4 new ceiling fans all humming.


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Old 03-17-18, 06:31 PM
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4 new ceiling fans all humming.

I got 4 new ceiling fans to replace old ones and all humming.

Bermuda Pure White Ceiling Fan with 52" Pure White Gloss Blades | Dan's Fan City

The bender says it is impossible that all 4 fans are defective.

There were old fans and one started to make a humming. So, I decided to replace them all although any other fans were not making any noise nor humming.

I have another fan installed downstairs from the same bender almost 10 years ago. It is perfect, quiet. I love it. However, this time, on my upstairs, all 4, brand-new, in different rooms are humming from the very first day.

I checked the voltage of downstairs and upstairs and they are 113 V and 114 V, respectively.
No dimmer connected, no remote.

Now, the bender is saying that the wiring of my house is bad and is not feeding enough electricity to the motors and it should be the cause of humming.

Is it possible?

As he does not think the issue is not from his products, he refuses to accept returns.

If this problem cannot be solved, I have to live with 4 humming ceiling fans all the time.

How I could let this noise go?
 
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Old 03-17-18, 07:02 PM
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Now, the bender is saying that the wiring of my house is bad and is not feeding enough electricity to the motors and it should be the cause of humming. Is it possible?
.
No. 113-114 volts is well within the +/- 10% of nominal 120 volts. There is no "enough electricity" and by them saying that, it only shows they have no idea of what they are talking about. Typically a humming fan is only a sign of a poor quality fan.
 
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Old 03-18-18, 07:16 AM
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Do you have a spot that you could temporarily hang the fan and power it up to see if it still hums ,maybe a basement ceiling and use an extension cord.
Geo
 
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Old 03-18-18, 07:34 AM
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I think the "bender" is actually the Vendor of the Fans.
 
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Old 03-18-18, 09:40 AM
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Thank you, Geochurchi.
I am afraid I do not.

The vendor brought another motor today and replace it with the one on the spot.
It still hums. So, now, he is even more sure that the cause is not his products but my home.
 
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Old 03-18-18, 09:47 AM
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Dear Tolyn,

Thank you very much.

As I saw that a slider switch may cause the hum and I found the light switch on my hall way has the slider, I replaced it with a regular 3 way switch although I am not sure if it is on the same circuit or not.

No change.

I am now wondering if there is any chance that my "timer switch" for vent fans on bathrooms could be the cause.

Would it worthwhile to try to replace them with regular flip switches?

My house was built in 1988. Would it be possible the old breaker is the cause? Should I try to get the new one from HomeDepot to replace the old one feeding the power to the circuit where ceiling fans are connected to trouble shoot???
 
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Old 03-18-18, 09:52 AM
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Have him install the fan in his shop and see if it hums, I bet it will. Voltage is voltage and the voltage at your house is within tolerance, as mentioned. You should also check the voltage at his shop. I would also bet it is not 120 volts but something else.

Take your meter and check your other outlets. Some cases when one leg is lower then 120 volts the other might be higher. If it is you could temporally move the breaker to the other leg and test the fan. Again, I am betting that it will still hum.

On a side note: all motors will hum due to the frequency of electricity. (ours is 60 cycle) The may way to isolate the hum is with pads and gromits provided by the manufacture.
 
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Old 03-18-18, 09:55 AM
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I am now wondering if there is any chance that my "timer switch" for vent fans on bathrooms could be the cause.
No.

Replacing the breaker will have no change. If you measure the voltage at your panel you will likely find it is the same that you have at the switch.

Other then the hum, does the fan operate correctly? Does it hum at all speeds? does this have a remote control?
 
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Old 03-18-18, 02:00 PM
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I have a fan that hums on medium speed based on the fan controller. I don't worry much about it - since it was an older fan and I just don't use that speed setting.

I would do as the others have suggested and try the fan in a different house - or temporarily wired with an extension cord/cable bypassing all switches and controllers.
 
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Old 03-19-18, 06:05 AM
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All 4 fans are operating correctly other than humming.
They hum at all speeds (3 speeds).
The fan is made for US market and I am sure it is made for 60 Hz and my house is 60 Hz.

Vendor told me that he is so confident that the fans will not hum at his store.
He may be right but his shop is on the busy street as quiet as my house so that I guess we could not hear humming.

So, I have not yet asked him to do so and am wonder if he is willing to.

He said my house may not be good to take bigger motor than the old one. I am not sure.
 
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Old 03-19-18, 06:17 AM
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He said my house may not be good to take bigger motor than the old one. I am not sure.
LOL! Certainly creative with his excuses (AKA BS). These are fastened correctly installed fan rated boxes aren't they? They aren't on light dimmer switches are they?
 
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Old 03-20-18, 02:31 AM
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Most ceiling fans have sealed, maintenance-free motors, however. there are a few out there that require lubrication. Check to make sure yours isn't one of them.

I suspect the fans are out of balance, do they wobble (even slightly) when running?
 
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Old 03-20-18, 08:38 AM
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Here is the new finding.

I brought the fan motor downstairs and get it connected to the power outlet on the same line of the ceiling fan downstairs that is not humming.

Now, the motor hummed when it is installed upstairs is not humming!

So, now, it seems my nightmare is coming, but I think I have to figure out what the difference between the lines for downstairs and upstairs.

Does anyone has any suggestion how I can trouble shoot?
 
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Old 03-20-18, 08:43 AM
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Does anyone has any suggestion how I can trouble shoot?
Take the fan from downstairs that isn't humming and install it upstairs. If it starts humming, then you know it's something with the new fans and/or installation.

http://bestceilingfans.info/troubles...ing-fan-noisy/
 
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Old 03-20-18, 04:14 PM
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Did you check the voltage where the fan does not hum? Are you 100% sure there is not a dimmer on the circuit upstairs?
 
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Old 03-21-18, 04:51 AM
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Perhaps the upstairs rooms are connected to a dimmer switch?
 
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Old 03-21-18, 12:00 PM
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I removed the dimmer switch for hall way.
Still humming.
 
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Old 03-21-18, 06:39 PM
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The dimmer would control the fan(s), not just be located somewhere in the house. I was thinking that this might have a 3 way switch someplace else.
 
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Old 03-22-18, 05:41 AM
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Tolyn, It is interesting that you mentioned 3-way switch.
The wall flip switch for a fan is on the same face plate with 3-way "mystery" switch that we are not sure what is connected to.
Would this be the cause of noise???

There is another "mystery" 3-way switch in the kitchen downstairs.
I asked the electrician to locate where the circuit goes for that 3-way switches, but he could not.
He mentioned that it is for the light for outside, but it was not the case and still it is the "mystery" for 14 years since I bought this house.

FYI, he dimmer for the hall way is 3 way switch with 4-way switch in the middle and another 3-way switch downstairs.
 
 

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