I Need To Replace The Switch Housing Cap On My FD

[J.J. A.]

Hey Guys, as many of you may already know I recently bought a Brown 36" Emerson Friction Drive Ceiling Fan and saw that everything was intact but the switch housing cap on the bottom of the fan was cracked and pieces of it were chipped off. If anybody has a brown plastic switch housing cap for this kind of fan please let me know. (See Photos Below) Thanks, J.J.

[JW]

You should be able to use one from any plastic Emerson. The only reason the cap on a friction drive has a hole in it is so you can insert an eyeglass screwdriver into the control in order to fine-tune the low speed - and you will probably end up removing the cap anyway to do so because the knob you're trying to reach is so small.

[J.J. A.]

I was told that this fan won't work right if it goes to slow. They say it will stall out which I don't really know what that means. I didn't know this fan had a fine tuning knob for the slow speed.

[Andrew G.]

I have a [yellowed] white friction-drive cap, which could be painted to match.

[JW]

Apr 24, 2009 19:46:19 GMT -5 J.J. A. said:

I was told that this fan won't work right if it goes to slow. They say it will stall out which I don't really know what that means. I didn't know this fan had a fine tuning knob for the slow speed.

You probably read my post on the other board. "Stalling out" means that at lower speeds, the motor does not produce enough energy to move the flywheel/blade assembly; therefore it will simply sit still and eventually overheat from trying to run without being able to move.

The knob on the side of the switch housing is the main control for the fan speed. At one end of the range is high, while at the other is a low speed that on a normal fan is usually calibrated to barely moving. However, hidden in the side of the cardboard box that actually holds the variable speed control is a tiny knob that can only be adjusted with a small screwdriver - Dan calls this the "trim pot". By turning this knob you can adjust the low end of the speed range from not moving at all (turning the control all the way "down" effectively turns the fan off) to the fan's high speed (rendering the actual speed control useless as it will always run on high regardless of where it is set, unless the control also "clicks off").

As I was saying, the Friction Drive Emersons have that small hole in the switch housing so you can supposedly reach the "trim pot" without having to disassemble the switch housing itself. However, if it needed adjusting, it would probably be easier just to take off the switch cap and adjust it while it is visible. Some (if not all) variable speed SMC Lagunas have the hole in the switch housing as well for the same purpose, and it is labeled.

[jeremy]

i also got that dan's famous friction drive word "trim pot" on my 52" version i think...

i call friction drive fans "mr. squeaky"

[J.J. A.]

Apr 24, 2009 19:47:49 GMT -5 Andrew G. said:

I have a [yellowed] white friction-drive cap, which could be painted to match.

That sounds interesting Andrew! May I see a picture of the friction drive cap that you have?

[Louis]

You may also be able to substitute a metal cap from an 1895 Series if the holes line up properly.

[jeremy]

or ones from those kitchen emerson fans or other plastic emersons

[J.J. A.]

Unless I decide to put a light on it, then I won't need a switch cap.

[Deleted]

1895 cap would work.

Can you glue this obe back together? They're hard to find.

[J.J. A.]

Apr 27, 2009 20:24:25 GMT -5 @spiffy said:

1895 cap would work.

Can you glue this obe back together? They're hard to find.

Thanks but I would rather throw it away and get a whole new cap.

[Deleted]

Dont throw it out. What if you cant find a replacement?

[J.J. A.]

Apr 30, 2009 12:12:28 GMT -5 @spiffy said:

Dont throw it out. What if you cant find a replacement?

I'll keep using this cap until I find a replacement.

[Deleted]

When you do find a replacement, send the old one to me.