I have two Hunter T-type model 28016 ceiling fans in my new condo. They
appear to date ftom 2001. One works fine at all three speeds, but the
other one wobbled signifcsntly at medium and high. And it didn't feel like
it was mounted as solidly as the good fan. So today I took it down and
re-did all the mounting stuff. I also checked in the attic, and found a
2X4, with a metal electrical box undermeath, nailed between two ceiling
joists, It all felt very solid.

There are two screws mounting the mounting bracket to the metal box, and
two srews mounting the fan canopy to the mounting bracket. All four screws
are in line, which doesn't seem to be a good idea, and in fact the wobble
has a definite direction, which is perpendicular to the mounting screw
line, but parallel to the 2X4. The one thing I noticed was that they had
looped the bare ground wire around one of the bracket mounting screws
before tightening it down. Copper being soft, it was no longer tight. So
I used a different grounding option, and made sure all the mounting screws
were tight.

So after getting everything back in place, I found that it now works fine
on low and medium, but still wobbles on high. Any attempt to balance it
just makes it worse, or makes it wobble on medium. It seems the culprit
here has to be related in some way to the mounting system, but still, it
seems if it was balanced, it wouldn't wobble anyway. Actually,the fan hangs
from a down rod, with a ball at the top that just rests in an opening in
the mounting canopy. So it's not at all rigid.

Medium is going to be good enough, but I just wondered if I'm missing
something. I thought I would ask here while I still have the step ladder
in the bedroom.

On Thu, 19 May 2022 15:34:24 -0500, Peabody
<waybackNO584SPAM44@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I have two Hunter T-type model 28016 ceiling fans in my new condo. They
>appear to date ftom 2001. One works fine at all three speeds, but the
>other one wobbled signifcsntly at medium and high. And it didn't feel like
>it was mounted as solidly as the good fan. So today I took it down and
>re-did all the mounting stuff. I also checked in the attic, and found a
>2X4, with a metal electrical box undermeath, nailed between two ceiling
>joists, It all felt very solid.
>
>There are two screws mounting the mounting bracket to the metal box, and
>two srews mounting the fan canopy to the mounting bracket. All four screws
>are in line, which doesn't seem to be a good idea, and in fact the wobble
>has a definite direction, which is perpendicular to the mounting screw
>line, but parallel to the 2X4. The one thing I noticed was that they had
>looped the bare ground wire around one of the bracket mounting screws
>before tightening it down. Copper being soft, it was no longer tight. So
>I used a different grounding option, and made sure all the mounting screws
>were tight.
>
>So after getting everything back in place, I found that it now works fine
>on low and medium, but still wobbles on high. Any attempt to balance it
>just makes it worse, or makes it wobble on medium. It seems the culprit
>here has to be related in some way to the mounting system, but still, it
>seems if it was balanced, it wouldn't wobble anyway. Actually,the fan hangs
>from a down rod, with a ball at the top that just rests in an opening in
>the mounting canopy. So it's not at all rigid.
>
>Medium is going to be good enough, but I just wondered if I'm missing
>something. I thought I would ask here while I still have the step ladder
>in the bedroom.
>
Check "tracking" and "pitch" If tracking and / or pitch are off it
WILL wobble at one speed or another (if not all) A paper shim under
one blade mounting screw can changetracking by up to 1/4 inch!!

Clare Snyder says...

> Check "tracking" and "pitch" If tracking and / or pitch
> are off it WILL wobble at one speed or another (if not
> all) A paper shim under one blade mounting screw can
> changetracking by up to 1/4 inch!!

I checked that in the beginning and it looked good. But
I'll check again. One thing I noticed since posting is that
the wobble is less if I reverse the fan direction. So maybe
there's a leading edge problem. Anyway, I understand that
there could be a weigth imbalance, but there could also be
some kind of aerodynamic imbalance that shows up at higher
speeds.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 19 May 2022 15:34:24 -0500, Peabody
<waybackNO584SPAM44@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>So after getting everything back in place, I found that it now works fine
>on low and medium, but still wobbles on high. Any attempt to balance it
>just makes it worse, or makes it wobble on medium.

