Fan Giveaway Raffle

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Everyone likes getting free stuff, and now it really pays to be a fan of Fan Diego. If you already own a Fan Diego ceiling fan, then you are ahead of the game. If you’re in the market for a new ceiling fan, then now is a great time to get familiar with Fan Diego’s extensive, high-quality product line. Fan Diego will be giving away a free Fargo by Fanimation fan to one of our many satisfied customers.

This raffle is only open to those who have purchased and use one (or many) of our ceiling fans, and submit a picture of it installed in their home. This is a way for us to thank our customers for their service and loyalty, while also giving them a chance to experience another great product that is available for purchase at Fan Diego.

While the urge to win this great product may be strong, only one entry per person will be accepted, and any multiple entries will be discarded and/or disqualified. To be considered a valid entry, the photo submitted must be in electronic (.jpg) format, must include the ceiling fan that was purchased at Fan Diego, www.fandiego.com, www.ceilingfanwholesalers.com, www.exclusivelyemerson.com or www.flushmountfans.com, and must be installed in your home. In addition to submitting the photo of your ceiling fan, you need to “like” the Fan Diego Facebook page, as part of the entry process.

Entries need to be received no later than midnight 7-31-2012, and the raffle will be held later that day. The winner will be drawn at random from the valid raffle entries.

If you are one of our satisfied customers, let us know. By submitting your photo entry, you may be the lucky winner of a free fan, or you may end up on one of Fan Diego’s many publications. Fan Diego reserves the right to use any submitted photos for promotional use on websites, social media pages or even printed publications, so the submittal of your entry acknowledges and agrees to this term.

If you currently own one of our ceiling fans, then you have already witnessed the beauty and functionality that comes with purchasing one of our amazing products. If you’re happy with your purchase, then tell the world about it, and join the raffle, and you may come away with another amazing Fan Diego product for your home or office use.

Choosing the Right Ceiling Fan for You

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Ceiling fans are a functional design element in your home, but they are also a great way to cool your home without relying too much on your air conditioning system. While choosing the style of fan that best fits your décor can be an important decision, making sure that fan will work optimally in your living space should be the top priority. The right fan shouldn’t only look great in your home, it should also WORK great. In order to choose the right ceiling fan for you, you need to make sure you know how much room you have for it, and how you want it to perform.

The first thing to consider when choosing the right fan for you is location. Will it be used in a kitchen, bathroom, patio or perhaps a family room? This is important, as each room carries a specific need, which only certain fans can satisfy. Rooms such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms would most likely need a damp or wet rated outdoor fan, in order to withstand the humidity and heat, while still providing effective air circulation. If it is going to be an outdoor fan, then you need to select an outdoor ceiling fan that is either wet rated or damp rated, depending on the level of exposure to the elements. If it is a covered patio, then damp rated fans will perform well, while areas of greater humidity and exposure to water will require a wet-rated fan, which is built to handle extreme weather conditions.

Ceiling height is another factor that needs to be taken into consideration when selecting the right fan. For safety reasons, ceiling fans must be installed no less than 7 feet above the floor. If you have low ceilings, then you may need to choose a flush mount or hugger fan, as they don’t use down rods, and the motor mounts directly to the ceiling, in order to save space. If you cannot find a flush mount/hugger fan in your style preference, there are many styles of fans that you can purchase as a standard mount. They will usually either come with a flush mount adapter, or you can purchase a flush mount or low ceiling adapter separately. It isn’t always necessary to turn a standard mount fan into a hugger, just because the room is small. If you have a small room, but you have enough ceiling clearance for a standard mount fan, then it is suggested that you not choose a fan that will match the surrounding décor, as it will give the appearance of a much smaller room. Instead, it is recommended that you purchase a fan that is the same color as your ceiling, to give the illusion of larger space.

Ceiling fans are not only great for circulating cool air in the summer, but also reclaiming warm air during the colder months. If you want year round benefits, then you may want a fan that can operate clockwise and counterclockwise, depending on the season. If you want to save money on your utility bills, and help save the environment, then you might want to consider looking into Energy Star certified ceiling fans. When used properly, Energy Star ceiling fans are over 50% more efficient than standard ceiling fans, and can save you more than $15 a year on your utility bills.

Painless Ceiling Fan Installation

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Ceiling Fan Installation Made Easy

A question we here at Fan Diego get a lot is: Which fans are easy to install?

In the prior blog, I opined about which fan(s) is the easiest to install. To recap, I think the Concept II and the Traditional Concept by Minka Aire are the easiest fans to install.

Now, having said that, I will discuss a few other fans that are very high quality and very easy to install. The Casablanca Stealth and the Casablanca Bel Air fans are among the highest quality fans you will find, are very easy to install and are very nicely styled fans.

The Casablanca Bel Air is one of the best air movers in the Casablanca line and is one of my favorites because of its exceptional styling and air movement efficiency. I think this is fan is an example of understated elegance. It is sleek and stylish, but not too contemporary yet it isn’t burdened with excessive decorative accents.

