How To Balance A Ceiling Fan
One of life's little frustrations is having a wobbling ceiling fan. Whether it is a slight vibration or a large swinging motion, it's just something you have to take car of. Fortunately, its cheap and relatively quick.
A fan balancing kit costs a few dollars and includes a weighted clip and some adhesive-backed weights. Before you start balancing the blades though, make sure the fan is secure to the ceiling. In other words, before you spend some time adding weights and moving around blades, make sure all the screws are tight. You might also measure the distance from the ceiling to the tip of each blade to make sure they are the same distance from the ceiling. You may have a blade that is not in the same plane as the other blades, leading to a wobble. If you have this, you may be able to move the blades to different positions, you might have to replace the blade, or you may get away with adding a washer or even bending the blade holder to align the blade.
The ceiling fan will hang from a down rod from between 4" and several feet. The longer this down rod, generally the more out-of-balance the fan will be. Start by placing the weighted clip on the near the end of the leading edge of one of the blades, and turn the fan on high. Take notice if the balance of the fan has improved or worsened. You will do this to each blade of the fan, placing the clip at the same spot on each blade. Then you will focus on whichever blade (or blades) shows the most significant improvement.
Once you've chosen the suspicious blade (or blades) move the clip along the length of that blade, again on the leading edge. Try it near both ends and the middle to see where it makes the most improvement. Wherever it makes the most improvement, place a weight on top of the blade equidistant from the edges (it‘s a peel-and-stick weight). Remove the clip and run the fan on high. If it still wobbles, use the clip again to see if you need to place another weight on the same blade, or move to another blade to add a weight. On come occasions, you may need to swap positions of 2 blades on opposing sides of the motor to balance the fan. It's one of those jobs that is part art and science.