Ceiling Fan

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Chris2015

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I rent an apartment in a pre-war building in Queens, NY. I want to replace the ceiling light fixture with a ceiling fan. Here are the problems I'm facing:

1) The only two wires that power the current light are green and white, not black and white.

2) The pancake box that houses the wires may or may not be rated to withhold a ceiling fan. The current box has a center thread and I believe a screw and nut holds the box in place at that center thread. One guy said that that's the old-school way they attached pancake boxes and it's screwed right into the building and it can take the weight and vibration of a fan. Another guy said, "Are you crazy? You have no idea how long that screw is and the whole thing could fall down."

3) I'd rather not replace the current box, because then I'd have to dig it out of the plaster that has been built up over the years. But I also don't want the edges of the current box to cause friction on the wires due to vibration and cause a fire.

One guy said I could just drill two more long screws through the current box and into the assumed joice that it's currently attached to, and I'll be fine. Can I do that? What kind of screw do I use?

I am a complete novice and I don't want to mess this up. I'd rather go without a ceiling fan than cause any damage. Attached are some pics (the center hole is impossible to see, as there are so many wires in front of it).

Final note: There are two clamp mechanisms on the side the box into which the wires enter from the ceiling.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 

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hj

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If the box is screwed to the bottom of a joist, it will support the fan, if it is attached to a "spreader bar" between two joists, it will not, but we cannot tell you which it is from your photos.
 

FullySprinklered

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Take that strap off and dig around in there. I imagine that box is attached to wood; I've never seen a pancake box that was not, so look for screws or nails or something that will indicate that it is securely installed. Feel free to run more screws up through the box into the wood if it seems necessary.

The green wire means nothing. Somebody used a wire that was handy to splice in the light connection without regard to the color or the proper application thereof.

You have really old fabric covered wires from before my time, though I've worked with them some. I've handled some of this type of wires that the insulation tended to crumble when moved around, but that's not necessarily true in your case, but be careful with them.
 

WorthFlorida

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In an old home , just like a few other hundred thousand in Queens, your #2 comment is most likely correct. The box itself is probably nailed to a floor joist from the side and even in a new home it be hard press to hold a fan for very long. Everyone is asking that you look if the box is nailed or screwed to wood above it. All old homes when they were build, (pre war) always had a ceiling light in almost every room and the only place you ever saw paddle fans were in the subway cars. If the existing box in the ceiling is loose, as they say in NY, "forget about it".

It be best to go with #3. Dig out this box, be sure the wiring is safe and correct, replace it if you can, and mount a fan box that spans with a bracket between the joist. You can smooth down the broken edges of the plaster and it should not be a problem cutting into the wires unless there is metal lath buried in it.

Since this is a rental, just get a floor fan and be safe.
 

Manatee

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You could unscrew the screw and nut to see what they are threaded into.

I had a similar situation. I took a scale made for weighing luggage and hung the hook from the box. I then pulled down on the scale until it read 75 #. I figured it was strong enough to hold a fan. The next one I did was the same except the fan had a light fixture on it. They have both been running flawlessly for 5 months now.
 

SteveW

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Since this is a rental, just get a floor fan and be safe.


Completely agree. Consider the liability of what you are doing. If the fan falls and hits and hurts someone, you (and they) won't be happy. Even worse, if something you do causes a fire. Too many variables here esp as you are renting. If you were my tenant, I would not want you doing wiring, mounting ceiling fans, etc.
 

FullySprinklered

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Customer called me up maybe a couple of years ago. A light fixture that I installed in her master bedroom some years ago fell in the middle of the night and hit her on the foot. She's a Jewish lawyer from New York City. I thought I was toast. I knew what the problem was and what caused it, but I just let her see things her way since she wouldn't see it any other way. All her light fixtures were antique. Many predated any kind of standard installation methods or hardware. There were quite a few really old fixtures to reinstall in her house, and I got pretty good at installing them before I got through. Some old guy who wanted to help came along behind me and unscrewed the fixture from the canopy while he was installing these floral appendages on the fixture. rotating it while he worked.
 
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