Considering adding one. It's a screened porch with a plywood ceiling. There is no good access above but there is a light already in the right place so the electric can be used without removing plywood.
Obvious an external drop down 'box' secured to the plywood.
Any brand names or sizes best suggested for this sort of application?
I installed three "minkaAire" low profile units. Two outside in a screened porch one inside. All have remotes. No problems. Purchased a few years ago on line.
I wouldn't use an external box. Remove what's there and install a Westinghouse 01100 fan box. It goes into the ceiling from underneath and will support the fan properly. For the fan, just be sure to get one rated for outdoor use. They're often called porch fan or gazebo fan.
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The box needs to be rated for a ceiling fan and the fan rated for outdoor use. HD sells a bracket * with the box that is installed after you remove the existing box. Work is done from below the ceiling.
My two outside fans have hung for 6 years..
creened porch with a plywood ceiling.
Ditto on the Minka.
Yup, thats what I mean by a drop down box. What's in there now is a standard ceiling light fixture. That comes out and the fan with a light fixture goes in. Plywood roof is 8.3 inches above the deck at that point (deck has a gentle slope over a 13ft distance to outside angled to the porch door so drains automatically across it's 13ft by 44 ft size).
I see some suggestions on brands people have experience with. Links too!
It's unclear what you mean by drop down box, but the fan box doesn't get secured to the plywood, it stabs into the framing that the plywood is attached to. FYI the fan box in Oren's link is a Westinghouse 01100
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I've seen electrical ceiling boxes nailed on the side of joist and others nailed center of the joist. One place I worked on for a neighbor, his tenant (son) took down the light and box. Then he inserted/screwed an eye bolt in the wood. (I finally figured out he had a sex swing mounted there)
I replaced the missing box, with a thinner one and put some screws in the joist at center. Not a fan rated box, per se, but it held -- given the extra screw support.
There are all kinds of fixture and fan boxes. The one in your link is a retrofit box, which happens to be my personal favorite. Some fans like the heavy Hunter and Casablanca fans, can't be supported by a fan support box and require a lag or hook bolt into solid framing
The one thing no one mentioned is that you should get a fan that is made for outdoor applications, even though it will never get wet. In my old house I had a regular fan in a screened in porch. Through a few years the blades warped and were actually hanging downward. To fix the problem, I flipped the blades. Now they were sort of up facing, but that didn't last long. Fans for outside applications use basically a plastic blade that won't absorb moisture. In my new house, that what I have. There's been no warpage, but it's only been a year. But in the old house, a year the blade would have been on the move.
Can you seal regular blades with Poly or something to make them last in an environment like an outdoor screened porch?
R
creened porch with a plywood ceiling.
Reread the thread, and click on the Minka link - you missed some stuff.
R
screened porch with a plywood ceiling.
Ya but, every company makes some model(s) for outdoor or damp locations.
My apologies for not making that more clear. The subject line had it, not the text of the query.
Humm! Ok, if I find the fan has wood blades that's good info. I am only looking at exterior rated sorts (plastic blades). I also want a light on it as we walk out there to walk the dog at night to go pee in the yard ;-) He goes out the screen door and we just hang out on the porch. We will have to rearrange the location of the motion sensor light (current is 44ft away inside the porch and looks at the screen door).
The blades aren't the main problem- it is condensation on the guts of the working parts, even if rain never splashes in there. The plating or lack thereof on the metal parts, and the various lubes and sealers used.
IIUC, of course. I may have it all bass-ackwards.
No, sorry, your bass is still where it's supposed to be. Night time condensation is the problem in a porch fan location.
R
The blades on the porch ceiling fan in this house "warped", too. They were plastic but more or less melted. We took the blades back to the lighting store where the builder bought them and exchanged them. Apparently there was some mixup, the salesman said the blades weren't for outdoor use. The replacements have been fine.
Well the reason I am asking about sealing the blades is that I have a nice Harbor Breeze fan that I bought at Habitat for Humanity Restore for 10 Bucks. The fan my wife wanted to buy was over $300. I want to see if the fan is what she thinks it will be so I guess that if she likes the Fan concept and the thing lasts one season, it will be worth it. I thought that I could spray them with sealer and maybe prolong their life.
If the blades are "wood", a sealer might help and likely wouldn't hurt. If the blades are porous it might help keep them clean, too. If plastic, there is no point. This, of course, doesn't do anything for protecting the metal parts, but if you like the fan you can spend the $300 next year. ;-)
te:
re: "If the blades are "wood", a sealer might help and likely wouldn't hurt."
I would think that they only thing to be careful of would be too much sealer - too much in terms of increasing the weight of the blades beyond the rated capacity of the motor. I assume it would take a lot, but it's just something to keep in mind.
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