The Stealth is another example of an exceptionally styled ceiling fan. For the last 20 years, the Casablanca Stealth has been THE contemporary classic. Every fan maker currently in the business and most that have tried their hand at fan making have attempted to make a knocked off this fan. I can’t think of one company that hasn’t. And, very few have created anything that still has the enduring appeal of the Casablanca Stealth.

Part of the reason that these fans are so easy to install is a function of the control system Casablanca uses. With fans of this caliber, Casablanca uses their Inteli-Touch system, which means that the controls are inside the housing so there are only two wires coming out of the top of the fan for installation. With most other fans, you have to wire in the receiver and this can turn a few minutes on the ladder connection wires to many minute up on a ladder connecting wires. Yeah, I’m a complete fan guy, but I can think of quite a few things I would rather do than being up on a ladder wiring fans.

Here is what is involved in hanging the Casablanca Stealth and the Casablanca Bel Air.

  1. Open the box and inspect the contents.
  2. Connect the mounting bracket to the J box and connect the canopy to the mounting bracket.
  3. Attach the blades to the fan.
  4. Attach the down rod to the fan.
  5. Hang the fan in the canopy.
  6. Attach the final part of the canopy – easy to do / difficult to explain.
  7. Screw in the light bulb – do not touch the glass of the bulb with your fingers because the oil from your fingers can reduce the lifespan of your bulb and/or cause it to explode.
  8. Insert the glass or the non-light kit cover plate
  9. Follow the instructions to program the remote.
  10. Enjoy your new fan.

The Casablanca Stealth is available with their standard, excellent XLP2000 motor or with the ultra efficient DC motor. The Bel Air is available only with the standard XLP2000 motor.

Ceiling Fan Installation with Ease

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Easiest Ceiling Fans to Install

A common question we get at Fan Diego is: Which fans are the easiest to install? This one is really too easy. The Minka Aire F518 and F519 Concept II and hand the F593 and F594 Traditional Concept series are the easiest fans I have ever installed. Here is the deal. You basically have to do the following:

  1. Open the box and ensure all the parts are there.
  2. Attach the mounting bracket to the junction box.
  3. Snap the blades into the holes in the side of the fan. Yes, that right. There are no screws involved. The blades snap into place.
  4. Use the little “J” hook on the mounting bracket to hold the fan motor while you connect a few wires with wire nuts provided.
  5. Connect the fan motor to the mounting bracket by tightening the 4 screws that secure it in place.
  6. Put in the light bulb – do not touch the glass of the bulb with your fingers because the oil from your fingers can reduce the lifespan of your bulb and/or cause it to explode.
  7. Insert the glass or the non-light kit cover plate (after reading the blog entry about preparing the glass with a little Vaseline – Ha! Got your attention!)
  8. Follow the instructions to program the remote.
  9. Enjoy your new fan.

That is about as easy as it gets. Hunter has a fan called the Five Minute Fan and they
claim that it only takes that amount of time to assemble and install the fan. It may be true.
However, if I am looking for the easiest fan to install, it’s the Minka Aire Concept II and
Traditional Concept Series. The Concept II is available as both a 44 inch and and 52 inch
fans and is in available in Brushed Nickel (F518-BN, F519-BN), White (F518-WH,
F519-WH) and Oil Rubbed Bronze (F518-ORB, F519-ORB). The Traditional Concept is
also available in both a 44 inch and a 52 inch version and is available in the following
finishes: Pewter (F593-PW, F594-PW), White (F593-WH, F594-WH), and Oil Rubbed
Bronze (F593-ORB, F594-ORB).

Removing Glass from Minka Aire Ceiling Fans

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How-to Remove Glass Safely from Minka Aire Ceiling Fans

First, the Supra Special (F563 and F569) family of fans offer an exceptional value for the shopper looking for a fan that is decently styled, moves a lot of air and comes with a light kit. We display multiple versions of these fans in all of our showrooms and, resultingly, we sell a ton of them.

We also get a lot of phone calls about how to remove the glass once on the light
kit. The Supra Special fans (F563 and F569 models) come with a light kit that uses a 100
watt halogen bulb and this bulb gets hot. The heat emitted from this bulb often causes the
glass to slightly expand. Although the glass will contract a little as it cools from the light
being off, this expansion of the glass has the effect of kind of cooking it into place. Once
this has happened, unfortunately, it is very difficult to remove the glass without breaking
it.

Here are the steps we go through to remove the glass from a Minka Aire Supra Special:

  1. Make sure the light has been off for a few hours and the glass is cool to the touch.
  2. Lightly, but firmly tap around the ring of the glass that connects to the base of the light kit. You may have to do this a few times.
  3. Slightly lift the glass and turn clockwise. You will need two hands because you will have to twist this glass harder than you normally would.
  4. Be careful. Often times when trying to remove the glass, you will be on a ladder, step stool or other wise awkwardly balanced and twisting as hard as you need to may cause you to fall if the glass does come out.
  5. If the glass does not come out, you will have to break it out.