What kind of attempt do you mean? I'd tape a penny to the top of one
of the blades. Since it was built to be balanced, a penny might be too
much, and I don't know if you'll be able to tell if it wobbles in the
opposite way. Maybe a paper clip, or just a piece of heavy tape. But
of course knowing which blade to tape it to is another problem. And
distance from the center. Trial and error.

Did anything little ever fall off. Anything under the bed that could
have come from the fan?

> It seems the culprit
>here has to be related in some way to the mounting system, but still, it
>seems if it was balanced, it wouldn't wobble anyway. Actually,the fan hangs
>from a down rod, with a ball at the top that just rests in an opening in
>the mounting canopy. So it's not at all rigid.

On Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 4:34:30 PM UTC-4, Peabody wrote:
> I have two Hunter T-type model 28016 ceiling fans in my new condo. They
> appear to date ftom 2001. One works fine at all three speeds, but the
> other one wobbled signifcsntly at medium and high. And it didn't feel like
> it was mounted as solidly as the good fan. So today I took it down and
> re-did all the mounting stuff. I also checked in the attic, and found a
> 2X4, with a metal electrical box undermeath, nailed between two ceiling
> joists, It all felt very solid.
>
> There are two screws mounting the mounting bracket to the metal box, and
> two srews mounting the fan canopy to the mounting bracket. All four screws
> are in line, which doesn't seem to be a good idea, and in fact the wobble
> has a definite direction, which is perpendicular to the mounting screw
> line, but parallel to the 2X4. The one thing I noticed was that they had
> looped the bare ground wire around one of the bracket mounting screws
> before tightening it down. Copper being soft, it was no longer tight. So
> I used a different grounding option, and made sure all the mounting screws
> were tight.
>
> So after getting everything back in place, I found that it now works fine
> on low and medium, but still wobbles on high. Any attempt to balance it
> just makes it worse, or makes it wobble on medium. It seems the culprit
> here has to be related in some way to the mounting system, but still, it
> seems if it was balanced, it wouldn't wobble anyway. Actually,the fan hangs
> from a down rod, with a ball at the top that just rests in an opening in
> the mounting canopy. So it's not at all rigid.

I don't know the quality of the fan you have, but the ball-topped down rod is
very common these days. It is designed so that the fan will hang straight
down even if the ceiling and/or ceiling bracket is not level. IOW that type
of mount, properly installed has a better chance of eliminating wobble
than introducing it.

There is typically a notch on the ball and a tab on the socket. The tab
should fit snuggly into the notch to ensure that ball doesn't move around.

micky says...

> What kind of attempt do you mean? I'd tape a penny to
> the top of one of the blades. Since it was built to be
> balanced, a penny might be too much, and I don't know if
> you'll be able to tell if it wobbles in the opposite
> way. Maybe a paper clip, or just a piece of heavy tape.
> But of course knowing which blade to tape it to is
> another problem. And distance from the center. Trial
> and error.

I spent three hours trying a variety of weights at different
positions from the center on each blade, looking for
anything that even made it better, and found nothing.

> Did anything little ever fall off. Anything under the
> bed that could have come from the fan?

No, all the parts are there.

Marilyn Manson says...

> I don't know the quality of the fan you have, but the
> ball-topped down rod is very common these days. It is
> designed so that the fan will hang straight down even if
> the ceiling and/or ceiling bracket is not level. IOW
> that type of mount, properly installed has a better
> chance of eliminating wobble than introducing it.

I think the fan is pretty good quality. and it was my
assumption that the down rod shouldn't be the problem. If
the blades are balanced by weight, and there are no
aerodynamic imbalances, it shouldn't wobble even if there's
nothing really preventing it from wobbling. But I just
can't anyting wrong to fix. And it does now run at medium
with no wobble. So I don't know what's going on.

