3-speed wall control problem

[Jean Lemieux]

Something really weird occurred today with my Ge vent fan that uses a quiet rotative 3-speed wall control to slow it down. It was on low and then I noticed it stooped by it self. It was not spinning anymore. I switched the speeds on the wall control and I heard a sound of electrical sparks(but I did not see them). On low it did not do anything, on medium it made that sound and started smelling like burning and some fume cammed out and it was barley moving on med. On high it was spinning normally, no problem.

I suppose that like those controls can create 3 different speeds on a single speed fan, they must have a 3-speed capacitor in them. That's why its so big at the back. It also says '' Capacitive-Type Fan Speed Control Ceiling Fan Only'' I supposed the capacitor in it burned out.

By now I did not retry it, I'm afraid something worst could happened.

The fan itself was OK, the motor was normally warm and no weird smell or fumes cammed out of it so the problem its just the control.

Cheap quality control, bad capacitor in it, or did I do something wrong while using it??

[Cole S.]

The control shouldn't be the problem here. Did you open the switch housing to see if there are loose wires? It could be the capacitor, but I'm not sure. Does it appear to be fried in any way? It shouldn't be anything you did. I'd check those wires, and make sure everything is secure. Anyone more experienced here willing to help?

[Jean Lemieux]

I opened the switch housing to check the capacitor and wires and everything seems fine. The problem is obviously the control not the fan. No weird smell or smoke cammed from the fan only the control.

I did not checked the wires of the control yet but if it runs fine on high, for sure there no problem with the wires. If something was disconnected, the fan would not run at all.

I retry it and its still the same. Normal on high, moves at 10RPM on medium(with burning smell from the control) and nothing happens on low.

Of course I will replace the control but I just want to know if its a common issue with theses quiet 3-speed capacitive wall control that the capacitor inside them can burn out just like the capacitor of a fan would do? Maybe I was not lucky and bought one that was malfunctioning/mis fabricated, or a really cheap quality one. The brand is Copper Wiring Devices BTW. At my local home center its the only model of quiet ceiling fan control they carries, so if I buy the same thing I don't want the same problem to happened in the future. I did not see the slide up ones.

I thought about something else. Maybe the problem as to do with the fact that I'm using it with a single speed fan instead of a 3-speed pull chain(set on high) fan. But still its just a tought, those should be OK with single speed fans. The question of using single speed spinners that lost their original 5-speed control have been asked many time and everyone said there no problem. Its probably just a bad control.

I will replace it ASAP. That model I have its the cheapest and still cost around 15$ just for a control.

[Cole S.]

Oh, I see now, the sparks, smell, etc. came from the control. That would obviously be the problem then. I've never had this problem with any of mine. I've never heard of Copper Wiring Devices (probably a Canada brand again), so I couldn't tell you about their quality control. All of my controls are [sadly] Hampton Bay or Pass and Seymour Legrand, both of which are several years old and still work great after being in many different locations.

I'd say you just got a bad control. Sounds like something that would happen to me. I never take the front of anything on the shelf, I always take one from the back.

[Jean Lemieux]

Yeah the problem was CLEARLY the control not the fan.

Ouff that was a hot night. I'm not used to stare at the four motionless blades. If you all know what this means.

So yeah I went a little street corner shabby Hardware store and with great surprise I found this Leviton 4-speed control for only 13$. Those showroom style computerized controls are usually at least 25$. The box looks old school. Late 1990s? I haven't seen one like that in a long time. I guess it was something they had on their shelves for a long time. Notice the box is written all in English, there no French side which is not normal here and almost illegal. Humm sound that it comes from the USA.
All products that comes from other countries must always have a French side. There a law applied here for that. C'mon our French language is what makes us unique from most of North Americans peoples. Another weird thing is that is say Sold State Control. But it also says that its quiet. I toughed theses preset control were NOT Solid State.


I try it and it made a loud hum to my fan so I return it immediately. All the four speeds were pretty similar with no REAL low speed. The slowest setting was too fast.
4 speeds was too good to be true.
I went to my local Rona Hardware store and got this Lutron quiet 3-speed slide control and it works perfectly. Probably even quieter than the rotative one. The med and low speeds are even slower than the rotative one. The slide is very soft and does not click hard. But it cost 31$.

At the shabby street corner Hardware store where I returned the 4-speed control I found a tassel pull chain! I usually dislike the white ones but its the ONLY one they had and I know I won't find one in long. I haven't seen one in stores since 2005. Again its something they probably had on their shelves since a long time. Its a small street corner place. Very shabby and not too modern.

[Cole S.]

I know how you felt without a fan. I always sleep with mine on, I can hardly sleep anywhere that doesn't have a fan anymore.

Congrats on finding a tassel! My local K-mart had them for a long while because no one bought them. I so wish I had gotten every single one on the rack now.

[JW]

A lot of US products, at least here in the south where there is a large Hispanic population, have the information in English and in Spanish. Also, a lot of owner's manuals are written in English, French, Spanish and German, if not more languages. I guess it depends on the region of the country what languages things are printed in.

Do you have Lowe's or Home Depot up there in Canada? Occasionally, but not always, you can find rotary 4-speed controls there.

[Jean Lemieux]

Our main chains of home improvement stores here are :
Rona
Réno-Dépot
Home Depot

Rona is an old one that dates back from 1965.
Réno-Dépot started in 1993.
The first Home Depot opened in Canada was around 2000-2001.

I haven't seen a Lowe's yet but I heard they are coming soon.
Between 2002-2006 Home Depot were still rare in Canada.
Before the closest Home Depot was in downtown Montréal which is about 40 mins(no traffic) from where I live. You had to get on the highway and all but in December 2007 they opened one in my area and its a huge TWO-stories one.
The thing I knew about going there instead of Rona or Réno-Dépot is that they have different products than what Rona and Réno-Dépot carries. Obviously some more American products.
Rona and Réno-Dépot usually carries Canarms, Westinghouse and very few Hunters fans. Home depot have much more Hunters and of course the Hampton Bay that are unique to this store.
Since HD have become more popular around I started seeing more and more Hampton Bay fans popping around here which before I have never seen in my life. Like its impossible to see an old(1990s) Hampton bay in Canada.

I did not saw any 4-speed controls at HD. The only ceiling fan control I remember seeing was a rotative Lutron fully variable control. But it did not said that it was solid state. They carried that same Lutron control at my local Rona but I did not took the chance to buy that one even if it was cheaper because I was afraid it would make a loud hum. The 3-speed slide I have works really now.

The manual of my Craftmade is written in English and Spanish but no French. It cammed from Dallas, TX. No wonder.

[Deleted]

The control that broke, the only thing you can do wrong is if you connect it while hot. I've wired 2 fans at once to those controls with no problems.

In the US they sell for $10-20

The blue packaging is very old school, that control is from the early 90s. It is noisy because it is solid state.

Home Depot should sell cheaper controls.

[Jean Lemieux]

Jul 17, 2009 0:26:46 GMT -5 @spiffy said:

The control that broke, the only thing you can do wrong is if you connect it while hot. I've wired 2 fans at once to those controls with no problems.

In the US they sell for $10-20

The blue packaging is very old school, that control is from the early 90s. It is noisy because it is solid state.

Home Depot should sell cheaper controls.

Whoa early 1990s for that control, I knew it was older but not that old. I mean for still being on a shelve. But why would it be solid state? Its supposed to be for residential fans. It even show one on the box.

Of course I have never connected the wires while the power was on but for sure something in that control blew. So there a capacitor in those? That what blew?

[Deleted]

Solid state controls were used on residential fans in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s.