There are a lot of different Hampton Bay Model AC 552 units with completely different configurations. Ours is a four light unit. The unit stopped working after about 20 years of use (not bad!). So, we needed to take it down.First: Make sure all power is off to the unit/room.
Removing the glass light fixtures was easy. Just press in two metal fingers that hold each of them in place.
Removing the light fixture was also easy with three phillips screws to be removed and the plastic electrical assembly wire unit unhooked (via a push in tab).
Then the blades were taken down by turning each blade to a cut out section of the metal plate below them (held on with a nut that cannot be easily removed and is not supposed to be removed) and taking out the two phillips screws that hold each of the five fan blades in place.
That left the main unit with no clear way to get it down. The screws at the very top were hidden. You access them by turning the unit counter-clockwise. This may be hard to do if the unit has been in place for a long time. We took a butter knife and ran it around the top of the unit between the unit and the ceiling, and that loosened it enough to turn it the inch or so to reveal the screws.
Remove the screws and lower the unit to allow taking off the plastic caps and unhooking the wires. Again: Make sure all power is off to the unit/room and even then treat the wires as though they were live by only touching the wire casing.
The only tricky part is revealing the hidden screws at the top of the unit (which is why I am posting this). My brother knew about them. We were at a standstill in removing it without his help.
4 comments:
You got some great life out of that thing! I've always wanted to install one, but the vaulted ceilings here don't make that very do-able.
Good instructions (though kind of pansy-ish; I knew an electrician years ago who checked for power by touching the wires: BZZT! "Yup, that's got power!").
Your vaulted ceilings have saved you from the bit of hair pulling our three units have caused us from time to time. But, yes, we have gotten good use out of them.
Some people are more skittish than others. I prefer my electricity controlled and at a distance.
Not to mention an unexpected shock could make you lose your balance on the ladder while holding the unit--which wouldn't be fun. Heh.
The only thing I really know about electricity is that it's faster than I am, and it doesn't care who you are.
Max, I'm a little slow right now because we have my cousin visiting from Nevada.
Yes, electricity is plenty fast. I wonder if some people like your electrician have a high tolerance for electricity and can do that kind of thing with much less effect than the average person would feel. Like some people have a much higher tolerance for certain kinds of pain.
Post a Comment