Replacing my dining room chandelier with a heavier crystal one and am wondering if this will be pushing the limits of the ceiling box too far. The new chandelier (from pottery barn) is rectangular and I'm getting an actual weight of 49 lbs with everything it will need. Also, the rectangular ceiling bracket looks like it'll distribute some of the weight away from the fixture box using drywall toggle bolts. Our ceiling box is a Bowers 3R-16-BH and has a fixture rating of 50 lbs. I am debating replacing this "new work" box with a retrofit fan box of a higher rating, but I'm sure the removal would be a considerable PITA unless I cut away a bunch of drywall to get the old hanger off of the joists. Has anyone else installed something like this with these specs, or am I crazy to be testing the limits?

Here is my current ceiling box, the new chandelier, and a close up of the rectangular ceiling plate and additional drywall toggle bolts.

<img src="https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/488x263/ch1_f18a8adaace9ee5f968e38717cccb32ab90463d7.jpg" width="488" height="263"/>
<img src="https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/610x334/ch2_81ea79911c296bdc771f13a2a2b3c9a8911e3f0f.jpg" width="610" height="334"/>

<img src="https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/701x321/ch3_c97712bde163ddf1452ff8aadba370102892637d.jpg" width="701" height="321"/>

 

Welcome to the forums.

You answered your own question.
Those aren't "additional" toggle bolts. Those are "must use" toggle bolts.
The box will hold no weight. The four toggles carry all the weight and all four must be used.

 

Good point PJ, so you're thinking I'm good with the current box at the 50lb rating since the drywall is taking the load anyways? Did I mention the included instructions were terrible?

 

I found this schematic below that shows the toggle bolts and J-box mounting points. I also see in the instructions where it says the fixture weighs over 50lbs (which it doesn't) and that you must use a 100lb rated J-box. But if the load is distributed across the entire canopy mounting plate between the toggle bolts and the J-box, why not use a 50lb box for a 50lb fixture? If the existing box wouldn't be such a pain to remove, I'd probably just do it and go overkill on the retrofit box. But in this case I'm leaning towards maxing out the 50lb box limit, even more so because of the load distribution. Do I sound reasonable, or idiotic? lol
<img src="https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x971/screenshot_20201207_123514_drive_d770ce39c561f4cb03186320fb1e46b95a4cd84e.jpg" width="1996" height="971"/>

 

That box and four toggles is absolutely perfect.

If you tried to put 50lbs on that tray without the toggles it would just snap in the middle.

 

Thanks Pete! I'll give it a go later today.