We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
house before we moved in and they just do not do a very good job of
circulating air. I've read a little about the strengths of various
types of fans and how fin angle, number of fins (4 is better than 5,
but more difficult to balance) and a strong motor all play a role in
getting good circulation.

However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

So I'd like some advice in choosing a fan. We're not too concerned
with design...the fans will be mounted over beds with 8 ft ceilings,
white or wood is fine, but we do value strong circulation. I'm not
concerned whether or not it has a remote control or not.

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are three fin fans better than four if the motor is adequate?

If I go to the manufacturer's site to get motor specs, what is
considered an adequate or "strong" motor for a house fan?

What brands should we consider, or not consider (i.e., I've read good
things about Hunter's, but someone mentioned to me that Hampton Bay's
are re-branded Hunter's, any luck with Harbor Breeze's)?

Are there significant price points that cross the boundaries of "do
not buy because it's probably junk," through "very functional at this
level, the next step up begins the line of the bells and whistles and
gadgets"?

Thank you,
Dave

wrote in message
ups.com...
We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
house before we moved in and they just do not do a very good job of
circulating air. I've read a little about the strengths of various
types of fans and how fin angle, number of fins (4 is better than 5,
but more difficult to balance) and a strong motor all play a role in
getting good circulation.

However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

So I'd like some advice in choosing a fan. We're not too concerned
with design...the fans will be mounted over beds with 8 ft ceilings,
white or wood is fine, but we do value strong circulation. I'm not
concerned whether or not it has a remote control or not.

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are three fin fans better than four if the motor is adequate?

If I go to the manufacturer's site to get motor specs, what is
considered an adequate or "strong" motor for a house fan?

What brands should we consider, or not consider (i.e., I've read good
things about Hunter's, but someone mentioned to me that Hampton Bay's
are re-branded Hunter's, any luck with Harbor Breeze's)?

Are there significant price points that cross the boundaries of "do
not buy because it's probably junk," through "very functional at this
level, the next step up begins the line of the bells and whistles and
gadgets"?

Thank you,
Dave


In this newsgroup, you will find people who share disappointing stories
about Hunter and Hampton Bay fans, and some who haven't had a problem with
either of them. However, one thing I have never seen is anyone complaining
about Casablanca fans. Having lived with three of them, I can tell you that
they are well balanced, circulate air well, and are extremely quiet. There's
a reason they're more expensive.

As far as fin angle and all that, I never gave it a thought when I bought
fans. I bought a Casablanca based on a recommendation from a builder. I
bought two more based on my experience with the first one. You don't hear
much about them because of consumer laziness. Many people think Home Depot
and Lowe's are lighting stores, so they never bother to find a specialty
store and see what else is out there.

On 2 Jul, 09:12, "
wrote:
We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
house before we moved in and they just do not do a very good job of
circulating air. I've read a little about the strengths of various
types of fans and how fin angle, number of fins (4 is better than 5,
but more difficult to balance) and a strong motor all play a role in
getting good circulation.

However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

So I'd like some advice in choosing a fan. We're not too concerned
with design...the fans will be mounted over beds with 8 ft ceilings,
white or wood is fine, but we do value strong circulation. I'm not
concerned whether or not it has a remote control or not.

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are three fin fans better than four if the motor is adequate?

If I go to the manufacturer's site to get motor specs, what is
considered an adequate or "strong" motor for a house fan?

What brands should we consider, or not consider (i.e., I've read good
things about Hunter's, but someone mentioned to me that Hampton Bay's
are re-branded Hunter's, any luck with Harbor Breeze's)?

Are there significant price points that cross the boundaries of "do
not buy because it's probably junk," through "very functional at this
level, the next step up begins the line of the bells and whistles and
gadgets"?

Thank you,
Dave

Disclaimer: I don't work for a fan company so none of this is a
testmonial or sales pitch. It's just info...

Here's some quick info on ceilings fans, both of which include some
verbage on blades angles.

http://www.garbes.com/inform/fanfaq.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_110234_choose-ceiling-fan.html

Stolen without permission from http://www.hansenwholesale.com/ceili...anca/about.asp

*** Begin Included Text ***

"Don't let your ceiling fan leave you hot under the collar... Just
because a ceiling fan moves air doesn't mean it moves enough air to
keep you comfortable. The blade pitch (or angle) determines how much
air is moved when the fan is on. Some fans have blades with a very
shallow pitch because their motors are not powerful enough to handle
the extra demand made by steeper blade pitches. Casablanca fans use a
motor which is engineered to be more than powerful enough to operate
fan blades with a full 14 degree pitch. So you always get the right
amount of air to keep cool and comfortable."

