[not] Shattering the Glass Ceiling [fan]
April 7, 2023 6:34 PM Subscribe
Help me figure out how to remove the shade from this presumably-LED ceiling fan light so I can (somehow) find, buy, and install a replacement LED bank.
The other morning I flipped the wall switch for an overhead light (it's a ceiling fan with a lamp) and got the Pop! sound of a bulb failing, maybe a brief flash of light, and nothing since.
I'm *pretty* sure the fan uses an LED bank, but I wasn't around when it was installed (in fall of 2015 in the U.S.) and I don't have any paperwork on it. It doesn't appear to have any identifying marks/maker plate. I assume that there's a manufacturer sticker on the inside... which is where I'm stuck.
Help me figure out how to get the shade off? THere aren't any screws or catches at the top of the shade. It feels like there's a plasticky gasket between the glass and the metal. At the bottom, the feedthroughs for the pull chains look like they might be separate little nuts, but they are barely more than a millimeter thick and don't seem to turn with reasonable force on a pair of pliers. The "finial" is smoothly contoured to be ungrippable.
So:
1. Can you help identify this fan in case there's some manual somewhere?
2. Do you know how to open it?
3. Ever replaced an LED bank? What do I need to know?
Even if the solution is to replace the whole dang fan (which it needs not to be), even removing it seems like it will need a way to get inside!!! Help!
The other morning I flipped the wall switch for an overhead light (it's a ceiling fan with a lamp) and got the Pop! sound of a bulb failing, maybe a brief flash of light, and nothing since.
I'm *pretty* sure the fan uses an LED bank, but I wasn't around when it was installed (in fall of 2015 in the U.S.) and I don't have any paperwork on it. It doesn't appear to have any identifying marks/maker plate. I assume that there's a manufacturer sticker on the inside... which is where I'm stuck.
Help me figure out how to get the shade off? THere aren't any screws or catches at the top of the shade. It feels like there's a plasticky gasket between the glass and the metal. At the bottom, the feedthroughs for the pull chains look like they might be separate little nuts, but they are barely more than a millimeter thick and don't seem to turn with reasonable force on a pair of pliers. The "finial" is smoothly contoured to be ungrippable.
So:
1. Can you help identify this fan in case there's some manual somewhere?
2. Do you know how to open it?
3. Ever replaced an LED bank? What do I need to know?
Even if the solution is to replace the whole dang fan (which it needs not to be), even removing it seems like it will need a way to get inside!!! Help!
Best answer: I think you have to turn the glass covering itself. Try turning it counterclockwise (lefty loosey). This video shows what I'm talking about. Go to about 1:35 to see how to remove the shade.
posted by XtineHutch at 6:53 PM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by XtineHutch at 6:53 PM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: That looks like a Kichler 5-blade ceiling fan with LED bowl.
Here's the instructions. Basically, there's a washer at the bottom that's also a part of your pull chain thing. The inner part (lock nut) should rotate and come off. Hold it as the whole bowl will come down with the washer and the locknut. Once you've done that, you can access the LED thing inside. The video is for those with conventional bulbs, but yours shouldn't be that different inside.
I don't see anything replaceable listed at websites though.
posted by kschang at 8:46 PM on April 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Here's the instructions. Basically, there's a washer at the bottom that's also a part of your pull chain thing. The inner part (lock nut) should rotate and come off. Hold it as the whole bowl will come down with the washer and the locknut. Once you've done that, you can access the LED thing inside. The video is for those with conventional bulbs, but yours shouldn't be that different inside.
I don't see anything replaceable listed at websites though.
posted by kschang at 8:46 PM on April 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: It turned out that a combination of your two tactics did the trick! The actual construction of the thing is a threaded rod secured by the big washer and the teensy finial, but turning the bowl several revolutions unscrewed the finial far enough that I could actually grip it.
And then the lamps inside are pretty generic E12 base bulbs, so replacements will be a breeze.
posted by janell at 10:36 AM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
And then the lamps inside are pretty generic E12 base bulbs, so replacements will be a breeze.
posted by janell at 10:36 AM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:49 PM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]