DC Motor Wall Controls for Casablanca Fans

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DC Motor Wall Controls for Casablanca Ceiling Fans

If you are reading this post, you’re most likely aware that Casablanca has joined the DC
motor club. Although the Casablanca Fan Co. was a little behind the curve in adopting
the use of the new, ultra efficient DC motor, they now have three of the best DC motored
fans on the market. The Casablanca Panama, Stealth and Holliston fans now have a DC
motor version. Just so happens that I think the Stealth and the Panama were two of the
best fans on the market – now, looks like they just got a little better. Why not the
Holliston? Well, It is a good and I would recommend it, but Casablanca didn’t pay as
much attention to detail on the quality of the blades that come with the Holliston and the
DC motored version of the Holliston does not come with an uplight. Neither does the
Stealth and Panama, but the non DC motor Holliston comes with an uplight and I think this version should as well.

Back to the original subject: Is there a wall remote that will work with my Casablanca
DC fan? Yes, there is. But, Casablanca doesn’t make it. The Casablanca Panama DC,
Stealth DC and Holliston DC fans all come with a hand held remote and Casablanca does
don’t bother looking for a compatible wall control in their line because it isn’t there.

But, Fanimation has one in their line. The Fanimation TW30WH, TW30LA, TW32WH,
and TW32LA are hard wired wall controls that are made to operate with their line of DC
motor fans. Fanimation also has a very nice line of DC motored ceiling fans. One of my
favorites is the Landon (FDP808BA and FDP8087SN). It’s nicely styled not only does it
sport the ultra efficient DC motor, it also uses LEDs as the primary light.

In our Fan Diego showrooms, we the Fanimation TW30WH to operate our Casablanca
Stealth DC and Casablanca Panama DC models and they work well together. The
Fanimation TW32WH/TW32LA models are made for those fans that have both an
uplight and a downlight so it has a dimmer for both built into the switch. Casablanca does
not have any DC motored fans that have both an uplight and a downlight yet, so if you
want a wall control that will work with your Casablanca Panama DC, Stealth DC or
Holliston DC, use the Fanimation TW30WH. It works for us.

A final word to the wise…. Although these products do work well together, one or both
of these manufacturers may not like that you are using them together. So, if you choose to
buy these and use them together, make sure you buy from a company that has a good
technical support department because if you have any issues syncing them up, good ol’
Chuck over at Casablanca Tech Support probably isn’t going to be too eager to help you
and you will DEFINITELY be told that you will void your warranty if you use anything
not made by Casablanca with their fans.

Breaking Stuck Glass on Ceiling Fan Light Kit

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Safely Removing Stuck Glass from Ceiling Fan Light Kit

These instructions can assist with removing glass from a Casablanca Stealth, Minka Aire Concept I, Minka Aire Concept II, Casablanca Trident, Casablanca S3, Casablanca Bel Air and Bel Air Halo, Minka Aire, Supra Special and many more….

Many fans with integrated light kits use halogen or standard incandescent bulbs. The heat emitted from these types of bulb often causes the glass to slightly expand. Although the glass will contract a little as it cools from the light being off, this expansion of the glass has the effect of kind of cooking it into place. If you have already tried to remove the glass to no avail, here my suggestions for breaking the glass as safely as possible.

Here is what you will need:

  1. Hammer, glasses (safety glass) to cover your eyes, a round trash can lid and gloves. Before you begin, make sure the fan and light are off and put on your gloves and shades or safety glasses. This is just to ensure that there is very little chance of any stray glass going into one of your eyes.
  2. Hold the trash can lid upside down underneath the glass you are going to break. By doing this, the broken glass will fall into the lid – not all over your floor, carpet, etc.
  3. Break the glass. You may have to break it in a few places so it breaks into multiple pieces and you don’t have try and manually pull pieces out. It’s this glass and you have a hammer – don’t swing for the fences. You don’t want to damage the light bulb socket.
  4. Get down safely and be glad that that ordeal is over.

Subscribe to our blog to find out which steps to take to reduce the likelihood of that this happening again.

Removing Glass from your Ceiling Fan

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How-to remove glass from your Ceiling Fan easily

In the last couple blog posts, I discussed various ways to solve the problem of removing glass from your ceiling fan. Now, I will offer my best suggestion to ensure that you don’t have to break the glass out of your ceiling fan again: Use Vaseline.

Tried and true, Vaseline works. Here’s what we do at Fan Diego. Before you
install the glass onto your light kit, take a SMALL amount of Vaseline and apply it onto
the ring of the that inserts into the light kit – or you can apply a little to the inside of the
light kit that the glass recesses into. Either will work. Just don’t over do it. Too much
Vaseline can prohibit the glass from properly sitting to the light kit. Just enough will
serve as a lubricant when you need to get it out.

I know a few of you are probably worried about the glass falling out due to the
lubricant and catching a kid on the noggin or scaring the daylights out of the sleeping
dog. This is why you only use a little bit of Vaseline and why you make sure the glass is
properly seated into the light fixture. Glass that is made to recess into a light kit is made
to fit or lock into place. Don’t just put the glass into the light kit and give it an easy turn.
Place the glass into the light kit and twist firmly with both hands. When done properly,
you will feel the glass lock into place.