> There is typically a notch on the ball and a tab on the
> socket. The tab should fit snuggly into the notch to
> ensure that ball doesn't move around.

Well, remember that this is a 2001 fan, so they are probably
doing down rods better these days. The ball on this one
actually fit into the opening at the bottom of the canopy.
I think modern versions have the ball socket as part of the
mounting frame. And yes, there are little tabs on the ball
that fit into tracks in the opening. But as I said
originally, I have the same model fan in another room, and
it works fine at all speeds. However, that one does just
seem more solid when I try to move it around. The ball
doesn't move as much. Even so, if eveything is balanced, it
shouldn't wobble.

On Fri, 20 May 2022 16:07:04 -0500, Peabody <waybackNO584SPAM44@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I spent three hours trying a variety of weights at different
>positions from the center on each blade, looking for
>anything that even made it better, and found nothing.

Could it be that the balance is off by such a small amount, that at lower speeds it doesn't
overcome the friction of the ball and shaft, but at the higher speeds it does?

It seems you've covered all the bases, but these "simple" fans actually have a lot going on,
what with balance, and blade dynamics that you've been working on.

For balance, I would think a 5-bladed fan might be easier to tweak than a 4-bladed fan, but in
either case it could be tricky (i.e. you might need to fiddle with the weight of two or three
blades at a time, where one needs more/less weight than the others--in other words, weight is
needed where there is no blade to attach it to). But maybe you're ahead of me there. My 3
fans are all mounted solid to the ceiling, so they would have to be far out of balance and
dynamics to get my attention. But they are all still cranking perfectly after 35 years of
service.

--
croy

On 20 May 2022 Peabody wrote:

> Marilyn Manson says...
>
> > I don't know the quality of the fan you have, but the
> > ball-topped down rod is very common these days. It is
> > designed so that the fan will hang straight down even if
> > the ceiling and/or ceiling bracket is not level. IOW
> > that type of mount, properly installed has a better
> > chance of eliminating wobble than introducing it.
>
> I think the fan is pretty good quality. and it was my
> assumption that the down rod shouldn't be the problem. If
> the blades are balanced by weight, and there are no
> aerodynamic imbalances, it shouldn't wobble even if there's
> nothing really preventing it from wobbling. But I just
> can't anyting wrong to fix. And it does now run at medium
> with no wobble. So I don't know what's going on.
>
> > There is typically a notch on the ball and a tab on the
> > socket. The tab should fit snuggly into the notch to
> > ensure that ball doesn't move around.
>
> Well, remember that this is a 2001 fan, so they are probably
> doing down rods better these days. The ball on this one
> actually fit into the opening at the bottom of the canopy.
> I think modern versions have the ball socket as part of the
> mounting frame. And yes, there are little tabs on the ball
> that fit into tracks in the opening. But as I said
> originally, I have the same model fan in another room, and
> it works fine at all speeds. However, that one does just
> seem more solid when I try to move it around. The ball
> doesn't move as much. Even so, if eveything is balanced, it
> shouldn't wobble.
>
>

I'd be curious to know how you fixed it - if/when you ever do.

DUBS says...

> I'd be curious to know how you fixed it - if/when you
> ever do.

I will cetainly report back if that ever happens, but I have
officially given up and moved the step ladder back to the
garage. I'll have a handyman over sometime to do a few
things, and will ask him if he has any ideas. But my guess
is it's just gonna stay wobbly on high - for whatever
reason.

On Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 7:50:04 PM UTC-4, Peabody wrote:
> DUBS says...
> > I'd be curious to know how you fixed it - if/when you
> > ever do.
> I will cetainly report back if that ever happens, but I have
> officially given up and moved the step ladder back to the
> garage. I'll have a handyman over sometime to do a few
> things, and will ask him if he has any ideas. But my guess
> is it's just gonna stay wobbly on high - for whatever
> reason.

"Wobbly" and "high". 2 words that go together very well. DAMHIKT