I'm planning to install a ceiling fan and I need to put it farther from the existing light. So, can the existing ceiling/light box serve as the junction box or do I need to get a new box specifically for this? The current box is plastic. Thanks.
I doubt that a plastic box will carry the mechanical load imposed by a ceiling fan. Get a fan mount box and be safe.
RB
Ray wrote:
If you're keeping the existing light in place, and there is enough room in the ceiling box, you could run cable from there to the new fan.
What you cannot do is add the cable to the new fan, close up the box and patch the ceiling. (Unless you have access to the box in the attic.) In other words, boxes are not allowed to be buried (inaccessible) in a wall or ceiling.
serve
Lights should say how much, if any, current can be routed through them. Or is it a normal box with a light hung from it? In that case, as long as you don't exceed the wire capacity you should be fine.
As long as that box is rated to handle the number of wires you run into it, you can use a ceiling box for a j box.
It's a normal light fixture box that had a light in it, 14/2 w/ground being the only wire. It seems I can use this existing box to "join" another 14/2 that will go to the fan 4-5 feet from it. I will be using a box rated for fan use for the fan and I will keep the "junction box" accessible. Thanks for the input.
w/ground
Is the original light going to remain?
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