*** End Included text ***

Interesting fact: The first 3 fans listed under the model section at
that site are 3, 4 and 5 blade fan. The 3 blade has an air flow rating
of 4 out 5, while the 4 & 5 bladers are rated 5 out of 5. Casablanca
claims 5 is the best, but I don't know if that's their standard or an
industry standard.

Bottom line: If a fan isn't bragging about it's blade angle and motor
quality as selling points, that may mean it's not as steep or strong
as one would like. My guess is that no one is putting a motor that can
handle a 15 degree pitch on a fan with an 8 degree pitch, if you know
what I mean.

In article . com,
" wrote:

We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
house before we moved in and they just do not do a very good job of
circulating air. I've read a little about the strengths of various
types of fans and how fin angle, number of fins (4 is better than 5,
but more difficult to balance) and a strong motor all play a role in
getting good circulation.

However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

So I'd like some advice in choosing a fan. We're not too concerned
with design...the fans will be mounted over beds with 8 ft ceilings,
white or wood is fine, but we do value strong circulation. I'm not
concerned whether or not it has a remote control or not.

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are three fin fans better than four if the motor is adequate?

If I go to the manufacturer's site to get motor specs, what is
considered an adequate or "strong" motor for a house fan?

What brands should we consider, or not consider (i.e., I've read good
things about Hunter's, but someone mentioned to me that Hampton Bay's
are re-branded Hunter's, any luck with Harbor Breeze's)?

Are there significant price points that cross the boundaries of "do
not buy because it's probably junk," through "very functional at this
level, the next step up begins the line of the bells and whistles and
gadgets"?

Thank you,
Dave

Not to insult your intelligence, since you seem to be one of the rare
people who can still construct sentences in the English language, but
since you didn't mention it, are you sure the reversing switches aren't
set to blow air towards the ceiling? (what manufacturers call the
"winter" setting.)

On 2 Jul, 09:51, Meat Plow wrote:
On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:12:39 -0700, wrote:
We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
house before we moved in and they just do not do a very good job of
circulating air. I've read a little about the strengths of various
types of fans and how fin angle, number of fins (4 is better than 5,
but more difficult to balance) and a strong motor all play a role in
getting good circulation.

However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

So I'd like some advice in choosing a fan. We're not too concerned
with design...the fans will be mounted over beds with 8 ft ceilings,
white or wood is fine, but we do value strong circulation. I'm not
concerned whether or not it has a remote control or not.

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are three fin fans better than four if the motor is adequate?

If I go to the manufacturer's site to get motor specs, what is
considered an adequate or "strong" motor for a house fan?

What brands should we consider, or not consider (i.e., I've read good
things about Hunter's, but someone mentioned to me that Hampton Bay's
are re-branded Hunter's, any luck with Harbor Breeze's)?

Are there significant price points that cross the boundaries of "do
not buy because it's probably junk," through "very functional at this
level, the next step up begins the line of the bells and whistles and
gadgets"?

Thank you,
Dave

-- No fan works really well if it's flush mounted.

Just to back up what the Plow Man says, check out this site:

http://www.hansenwholesale.com/ceilingfans/bestfans.asp

"Meat Blow" wrote in message
...

No fan works really well if it's flush mounted.


I have a whole house fan that is flush mounted and it works great. much
better than my hanging ceiling fan.

On 2 Jul, 10:06, "Sam" wrote:
"Meat Blow" wrote in message

...



No fan works really well if it's flush mounted.

I have a whole house fan that is flush mounted and it works great. much
better than my hanging ceiling fan.

Feel free to correct me if my assumptions are wrong, but...

I believe we are talking about 2 very different animals here. A flush
mounted whole house fan is not the same as a flush mounted ceiling
fan.

The main idea is that you have to have clearance behind the fan in
order for it to move air. If a ceiling fan is less than 10 - 12 inches
from the ceiling, it probably can't move enough air to do much good.
That's the type of flush mounted fan we're discussing here - the motor
is mounted directly to the ceiling with minimal clearance between the
top of the fins and the ceiling material.

I'm assuming that your whole house fan, which may indeed be flush with
the ceiling, has more than 10 - 12 inches above it.

