Ceiling fan box

[Rburt5]

I’m replacing a small ceiling fan. The old one was fastened to an electrical box almost identical to the one in the pic I attached. It’s rated to hold 50 lbs. My new fan is only 15 lbs. Will that style box hold my fan, or do I need to tear it out and put in a metal box?

 

[wwhitney]

If you read the description of that item, it says "Not listed for use with ceiling fans". You need a different box that is fan-rated. Or if you have access to the joist bay from above (e.g. an attic), you could add wood blocking to support the fan independent of the electrical box.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Rburt5]

I appreciate your help Wayne. I removed the existing box and tried putting in an expandable “old work” fan box. Spent 3 hours doing it over and over and over. The feet keep rotating up instead of down into position, which means it’s set too low. Plus, the box easily rotates on the shaft so the whole fan feels loose. I was able to stick my arm up through the hole and take a video of the support rod so I could see what’s wrong. (See the screen shot I attached). Any ideas? Didn’t think it would be this hard. Just a normal light fixture from a remodeling box is sounding better and better.

 

[wwhitney]

Have not installed those myself. I assume the technique is:

1) Expand feet to just under the joist bay width
2) Make sure feet are pointing down and sitting on top of drywall
3) Holding the bar steady vertically so the feet can't rise and rotate, expand the bar until fully engaged.
4) Attach the ceiling box to the bar.

If that's what you're doing, maybe someone else here who's installed one of those can provide some pointers.

Cheers, Wayne