How to Fix an Out of Balance Paddle Ceiling Fan

I went through several “how to stop the wobble” videos…this was by far the best…best explanation…best visual!

Thanks, Cheryl, glad you liked our fan-balancing video. An out-of-balanced ceiling fan is one of those annoying little problems that’s relatively simple to fix, but difficult to explain, especially in just a few minutes. Anyway, thanks
for writing and good luck!–Joe T.

you are the best, my wife is estatic that she can run the ceiling fan at high speed at night again. it is so hot here nights. we did not have the money for one more expense. you saved us. thank you for people like you who share your knowledge with those who don’t know much about this stuff.

You are very welcome, Jim. Glad your wife is happy. Here at DannyLipford.com and Today’s Homeower with Danny Lipford, we take great pride in providing quality information to homeowners of all skill levels. Keep in touch for many more helpful tips and hints for maintaining your home. Thanks again and good luck!–Joe T.

I had a very bad chimney leak and had lots of repairs to do, so I bought a brand new special order Harbor Breeze fan from Loewe’s for my formal living room and an electrician went into my attic and did all the electrical since there had not been a ceiling fan there before. He suggested I buy a longer downrod to avoid hitting the vaulted ceiling. He hung it up and it worked perfectly. Then my contractor had the old popcorn ceiling scraped off and textured and painted the vaulted ceiling. Now they have hung it back up and it wobbles like crazy. They spent about 2 hrs today doing all the things you suggested in the video and it still wobbles. What else could it be? They told me I just need to buy a new one that one of my kids must’ve stepped on the blade hinge when it was down for 2 weeks and bent it, although I seriously doubt it.

Hi Karen, Sorry to hear you’re having so much trouble with your ceiling fan. If the fan worked fine before it was taken down, then it may not have been re-installed properly. I suggest calling an electrician to take down the fan, inspect it and then put it back up. Have him check to make sure the ceiling box wasn’t knocked out of whack when the ceiling was scraped.
And unless the contractor has proof that your kids bent the blade “hinge” (whatever that is), he’s responsible for either fixing or replacing the fan, and paying for the electrician. And if the fan is still under warranty, you might be able to return it to Lowe’s.
And one final word, the fan shouldn’t have been taken down in the first place. They should have removed the blades, and encased the fan motor in a plastic bag. Good luck.–Joe T.

We have a fan that is out of balance in our rental home. The maintenance guy came and said it was impossible to balance and we need to purchase a new fan – he also said there was no visable damage to the fan. Is it possible for a fan just to go out of balance and not be able to be fixed? The fan is only a few years old. Thanks

Hi JC, I guess anything is possible, but I’d be surprised if you couldn’t balance the fan, especially since it’s only a few years old. I’d suggest calling a few electricians and ask if any have experience balancing/fixing fans. Since electricians typically install ceiling fans, you might find one who can help. Have the electrician first check for signs of obvious damage, loose parts or improper installation. If all looks good, then move on to inspecting the blades and blade irons. I’m sure with a little investigative work, you should be able to save the fan. Good luck and thanks for writing.–Joe T.

My ceiling fan had been wobbling for weaks so i deided i was going to buy a balancing kit but before i did i watched this video. I measured the blades from the cieling just like he said and one was about a half inch lower. The blade bracket was bent. I fixed that and fan no longer wobbles. Thanks for the video really did help

This video led me straight to the problem. We have had a wobbly fan since we move it from one bedroom to the next.
After I adjusted and tightened everything it’s perfect!

Thanks,

I never would have figured this out on my own. Thank You for this video. After tightening everything and then measuring the blades, I found one bent blade. I bent it back to the same height as the others and now it works perfectly!
Thanks!!

Thanks for the video on Ceiling Fans. I used the information in the video and that fixed my issues with the wobbling.

Thanks again

Thank you! This noisy fan was driving me crazy. Turned out one of the blades was loose. Tightened up with a screw driver and voila!

Hi
Have Hampton Bay 6ft spread ceiling fan hanging on 8ft tube from cathredal ceiling. As fan operates very slight movement but enough to cause clicking / cracking sound from ceiling mount. Can not get to ceiling mount to apply some lube to stop click
Wonder if rotating connecting tube 90 degrees might help?
Will also try to balance stopping any lateral movement while operating— but it is a very long pendulum
Any ideas??
Thank you. Bert

I used a plastic clothespin style clip (from Harbor Freight) (about 6 g.) in different places on different blades until I found the sweet spot. No wobble. Kinda looks funny up there but it does work.
So my question is, if I want to find out which blade is causing the problem, could I just remove all of them and weigh them on a scale to find out which ones are not the same as the others and then just add or remove weight to get them all the same weight?