On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 11:41:21 -0700, RB wrote
(in article ):

I live in a house built in '65 timeframe. I've been in it approx 7 yrs now.

In the master bedroom, there is a large, ornate ceiling fan. It 's a very
typical type --- several lights under the blades. There are pull chains
which give me 3 fan speeds and several light levels.

The wall power controller is unusual, and I don't know what the heck it is,
or why they didn't put in a conventional switch. But, what's there in a
standard wall outlet box, is some kind of gizmo that has a horizontal rocker
switch on top, a horizontal slider switch in the middle, and a horizontal
rocker switch on the bottom. I have no idea how it's supposed to work. I
just fiddle with it until the fan and/or lights come on.

Anyway, where this discussion is going, is that the other day the fan was
running on high, and I just happened to notice that the faceplate on the
wall power control was very hot. Obviously, this isn't good.

The question I've got is: is there any reason why I shouldn't pull thegizmo
that's there, and replace it with a conventional toggle switch???


RB -

Ceiling fans typically use capacative speed controls. If there is a
pull-chain on the fan for speed control, then there shouldn't be a speed
control in the wall switch assembly as well. The instructions with a ceiling
fan that has an internal speed control warn against this as a fire hazard.
(Unless the fan is made to take an external speed control, in which case
there's a way of removing or permanently bypassing the internal one.)

From your description, it's likely that someone installed a speed control in
the wall switchbox with the intention that the control on the fan would
always be left on high (no capacitors in the circuit) and the wall control
would be used instead. The problem is that using two speed controls in
series can result in overheating of one or both sets of capacitors.

I think you would be wise to replace the wall control.

Have you opened up the wall box to see how the device is wired? There are
possibly two switched wires and a neutral running from the device to the fan.
One would control the lights, the other one the fan motor. If that is the
case, you should replace the wall speed control with a pair of switches.
Alternatively, you may put a dimmer on the light circuit, but NOT on the fan
motor circuit.

If there is only one switched wire and a neutral going to the fan, then just
replace the controller with a regular switch.

Good luck.

- Kenneth