black and blue wires will be twisted together (clockwise) and twisted around the black lead that originally went to the ceiling light. Use wire nut to secure. The whites get twisted together and secured. The greens/bares get twisted together and secured. If the ceiling light did not have a green connect the fan's green to the junction box at a screw.
MB> My questions concern how to wire the fan: MB> MB> 1. Should I create a new circuit just for the fan, running new Romex from MB> the fuse box up into the attic (just like the others)? If so, how do MB> I fuse this circuit considering the fan only draws one amp or less? MB> We have the older-style screw-in type fuse box and although I haven't MB> checked yet I'm guessing I'm probably not going to find a 1-amp fuse MB> to fit it;
At this point it does not appear you know enough about wiring to run a new feed. The fuses are currently protecting electric circuits in your house. You need to remove the fuse protecting the circuit into which you are installing the fan while you (or the electrician) is working on it. (Unless you just moved into the house the four fuses should have been mapped so you know what fuse controls where. As generally there is not enough room on the label provided in the panel box for all the locations this map should be written on a larger peice of paper.)
You are right about not being able to find a 1 amp fuse to fit the fuse box. Actually this was good for a laugh as those of us more famailiar with wiring know those fuses protect more than a single device at a time. (OTOH I believe European wiring has fusing along this idea -- think they uses something like a 50 Amp feeded and everything plugged in has it's own fuse in the cord.)
The 1 amp fan will only take one amp from it's circuit. If its fuse in the box is 20 Amps the fan will only take one. The other 19 are being used by whatever other devices are part of that particular fuse's circuit. (If a device 'gets greedy' and takes more that it is supposed to or too many devices are on the fuse blows.) There is no need to put a one amp fuse in-line with the fan.
MB> 2. Should I tap into one of the existing Romex cables in the attic MB> passing near the room I want the fan in? By tap into I mean cut it in MB> half and create a T (so that if the fan is removed/damaged/blown it MB> doesn't break the already-existing circuit)?
Technically this is what is done but protective measures are taken to greatly reduce the risk of fire.
MB> Never having run Romex and not knowing about a 1-amp fuse this might MB> be easier but it seems like it's a fire hazard since if the fan motor MB> blows the circuit would still be live. But I don't know.
If the fan motor blows the circuit the fuse in the fuse box blew and the circuit would be dead.
MB> Obviously I'm not an electrician and have never done either of the two MB> above before (running new Romex, making a T from existing Romex). But I MB> have done other home electrical work so I'm not concerned about not being MB> able to do it, just that I don't know which of the two would be MB> proper/best.
I would strongly suggest purchasing one of the Home Wiring books available at hardware stores. Everyone had to learn, including myself
Continued in next message.
- In Chinese, why are the words for crisis and opportunity the same?