On Jul 2, 9:49 am, Smitty Two wrote:

Not to insult your intelligence, since you seem to be one of the rare
people who can still construct sentences in the English language, but
since you didn't mention it, are you sure the reversing switches aren't
set to blow air towards the ceiling? (what manufacturers call the
"winter" setting.)- Hide quoted text -


I'm sure that they're set properly. Many things in the house were
done by the previous owners...as cheaply as possible.

wrote in message
ps.com...
On Jul 2, 9:49 am, Smitty Two wrote:

Not to insult your intelligence, since you seem to be one of the rare
people who can still construct sentences in the English language, but
since you didn't mention it, are you sure the reversing switches aren't
set to blow air towards the ceiling? (what manufacturers call the
"winter" setting.)- Hide quoted text -


I'm sure that they're set properly. Many things in the house were
done by the previous owners...as cheaply as possible.


Which way the fan blows has nothing to do with the builder. It's something
the user chooses to do. Some stupid fans have a switch on the motor housing,
and it's out of reach. As a result, people never think to see what it does.
It reverses the direction of rotation. Other fans (like Casablanca) have
that control as part of a really nice wall switch, so you're more likely to
notice it and find out "hey how about that - one of the kids must've pushed
the "reverse" button. That's why we're not getting downward air movement."

On Jul 2, 11:29 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
Which way the fan blows has nothing to do with the builder. It's something
the user chooses to do. Some stupid fans have a switch on the motor housing,
and it's out of reach. As a result, people never think to see what it does.
It reverses the direction of rotation. Other fans (like Casablanca) have
that control as part of a really nice wall switch, so you're more likely to
notice it and find out "hey how about that - one of the kids must've pushed
the "reverse" button. That's why we're not getting downward air movement."

Ours has a switch on the motor housing and we have tried switching
directions. There
is *some* air movement, but the blades are relatively flat and there
is simply not a lot
of air movement.

As I've read these posts and related articles, a contributing factor
may be the distance
from the ceiling, so I'll measure that when I get home. In addition,
I'm going to measure the
blades and room dimensions to make sure they're appropriately sized.

wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jul 2, 11:29 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
Which way the fan blows has nothing to do with the builder. It's
something
the user chooses to do. Some stupid fans have a switch on the motor
housing,
and it's out of reach. As a result, people never think to see what it
does.
It reverses the direction of rotation. Other fans (like Casablanca) have
that control as part of a really nice wall switch, so you're more likely
to
notice it and find out "hey how about that - one of the kids must've
pushed
the "reverse" button. That's why we're not getting downward air
movement."

Ours has a switch on the motor housing and we have tried switching
directions. There
is *some* air movement, but the blades are relatively flat and there
is simply not a lot
of air movement.

As I've read these posts and related articles, a contributing factor
may be the distance
from the ceiling, so I'll measure that when I get home. In addition,
I'm going to measure the
blades and room dimensions to make sure they're appropriately sized.



If the blades came with the fan, they're probably as appropriate as they'll
get, at least for that particular motor.

On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:29:04 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 2, 9:49 am, Smitty Two wrote:

Not to insult your intelligence, since you seem to be one of the rare
people who can still construct sentences in the English language, but
since you didn't mention it, are you sure the reversing switches aren't
set to blow air towards the ceiling? (what manufacturers call the
"winter" setting.)- Hide quoted text -


I'm sure that they're set properly. Many things in the house were
done by the previous owners...as cheaply as possible.


Which way the fan blows has nothing to do with the builder. It's something
the user chooses to do. Some stupid fans have a switch on the motor housing,
and it's out of reach.

I remember one of those. I could reach the switch, but it was just an
inch below the blades. Not easy to operate without getting your
fingers scraped.

As a result, people never think to see what it does.
It reverses the direction of rotation. Other fans (like Casablanca) have
that control as part of a really nice wall switch, so you're more likely to
notice it and find out "hey how about that - one of the kids must've pushed
the "reverse" button. That's why we're not getting downward air movement."

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"Never underestimate the power of stupid
people in large groups"

wrote:

We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
house before we moved in and they just do not do a very good job of
circulating air. I've read a little about the strengths of various
types of fans and how fin angle, number of fins (4 is better than 5,
but more difficult to balance) and a strong motor all play a role in
getting good circulation.

However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

So I'd like some advice in choosing a fan. We're not too concerned
with design...the fans will be mounted over beds with 8 ft ceilings,
white or wood is fine, but we do value strong circulation. I'm not
concerned whether or not it has a remote control or not.

* We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit. *

Are three fin fans better than four if the motor is adequate?

If I go to the manufacturer's site to get motor specs, what is
considered an adequate or "strong" motor for a house fan?

What brands should we consider, or not consider (i.e., I've read good
things about Hunter's, but someone mentioned to me that Hampton Bay's
are re-branded Hunter's, any luck with Harbor Breeze's)?

