[beech]

I'm hanging a ceiling fan from a 14 foot ceiling. The fan came with an aircraft cable safety strap to be attached to a joist. Unfortunately we have to use a longer down rod so the aircraft cable will not reach the ceiling. Should I worry about this? Should I try to attach an extension that will reach the ceiling or not worry about it and remove it? Thanks for your help.

 

[Vincer]

If it were me, I'd buy some wire/cable from HD and extend it. The cable is there JUST IN CASE something breaks loose. So it's up to you ...

 

[bernieb]

I don't know how big your ceiling fan is, and I don't know how much traffic is going to be underneath it, but consider this ,as I had a lawyers battle over this very subject. A ceiling fan rotates and vibrates probably thousands of hours , you best have a metal work box, if you don't ,change it, the plastic threads in a plastic box wear, and in my case the customer claimed his face got cut changing a bulb, as the fan came loose from the ceiling cutting his face while changing a bulb. I was born at night but not last night ,I immediately went to the apartment ,the carpet was dry, no blood, and the fan gone,wife said he took it to the lawyer. I took a picture of two screws in the work box, that held the whole affair to the work box and I told the lawyer to please explain how a ceiling fan fell, while the two screws that held it are in the work box. The case was dropped, but plastic work boxes and ceiling fans ,are a danger. Yes, strap it in somehow. In my case with the lawyer, I suggested to check last years drivers licence facial picture of the mans cut face.......don't know if he did. ( I think he cut his face while using an electric small drill tightening a screw on the glass shroud) that surrounds the bulb.

 

[Ron6519]

You need a ceiling fan box to start out with.
Ron