Ceiling Junction box for ceiling fan?

[NewShockerGuy]

So I am installing a fan and in the directions it says to use the current screws for the junction box...

Problem is the previous homeowner took the ceiling fixture and bolts, and just left the box...

The box is metal and has two tabs.. I'm guessing for the bolt and then a nut to lock it down for installing something like a fan..etc.

Here are two pictures:

Where would I even find these bolts or know what size they are via thread?

Sorry if this is a silly question but figured I'd ask now that I am fixing stuff in the house..


Thanks,
-Nigel

 

[flyng_fool]

Go to any hardware store that carries standard ceiling boxes and they can get you the right size. Also, make sure that box can handle the weight of the ceiling fan. The back should be screwed into some sort of bracing. From what I can see it looks like it is but make sure.

 

[Norcal]

They are most likely 10/32, buy them & 8/32, to be safe, normal 4-0 ceiling boxes are 8/32, but since it's a fan box, you never know, & be sure to get them long enough.


PS scrape off the paint under the ground screw & attach the grounding conductor to the box, this is very important.

 

[deter]

Make sure you screw the fan mount to more than just those first tabs. They will break off over time. It appears there are secondary tabs, so make sure your screws are long enough to reach those

 

[coolreed]

Make sure you have a brace to support the electrical box/ceiling fan.

If you do not have a brace you can fabricate one out of a 2x4 or 2x6 or buy a adj. metal brace at ACE, HD, Lowes that are made for that purpose.

Don't let that ceiling fan auto rotate into your lap.

Good Luck
At ease,
Carry On

 

[NewShockerGuy]

I am almost 100% positive there is a brace. He had a heavy fan before and the one I got is much lighter and much smaller than what he had.

So is it best to get long threaded bolts to go through the first holes and the second holes use a nut on the same bolt to tie it down to the 2nd mounting tabs? And if so what is the thread I am looking for for the nuts, same as the bolt?

Thanks for the tip on the ground wire.. I wonder why it isn't set up right.

Another silly question. My fan has the black, white and ground wire. But in the junction box you can see a red wire... what would that even be for since I am not using it in my current fan setup?

-Nigel

 

[Speedy Petey]

So is it best to get long threaded bolts to go through the first holes and the second holes use a nut on the same bolt to tie it down to the 2nd mounting tabs? And if so what is the thread I am looking for for the nuts, same as the bolt?

They are 10-32 screws. Get them long enough to engage both tabs. Also get lock washers for them. No need for any nuts.

Another silly question. My fan has the black, white and ground wire. But in the junction box you can see a red wire... what would that even be for since I am not using it in my current fan setup?

The red is for a second switch. You may not need it but many fans do. It was smart for the original installer to run a 3-wire.
Just cap it off and ignore it.

 

[RECox286]

Fans normally come ready to accept a light kit. The red wire at the box is for the

light, and will attatch to the fans' blue wire. If there is no light kit, then you just

cap off the red wire and don't use it.

Uncle Bob

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Seems like lowes doesn't carry 10/32
They have 10/24.... arg this blows.

-N

 

[Norcal]

Seems like lowes doesn't carry 10/32
They have 10/24.... arg this blows.

-N

This is why you go to a legitimate hardware store or a fastener supplier, instead of Blowes or HD. They are just about the worst place to go.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Seems like lowes doesn't carry 10/32
They have 10/24.... arg this blows.

-N

Did you look in the hardware section or the electrical section? I'd think they'd have the correct screws for junction boxes in the electrical section.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Lowes had nothing..

HD had it.. Got the fan installed!

I do have a question now though.

I have three outlets:

The far right controls the master power to the fan/light. If flipped off nothing works on the fan.

Middle switch I thought controlled the last home owners light on his fan.. so you could have the fan on or off and then flip the switch and the light would come on.. not sure what the far left switch controls.

That red wire isn't plugged into anything.

On the fan it has the following control box:

And this is what it recommended:

From junction box,..
White wire to white wire on reciever box
Black wire to red wire on reciever box

-----

Then three wires coming OUT of the reciever box as the following:

BLUE to Blue. controls light
Black to Black
White to White

Is there no way of hooking the red wire to one of the other wires so that with the flick of the switch the light would come on?

Sorry if this sounds lame? Just figured that would be a nice feature.

Here is the fan:

http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-F...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Thanks,
-Nigel

 

[Falcon67]

Get a multimeter, put it on the AC scale, hook one lead to the white wire and the other to the black. Find the switch that controls that - that's your fan motor control. Then do the same with the red, that would be your light. If the switches are not wired like that, then you'll have to probe with the meter to figure out WTF the installer was thinking. Typically, you'll have a hot wire coming into the switch box with the black pigtailed to all the switches, then runs from the other side of the switches to the device. If you find a switch with just two wires in it, then the device power comes to the device first and the wires on the switch are just a "switch leg" and both considered hot.