Electric Motor Speed Control for Dummies

Ceiling fan speed control

Considering that the average homeowner or apartment-dweller is pretty much scared witless of electricity – probably for good reason – it always amazes us here at Antisocial Network HQ how some freelancers have the gall to try to tell people how to do an electrical wiring job they've only read about and never done themselves. We're thinking of people like eHow.com's Heather Vecchioni, who took time away from misinforming people about dogs to give a half-witted response to "How to Slow Down a Room Fan" at HomeSteady.com. Sheesh...

Vecchioni, as is typical of eHow "experts," immediately jumped to the conclusion that the OQ wanted

"...to slow the fan down and reach a speed somewhere in the middle..."

That's strange wording, since she already suggested that there are three speeds;  low, medium, and high; so medium is already pretty much "in the middle," right? Given the rampant stupidity of the average netizen, for starters we'd probably have said something about the three-way pull switch cord that hangs from the motor of a typical ceiling fan; but Vecchioni probably knew she couldn't get paid for something that simplistic. As a result, she went straight to the variable-speed fan control (although she never uses the word "variable"). According to Heather, "By twisting the toggle or moving it up and down, you can slow down your fan to reach your preferred speed. "

"Twisting" the toggle? Surely she jests... but apparently not. Here are some of Vecchioni's more interesting thoughts about how one might install such a device:

• Unscrew the screws on the switch plate that controls the power to the fan with a screwdriver. Take the plate off and pull the switch out of the work box. No, Heather, that won't work: there are screws holding the switch to the box that have nothing to do with the plate!
• Find the two black wires and the ground wire and take them out of the switch. Nope, not "two black wires" – one black (usually) and one white; and a three-way fan control switch would  blow your tiny little mind. And how do you "take them out of the switch, anyway"?
• If [the wires] are worn, clip them back to the black coating... What does "worn" mean in this context, anyway? Oh, and we call that "insulation," not "coating."
• Connect the black pigtails from the switch to the black wires in the work box using more wire connectors... Far be it from us to quibble, but there may not even be a pigtail. What if it's a direct-wire switch?

Heather's done there, but we did want to snicker for a moment at her "warning":

"Light dimmer switches are rated by wattage, whereas fan control switches are rated by amperes."

Say, Heather? First, that's not true: any halfwit who knows the relationship between watts and amps could figure that out. Second, there are important differences between light dimmers and fan controls, but you didn't mention any of them. Nevertheless, because you didn't mention them and you faked your way through those instructions, we're presenting you a shiny new Dumbass of the Day award.

copyright © 2017-2022 scmrak

DDIY - ELECTRICAL