Are there significant price points that cross the boundaries of "do
not buy because it's probably junk," through "very functional at this
level, the next step up begins the line of the bells and whistles and
gadgets"?
Thank you,
Dave


* We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit. *
=========================================
Effective ways to get optimal cooling from your window/room AC.
A mere 6,000-BTUH Half-Ton Window AC cooling perfectly 3 rooms & a
hallway with stairwell, a +850 square feet!
http://www.udarrell.com/aircondition...harting.h tml

Ceiling fans have little effect toward saving on cooling costs. - udarrell

--
WISDOM PRINCIPLE DIRECTED EMPOWERMENT COMMUNICATIONS -
THE REAL POLITICAL ISSUES and WISDOM BASED PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT

http://www.udarrell.com/

http://www.udarrell.com/my_pages2.htm
(My Airconditioning Links, Hunting Shooting, Angus Cattle, etc.)

http://www.udarrell.com/principled_a...ju stice.html

http://www.udarrell.com/recognizing_real_enemies.html

http://jesuschristsavior.net/Beatitudes.html

http://www.antiwar.com/ ***

Reality Is Not An Easy Thing To Be Confronted With, or to Accept!

"udarrell" wrote in message
. net...


Ceiling fans have little effect toward saving on cooling costs. - udarrell



There are times when all you need is a little moving air to make a room feel
comfortable, so running the AC makes no sense. Do you dispute this?

wrote in message

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.


Are you attempting to cool two rooms with one AC? If so, you may do better
with a pedestal fan blowing from the AC room into the other. Trying to
have a propeller blast from the ceiling is going to be of limited value.
We have ours going very slow, just enough to move some air.

On 2 Jul, 12:23, Mark Lloyd wrote:

- I remember one of those. I could reach the switch, but it was just
an inch below the blades.
- Not easy to operate without getting your fingers scraped.

Were you trying to toggle the switch with the fan running? I'm
thinking that's not very good for the motor.

On Jul 2, 1:11 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
wrote in message

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are you attempting to cool two rooms with one AC? If so, you may do better
with a pedestal fan blowing from the AC room into the other. Trying to
have a propeller blast from the ceiling is going to be of limited value.
We have ours going very slow, just enough to move some air.

Nope. We really only use the AC on very hot days in the one bedroom,
when the night temp does not drop below 70 and the air is stagnant
(about 10 night a year, on average). On those nights, we normally
have the kids sleep in the room with us if they're uncomfortable.
They're rooms are on a lower level than ours, so there are times when
our room is suffocating and they're under that 70 degree mark.

What we're trying to get away from is running a second, floor unit fan
in the same room as the ceiling fan. Our hope is that if we invest in
a better ceiling fan, we can eliminate the second fan in the room.
There are a few other reasons that we're looking to replace the
current unit, but air circulation is the primary one. The second
ceiling fan that we're replacing is the same type of fan and is
undersized for the room that it is in.

On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:07:58 -0700, "
wrote:

The second
ceiling fan that we're replacing is the same type of fan and is
undersized for the room that it is in.

I just saw some 70" fans the other day. I even remarked about them,
because all of mine are 52" fans on 10' ceilings.

--
Oren

"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 2, 1:11 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
wrote in message

We do not have air conditioning, except for a window unit.

Are you attempting to cool two rooms with one AC? If so, you may do
better
with a pedestal fan blowing from the AC room into the other. Trying to
have a propeller blast from the ceiling is going to be of limited value.
We have ours going very slow, just enough to move some air.

Nope. We really only use the AC on very hot days in the one bedroom,
when the night temp does not drop below 70 and the air is stagnant
(about 10 night a year, on average). On those nights, we normally
have the kids sleep in the room with us if they're uncomfortable.
They're rooms are on a lower level than ours, so there are times when
our room is suffocating and they're under that 70 degree mark.

What we're trying to get away from is running a second, floor unit fan
in the same room as the ceiling fan. Our hope is that if we invest in
a better ceiling fan, we can eliminate the second fan in the room.
There are a few other reasons that we're looking to replace the
current unit, but air circulation is the primary one. The second
ceiling fan that we're replacing is the same type of fan and is
undersized for the room that it is in.



Casablanca. Simple answer to the problem. Seriously. The price may be
slightly breathtaking, but you won't mind once it's installed.

http://www.casablancafanco.com/diffe...dif_motor.html
http://www.casablancafanco.com/diffe...if_blades.html

The site seems to focus on the more ornate models, but we didn't want that,
and ended up with something very plain.

