The Fan Fiasco

One would think that changing ceiling fan in an older home would be a couple hour job.  Not for our crew!  In our defense it is a vaulted ceiling. So we had to use a large extension ladder along with a step ladder. The old fan that we took down worked fine, but was from the 70s and out of date.  I decided to search Lowe's the last month for newer ones and preferably one with a remote control.  I ended up finding one at Home Depot this past week.  It was originally $269 and was clearanced for $135.  It came with a remote control, but no box or instructions.  The employee told me to print off the instructions off the website.  I decided to have John come take a look at it before I purchased it.

Fast forward to Home Depot Trip #2. John and I went and bought the fan.  We printed the instructions and the demolition began.  We convinced them to give us a new circle light bulb since the one in the display wasn't working correctlty. The kids and I took down the old one while John was at work. When John came home, we began to put it up.  When all the wires were hooked up and done, we switched the power button on the fan remote, and nothing.  We read some troubleshooting tips on why the remote wouldn't work and realized that the sip switches on the remote needed to match the dip switch on the remote transmitter on the fan.  So we tried the 16 possibilities on the remote.  No power.  So we took down the entire fan and again to find the dip switches on the remote.  No transmitter!  It seems we bought the fan without the remote transmitter included.  And of course, there is no power button on the fan itself, only the remote.  So we called Home Depot.  They said we could come in to see if the transmitter was left in the back. 

Home Depot Trip #3.  We went to Home Depot and of course, there was no remote transmitter.  We asked if we should bring it back or if there was something else we could try.  They gave us a universal remote control with a transmitter to hook into the fan.  We were excited and went back home.

When we tried to put the universal transmitter in fan near the ceiling, it was too big to fit. So we knew this fan was not going to work. Before we took it back, John wanted me to look for another fan to buy that would use the universal remote transmitter we got. So off to Home Dept I went (Trip #4).

I found the same brand fan as the universal transmitter and decided to buy it.  I went home to take down the fan we had bought and take it back.  Home Depot Trip #5.  I got my full refund for the first fan and then went home to help John install the new one.

When we first hooked it up, the universal transmitter wouldn't fit in the top of the fan.  Caleb was most upset, but we were glad this one had a pull chain and the ability to still turn it on and off.  We got it almost completely installed when we realized the last piece to attach the light fixture didn't fit.  Then we realized we had switched the top cup and bottom cup of the fan.  Caleb was excited!!  So we took the whole thing down AGAIN, switched the parts, and now install the universal transmitter.  Once we went through all the installation, we were able to turn it on and off with both the pull chain and the remote.  SUCCESS!!  Only after 4 Home Depot trips, 4 complete installations, 2 fans, 2 remote, 2 light bulbs, 2 purchases, and 1 return later!