I have a horizontal beam from a truss located 18ft above my livingroom floor, that I wish to hang 2 ceiling fans (with light fixtures) from--if it is doable without the rotating blades causing an undue oscillation and the whole mass becoming unstable. Do they even make an 8-9 ft long down rod for ceiling fans?



The truss (collar tie) isn't clear here, as this is looking toward upper room, but you can see the height of the beam that will eventually be present. Diagonal supports/vertical 4x4 aren't in yet

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 12-18-2008).]

i think they do make them that low iv feen them for industrial use and in a few churches and it should hold up on the beam another thing you might wana look at i saw it at dave and busters the other night its about 10 fans powerd by one motor and belts running around the ceiling im sure it could be done with less fans.

I have seen them that low too, but have also seen them wildly swinging around out of control on a log rod, and really don't want that to be an issue. Usually from a balance problem of some sort, and from what I have heard, the longer the rod is, the more even a bit of dust on one blade can affect the rotating mass. I would like the light fixture under the fan to be about 7 1/2 ft to 8ft above the finished floor.

Another option is to add a manufatored beam just to support the fans and lights.
Would an added beam at top of wall height (14 ft) and supports look too bad? It's about 36' across this room.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 12-18-2008).]

quote Originally posted by maryjane: I have seen them that low too, but have also seen them wildly swinging around out of control on a log rod, and really don't want that to be an issue. Usually from a balance problem of some sort, and from what I have heard, the longer the rod is, the more even a bit of dust on one blade can affect the rotating mass. I would like the light fixture under the fan to be about 7 1/2 ft to 8ft above the finished floor.

usualy its a fixed rod with some kinda internal piece inside of it somewhat the same idea as a weed wacker but a lil diffrent. the long rod is fixed to the base at the ceiling and than a solid piece turns the blade from within the rod its self so you dont get that aggressive swinging action. they will swing a little bit to allow play so the fan dosent break the rod off but nothing more than within an inch to 2 inches of a swing. and a light fixture at the dottom will weigh down the fan its self so it doesnet swing either

[This message has been edited by pontiackid86 (edited 12-18-2008).]

You mean the motor would be at the top of the downrod, with the driving shaft within the downrod?? Never saw one like that.

I’ve done several remodels of churches that had long down rod fans.
Usually the fan has a 3/8 or ½ threaded rod from the canopy to the fan housing.
What we have done is replace the factory down rod with a piece of threaded rigid conduit.
I remember in one church we did 5 fans with 22 foot down rods. We used rigid conduit and threaded couplings. We drilled holes thru every connection point and inserted cotter pins to prevent the tork of the fan from unscrewing the rod.
Just keep in mind that if the rod is longer it will magnify and shaking or wobble the fan may have. So don’t get the cheapest fan on the market.

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quote Originally posted by blackrams: All the information you're ever goona need here: http://www.bigassfans.com/size_comp.php Ron

6-24 ft diameter ceiling fans? Yeeeaah. I don't think so Ron.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Do they even make an 8-9 ft long down rod for ceiling fans?

Yes! We have two residential-type ceiling fans in our home with factory-supplied 8 and 12 foot down rods, in the living room and master bedroom. These fans both run 24/7 year round (downflow in summer, upflow in winter), and oscillation has never been a problem at any speed. As you observe, balance is very important and we were probably wise to pay extra for factory-balanced fans. In our experience with these fans (10+ years), imbalance due to dust accumulation has never been a problem. We usually dust our fan housings and blades twice a year ... a feat in itself given their mounting height ... whether they need it or not.

A store that specializes in light fixtures and ceiling fans should be able to supply everything you need. A specialty store may (or may not) be slightly more expensive than your local Home Depot or Lowes, but it will probably be worth it to deal with someone who actually knows what they're doing. And remember ... in the current economic climate, the customer is king.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 12-18-2008).]