On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:12:39 -0700, "
wrote:

We have two ceiling fans in two bedrooms that were installed in our
snip

Personally, I have Casablanca, Hunter, and Hampton Bay ceiling fans.
All work fine for many years and the Hampton Bay was a $12 HD closeout
bargain. I probably would not spend a lot on a ceiling fan, certainly
not more than $100, and you should see end-of-summer sales soon. The
size of the blades will make a big difference, but there are
guidelines. A large room should have larger, longer blades. The
larger Casablanca fans have 5 blades. You may get better results by
allowing a little more room between the blade and the ceiling. Get a
fan with three or more speeds. Test the fan for proper balance else
it can vibrate. The air direction should blow directly down in the
summer, and blow up toward the ceiling during winter. A light kit is
worth the extra cost.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"udarrell" wrote in message
.net...


Ceiling fans have little effect toward saving on cooling costs. - udarrell


There are times when all you need is a little moving air to make a room feel
comfortable, so running the AC makes no sense. Do you dispute this?


Absolutely NOT! I am a strong believer in moving air for many comfort, &
also cooling efficiency reasons.
One of the problems with using ceiling fans, is that they tend to bring
the warmest air down from the ceiling areas to the occupants' level.

When ceilings are above 8 feet, such as alcove ceiling areas, that layer
of hot air acts as an insulator reduces the temp difference between the
attic air and the room.
In the winter a ceiling fan can help bring the air down to the
occupants' level.

Many times 20 inch floor fans can do a much better job during cooling
season. Those 20" fans such as the 3-Speed Vertical Adjusting 3300
WindMachines at Wal Mart & other stores can increase the capacity of
small ACs enabling them to cool larger areas & save bigtime on cooling
costs.
http://www.udarrell.com/aircondition...harting.h tml

- udarrell

--
WISDOM PRINCIPLE DIRECTED EMPOWERMENT COMMUNICATIONS -
THE REAL POLITICAL ISSUES and WISDOM BASED PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT

http://www.udarrell.com/

http://www.udarrell.com/my_pages2.htm
(My Airconditioning Links, Hunting Shooting, Angus Cattle, etc.)

http://www.udarrell.com/principled_a...ju stice.html

http://www.udarrell.com/recognizing_real_enemies.html

http://jesuschristsavior.net/Beatitudes.html

http://www.antiwar.com/ ***

Reality Is Not An Easy Thing To Be Confronted With, or to Accept!

On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:12:39 -0700, "
wrote:



However, when shopping at the local home store, fin angle and motor
strength is nowhere to be found on the boxes and the "Hunter's" were
mixed in with the "Harbor Breeze" models.

Those are both H fans. It's like my girlfriend who drives a Vette,
a Chevette.

They are all C cars like Camaro, Corvair, Corvette, Cavalier. I guess
they're meant to be one as good as the other.

wrote in message


What we're trying to get away from is running a second, floor unit fan
in the same room as the ceiling fan. Our hope is that if we invest in
a better ceiling fan, we can eliminate the second fan in the room.
There are a few other reasons that we're looking to replace the
current unit, but air circulation is the primary one. The second
ceiling fan that we're replacing is the same type of fan and is
undersized for the room that it is in.

Along the same lines, though a window fan may be best. A good window fan,
not a $12 box fan, can draw the cooler night air in where it will pass
through the house and the hot air is being blown out at the same time.
Ceiling fans are good for circulating iar, but not for changing it. The
ceiling fan may make you feel two degrees cooler, but fresh air from the
otside can actually be 10 degrees cooler.

Consider a "whole house" fan also, drawing air in and blowing out hte attic
space. That also cools down that hot box for less heat to radiate down,
even through the insulation. When the bedroom is 85 and the outside is 65,
ceiling fans do nothing, as you are finding.

On Mon, 02 Jul 2007 07:35:35 -0700, DerbyDad03
wrote:


I believe we are talking about 2 very different animals here. A flush
mounted whole house fan is not the same as a flush mounted ceiling
fan.

Yup.

The main idea is that you have to have clearance behind the fan in

Absolutely. I have a fan on the window sill above my bed, and part of
the day the sun is too bright even to take a nap. If I put the
curtain behind the fan, pretty much nothing comes out. Of course that
is only an inch behind the blade, but still.

order for it to move air. If a ceiling fan is less than 10 - 12 inches
from the ceiling, it probably can't move enough air to do much good.
That's the type of flush mounted fan we're discussing here - the motor
is mounted directly to the ceiling with minimal clearance between the
top of the fins and the ceiling material.