I just put a ceiling fan in my sister's house in her son's bedroom.
If I had it to do over again I would put both the fan and the light on the switch.
There are not too many times in a bedroom that you need a fan and not the light.
Well, you often need the fan at night down here in Slower Lower Delaware, and NOT the light! Best bet is one of those Hunter radio control gadgets that allow you to power up the whole mess, then separtely control lights and fan with a hand controller. I've found them especially helpful in "after the fact" fan installations in a couple of houses over the years when all you have is a single switch for an overhead light, and want to put both a fan and light in place, without having to redo the wiring, etc.
Night time comes to mind???
Oh, I thought this would be a story like my co-worker's about 10 years ago. Hung a new ceiling fan in the family room. Comes home from work the next day, jerks on the chain to start the fan, whole thing comes down on the glass-top coffee table - crash, bang, boom.
That's how NOT to install a ceiling fan.
Jerry
I replaced a fan recently (not mine). The metal box had been removed from the ceiling. The fan support was then screwed into the fan support stud. I replaced the box and used the material provided with the fan.
A box was removed the master ceiling, also. wires were taped and pushed beyond the drywall. A large eye-bolt was in the fan support stud. The only thing I could guess was that the eye-bolt was for one of those sex swings... thingies.. Got me!
-- Oren
"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."
And day time!
If you install a sex swing, you should put a light and a fan on it at the same time. It's much easier than adding it later.
Is that your proven method (G)?
-- Oren
"If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me."
I read this on a newsgroup. Not sure which one.
Considering how it is the same amount of work to run a three wire as a two wire I don't understand why more people don't do it. I noticed some electricians don't run a three wire either as the norm. I always run a three wire whether the customer plans to install a light with the fan or not. I've noticed that my customers like having two switches and one can be a dimmer for the light. It also saves wear and tear on the pull chain switches which seem to fail after a few years.
I agree with the desirability of running the fan with the light off, and those RCs are nice too, but what's wrong with the old fashioned pull chain switches included with most fans?
They're likely to be in inconvenient locations. Not by the door, and not reachable from the bed without getting up.
The fan and light (and a computer monitor) in my bedroom use X10 modules with controllers in both places.
If you're going to do that, I hope you're installing fan rated boxes as well. You just KNOW that someone's going to see that three wire cable and just get 'er done without thinking about it.
This is one situation however where "switch legs" are a real job saver. If the light is wired with a switch leg you can mount a fan without running a three wire cable if you don't mind using the pull chain for the fan. Not so easy if it is wired with the power running to the switch box - you HAVE to run a three wire cable, period, otherwise it works all funky and pisses people off.
nate
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