Straightening ceiling fan blades

We put some fans out on our patio. Over a few years, the blades have drooped. These blades appear to be some type of luan, about 3/16" wide. They appear to be either composite plastic, or some form of pulped wood.

Can they be straightened? Maybe put in an oven with some brick weights, and a pan of water to make a steam chamber out of it? Other suggestions?

If I go buy new ones, are there different materials and grades? The local ReStore, (the one for Habitat for Humanity) has sets of 5 for $3, and I'll take them Wednesday when I go to see if the bolt pattern is the same. But just wondering if these can be salvaged.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B
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Lot of times the mount is symetrical. If so just flip them.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

Trying to "straighten" fan blades once they sag due to exposure to excessive moisture is a fool's errand...

So is trying to bake them in your oven with bricks on top of them...

As far as buying new fan blades at your local ReStore you should only be concerned with the length and weight of the replacement blades, you can drill additional holes using your current fan blades as templates, but you don't want to hang too much weight or add too much load (larger blades produce more drag requiring more effort on the motor) to your fan unless you want to be replacing the whole thing sooner rather than later...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

Turn them over.

Most nowadays seem to be made of fiberboard (hardboard, masonite (your "pulped wood") which is *NOT* lauan. Any plywood, including lauan, works pretty good, ditto plastic and steel. Fiberboard does not especially if there is much humidity.

Reply to
dadiOH

I'd be tempted to see if you can get new ones of fiberglass or plastic. They're typically just a piece of flat stock with three holes drilled in them. If you're handy and have a source for some suitable stock you can make them yourself. Or have some made from Damascus steel :)

nate

Reply to
N8N

Took a few years to sag. Flip them and he'll get that again minimum. Making blades is just silly unless you have nothing better to do and all the purchased ones will probably have the same problem eventually.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

For use in an uncontrolled atmosphere like a patio get a set of blades designed for outdoor use. Anything else will be a waste.

Reply to
Charlie

ide quoted text -

I've had a fairly inexpensive fan in my kitchen for over 20 years and the blades have not sagged one iota.

(I say "fairly inexpensive" because I remember thinking at the time that my wife bought it "This is too cheap to last very long, but I'll make her happy and put it up. Boy, was I wrong!)

The blades are indeed some type of pressed material. I know this because I was trying to clean them once and the ultra thin layer of paint started to wipe off and exposed the material underneath.

I primed and painted them to make them white again. Maybe that's why they never sagged.

Perhaps that would be a good preventative maintenance step to take before installing a fan.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Hide quoted text -

His sagged because he has it on a porch where the humidity probably gets high from time to time.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

There are paddle fans made specifically for outdoor use, often called outdoor fans, porch fans, and gazebo fans. The blades on this type of fan are typically made from materials such as plastic, that are not damaged by the elements

Reply to
RBM

They may well be a waste too.

I got 3 fans designated for that use. All three wound up with sagging blades. Fiberboard. Two were so bad they looked like open umbrellas. I made new blades from 1/4 ply, no sagging.

Reply to
dadiOH

Well, if you made your own blades, then according to jamesgangnc you:

1 - Are either silly, or 2 - You have nothing better to do.

Not that I'm trying to start anything...

;-)

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Of COURSE not :)

jamesgangnc forgot

  1. Frugal
  2. I can make 'em better
Reply to
dadiOH

I've got one in a lanai that was installed in 1998 that is still going just fine. The room is essentialy open to the outdors in humid Florida. Blades are plastic. You have to pay attention to what you are buying.

Charlie

Caveat emptor

Reply to
Charlie

"Charlie" wrote

Oh yeah. Great. NOW you tell me. ;-)

When SWMBO insisted that the fans would be fine outdoors even though they were obviously indoor fans, if was one of those, "We'll see" moments. So far, one's blades droop by two inches, the other is in danger of taking off Aunt Lucy's big hair.

I will get two sets at ReStore at $3 per set, and see how long they last, and in the meantime look for some that are intended for outdoor use. I've even seen indoor sets that droop.

And then there's balancing .................................

Thanks for the info, guys.

Steve

Heart surgery pending?

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Heart Surgery Survival Guide

Reply to
Steve B

When you buy the blades, will you also be buying the mounting brackets?

Even if the mounting brackets line up with the holes in your motor, the angle may be an issue.

Cheaper fans use low blade angles so they can use a cheaper motor. Increasing the blade anlge might cost you more a lot more than $3 a set.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

A fool's errand can oft times be fun.

A little time in the shop making/fixing something that you might otherwise buy can be very therapeutic.

Which feels better:

Saying "I made/fixed that." or saying "I bought that."?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Since you have no clue how old I am, I don't see the point in bringing up "age".

Regardless of a person's age, spending time in a shop building/fixing something may very well be a priority. Why would sensing one's mortality lead that person to "go shopping" instead "go building". In fact, having a tool in your hand and making something instead of buying it not only can be therapeutic regardless of your age, but it might even make you feel better about your own mortality since you will be leaving something that you made behind.

That's you and that's fine. But that has no bearing on how others (young or old) might choose to spend what time they have left here on earth.

And if that's fine with him, then who are we to say that he shouldn't spend his time fixing it?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

At the speed those things turn, the blades could be vertical and not harm most of the ceiling fan motors out there.

Reply to
clare

Depends if it works or not!!!. If it doesn't work and you bought it you were just foolish. If it doesn't work and you made it you are foolish AND incompetent - - - - - .

Reply to
clare

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