Post by JW on Aug 20, 2008 23:24:55 GMT -5
This is the second installment of FANKILLERS, an educational series on how to get the longest life out of your fan by avoiding common mistakes that typical fan manufacturers will not tell you about.
Today I'd like to talk for a little while about the number one killer of ceiling fans in public places as well as the home. Yes, I am referring to the dreaded CHILD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY.
You know them, you've seen them. Mothers with 5- and 6-year-old kids who want to make the entire room look like SpongeBob. You've got the SpongeBob plates, SpongeBob napkins, teal colored paper tablecloth to look like water... oh, what's missing? A gajillion balloons to tie to the chairs, and crepe paper to string from every corner of the ceiling, and of course from the ceiling fan blades. Then some more little fishy dangly things for that "extra touch".
You'll see these psychotic women sharing their ideas all over the internet. Just Google "ceiling fan" and "birthday party" and you'll see postings like "then I hung streamers from the blades of our fans and turned them on and they looked so cccc-uuuuuutttttteeeeeeee!!!"
NO, NO, NO!!!! Don't EVER violate your ceiling fans, or the fans on public property, in this manner!!! Unless you have a grudge against your fans for making too much noise or dropping dust onto your Boston Creme Pie (and even then).
Lesson One: Balloons. If you HAVE to have them, be sure they're secured to whatever you're tying them to, in a way in which there is NO WAY they will get loose and caught up in the fan. Just to be safe, put them nowhere near the fan; that way if they still get loose, they will hit the ceiling and you will have time to retrieve them before they get sucked into the powerful current of your fan. Should you make the mistake of getting a balloon caught in the fan, be prepared to get it untangled from the light kit, the motor shaft (always the fun part), the brackets, and possibly even the downrod. Get enough of it caught in the fan and you can slow it down, risk bending brackets if the ribbon gets pulled between two spots, and possibly even having the balloon melt to the motor.
Lesson Two: Streamers. No matter how "cute" it may look, your ceiling fan is NOT the place to put streamers. Taping them to the blades may cause the brackets to bend from your handling the blade with too much pressure. If you turn the fan on after hanging the streamers, you risk overheating the motor (especially if your fan is cheap) - you will notice that it will not go very fast on any speed, indicating that the motor is having to struggle to pull the blades with the extra wind resistance from the streamers. Finally, there is a 90 percent chance you will peel some of the finish off the blades when you remove the streamers, resulting in unsightly "tape scars" that you cannot repair, or pieces of tape that will not come off.
Lesson Three: Dangly Things. Hanging objects of any kind of weight from a blade will produce the same effects as above, with the additional possibilities of bending the bracket or the blade itself, or overstressing the motor, due to the weight of said object. Hanging them from the pull chain is no better unless the object is made out of paper; if the decoration is too heavy, the weight alone will pull the chain, causing unnecessary wear on the pull switch, making it difficult to change the speed, and possibly rendering the fan inoperable until the decoration is removed.
Lesson Four: Party Games Indoors. If you have a ceiling fan in the room, or if there are fans in the party room you rented, it might not be a good idea to play kickball. Flying objects + ceiling fans = bent and broken blades and brackets. Take it outside or stick with Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
So please, before you think about making your ceiling fan the centerpiece of your child's fairy tale land, please remember these tips and be warned that "Birthday Parties Can Be Hazardous to your Fan's Health."
Today I'd like to talk for a little while about the number one killer of ceiling fans in public places as well as the home. Yes, I am referring to the dreaded CHILD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY.
You know them, you've seen them. Mothers with 5- and 6-year-old kids who want to make the entire room look like SpongeBob. You've got the SpongeBob plates, SpongeBob napkins, teal colored paper tablecloth to look like water... oh, what's missing? A gajillion balloons to tie to the chairs, and crepe paper to string from every corner of the ceiling, and of course from the ceiling fan blades. Then some more little fishy dangly things for that "extra touch".
You'll see these psychotic women sharing their ideas all over the internet. Just Google "ceiling fan" and "birthday party" and you'll see postings like "then I hung streamers from the blades of our fans and turned them on and they looked so cccc-uuuuuutttttteeeeeeee!!!"
NO, NO, NO!!!! Don't EVER violate your ceiling fans, or the fans on public property, in this manner!!! Unless you have a grudge against your fans for making too much noise or dropping dust onto your Boston Creme Pie (and even then).
Lesson One: Balloons. If you HAVE to have them, be sure they're secured to whatever you're tying them to, in a way in which there is NO WAY they will get loose and caught up in the fan. Just to be safe, put them nowhere near the fan; that way if they still get loose, they will hit the ceiling and you will have time to retrieve them before they get sucked into the powerful current of your fan. Should you make the mistake of getting a balloon caught in the fan, be prepared to get it untangled from the light kit, the motor shaft (always the fun part), the brackets, and possibly even the downrod. Get enough of it caught in the fan and you can slow it down, risk bending brackets if the ribbon gets pulled between two spots, and possibly even having the balloon melt to the motor.
Lesson Two: Streamers. No matter how "cute" it may look, your ceiling fan is NOT the place to put streamers. Taping them to the blades may cause the brackets to bend from your handling the blade with too much pressure. If you turn the fan on after hanging the streamers, you risk overheating the motor (especially if your fan is cheap) - you will notice that it will not go very fast on any speed, indicating that the motor is having to struggle to pull the blades with the extra wind resistance from the streamers. Finally, there is a 90 percent chance you will peel some of the finish off the blades when you remove the streamers, resulting in unsightly "tape scars" that you cannot repair, or pieces of tape that will not come off.
Lesson Three: Dangly Things. Hanging objects of any kind of weight from a blade will produce the same effects as above, with the additional possibilities of bending the bracket or the blade itself, or overstressing the motor, due to the weight of said object. Hanging them from the pull chain is no better unless the object is made out of paper; if the decoration is too heavy, the weight alone will pull the chain, causing unnecessary wear on the pull switch, making it difficult to change the speed, and possibly rendering the fan inoperable until the decoration is removed.
Lesson Four: Party Games Indoors. If you have a ceiling fan in the room, or if there are fans in the party room you rented, it might not be a good idea to play kickball. Flying objects + ceiling fans = bent and broken blades and brackets. Take it outside or stick with Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
So please, before you think about making your ceiling fan the centerpiece of your child's fairy tale land, please remember these tips and be warned that "Birthday Parties Can Be Hazardous to your Fan's Health."