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Best place to buy ceiling fans?
#1
Do I just go to Lowe's or Home Depot, or is there somewhere better?

Price is always a concern, but in this case selection may be more important.

Never bought a fan before that wasn't already installed. Any tips to selecting one? I already sized the three rooms I need fans in and determined I need 2 54" fans and 1 44" fan. All rooms are already wired for fans.
One room has an 11' ceiling. Another has a 10' ceiling and the last has between 9-10'.

Do I need down rods for those heights?
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#2
Dharma,

Price is less important than quality. The following site has lots of good information:



And, I can concur. Casablanca makes the best fans. Several lighting stores recommended them if you want the best. But, you pay for the quality. Emerson is very good but my local lighting store discouraged me from buying one of their fans because you'll get the light kit and the fan may end up on back order for months.

Monte Carlo fans are supposed to be good and I have three of them. But, I wouldn't buy again because I was unhappy with how they are designed. My electrician said the fans were poorly designed. I forget exactly what the issue was but as a result, I will likely avoid them. This is just the fans, not the light kits.

FWIW, the fans have been fine overall but I did have to have the electrician come back to tighten them - not the mount in the ceiling but the fan itself to the downrod because they started to wobble. No problems since then fortunately.

My wife and I are looking to purchase 4 ceiling fans, too. Since we don't want to spend the bucks on models from Casablanca, we are now looking at Craftmade. Not the best but well regarded and fairly priced. One of the reasons is because we want a candelabra/chandelier style kit for the one that will go into the kitchen of our new place and we like several of the Craftmade kits.

Some issues you'll come across:

Light kits. They aren't created equal. Some use plain ol' light bulbs. Others use CFLs. Others use incandescent candelabra base bulbs. You have to look at the specs carefully. That and often the light kit is sold separately. So, make sure to see if the brand you choose offers a light kit that is to your liking.

I also would only buy a ceiling fan from a local shop with solid customer service. One of the issues I had when I got ceiling fans for my current apartment is damage in transit. I had to have the lighting store swap out the glass a few times because it arrived damaged in some manner.

You'll want a downrod because you have very high ceilings. The fan will look doofy if it's flush mount.

Robert
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#3
Cheap ceiling fans last around 5-10 years. High end ones.. for life. You have to decide how much you're going to invest.

I've been happy with Hunter's products in the past.

11 foot ceiling ? Technically no, you don't *need* a downrod. I avoid them.. it's just one more connection failure point. But you can get a 'tall' motor housing fan rather than a 'flush' fan for that point. However... having a downrod means that the close to the ceiling area gets more 'stir' from the fan, which is important. Drop it a foot or so, should be OK.

Wiring is always a biggie.. are the lights and wires pre-wired separately to your switch panel ? If not, think about 'remote' fans... reaching up for pull chains to turn lights on and off is so 1980's.

And of course don't forget to dust them. Fans usually fail because they're clogged with a few years of dust.
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#4
I bought from Lowes, and found they had a very nice selection/price.

Factors to consider -- style, lights versus no lights, features, etc. Also if you need one with lights, be careful not to get one with a weirdo specialty bulb socket, because then you're stuck with buying the specialty bulbs. The ones I got use regular incandescent sockets, and I've put CFLs in there, so that I rarely have to replace them (obviously a real hassle, if you've got high ceilings).

I didn't need down rods for ceiling heights similar to what you have. Just very long chain pulls. Big Grin
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#5
Anon,

A couple of other things. Light kits aren't necessarily interchangeable. Buy a fan from Hunter (another overall reputable manufacturer) and a light kit from Hampton Bay (Home Depot brand) may not fit properly. I'd definitely avoid mixing and matching.

Dimming is an issue if you buy a fan that uses CFLs or you swap incandescent bulbs out for CFLs. I was told to avoid dimmable CFLs by the lighting store. They said they don't work well and aren't ready for prime time. But, I decided to try some anyway. The store was right on with their advice. Even quality dimmable CFLs models didn't work well at all. Switched back to incandescent bulbs as a result.

Robert
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#6
Both mine are from lowes, about $100 each, during the summer they stay on pretty much 24/7 and have been doing so for about 10 years. Zero complaints. We found the selection at lowes better than HD -- but that might just be us.

I think as long as you pay some decent money you should be fine on quality -- just stay away from the $39 ones.
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#7
Coincidentally i have this Hunter Low Profile ceiling fan in my Amazon basket as I type this....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HM5..._2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

85bucks. Don't buy an uber expensive one. It'll be out of style in 10 years anyway. Timeless? Uhmmm have you seen those fake wood panel blade ceiling fans? Yeah, someone thought they were timeless 10 years ago too.
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#8
3d,

Price doesn't equate style. A carefully chosen fan will stay in style, regardless of price. 'course, if you buy something that's a bit out of the ordinary, i.e. funky, ultra modern, etc, it will likely go out of style quickly. Such is the price you pay for choosing something like that over a plain ol' traditional fan and light kit.

Robert
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#9
We have a couple of Hunters that we've been happy with. We paid a buck or a buck and a half I think.
One runs alot, one not so much.

The technology of fans is pretty established at this point, and any decent brand is more or less the same, unless you get into BigAss.

Minka, Emerson, Casablanca and Hunter are fairly respected makes.

It's a 2 man job when you get to the end. Take the time to balance it on high.
Low coffee and not too hot day, with the dog and kids outside.
I wouldn't put Anthrax on for background either.

We bought one from CostCo, and the other from Lowes or Homeys.
“Art is how we decorate space.
Music is how we decorate time.”
Jean-Michel Basquiat
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#10
FWIW, mines on a 10' ceiling with about a 1' rod. I really dont like the light kit, really want to remove it.

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