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Securing Lanai Fan in Anticipation of a Hurricane
We’re new to Florida/The Villages & have a pool area including a covered lanai. The section above the pool is screened & the adjacent seating area is covered by a solid roof. All sides surrounding the lanai & pool are enclosed by screens.
Our concern is with the 4 large ceiling fans hanging in the roofed area of the lanai. From the roof to the blades, there is a 4 ft "stem." Even light winds cause the blades to turn. We’re concerned about possible damage during hurricane-force winds. The previous homeowner mentioned that she would tie a rope to each fan and anchor it to a bucket sitting on the ground below the fan, filled with rocks to limit movement. The fan manufacturer didn’t have recommendations. Our own online research led to two suggestions: 1. Removing the fan blades before each storm 2. Tying the blades together Neither option seems ideal. If anyone has ideas on how to safely stabilize large hanging fans during strong winds, we’d truly appreciate your insight. 🙏🏼 |
We don’t do anything with ours. I’ll have to see if we have the 4” extender but I’m pretty sure we do. Been through four or five hurricanes with no problems.
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You have a four foot stem? Mine might be four inches, certainly not four feet.
I like the bucket idea. A large five gallon bucket filled with water will weigh 40 lbs. Easy to fill right in place with a hose and depending on your lanai, easy to empty by just tipping it over. |
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Our house, 2013 vintage has 2 ceiling fans (no stem) flush mounted in the screened lanai, and we have been through several hurricanes with no damage to the fans.
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My fan blades had not been cleaned in awhile, so I took them off when Milton hit last year. Cleaned them before I put them back on. So if you look at it that way, that's a way to make the best of things.
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I have a white ceiling fan in a pergola and have been using a bungy cord on the blades attached to the rafters .
From what I been reading here, I just might do nothing from now on. |
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I know this will elicit numerous angry responses, but a "hurricane" in The Villages is rarely anything remotely resembling a proper hurricane along the Atlantic or Gulf coasts.
Hurricanes gain energy from the heat of the ocean which, as you may have noticed, is not that close to us here. Thus their energy is quickly dissipated when passing over land. At the slightest hint of a wind above 20mph this forum is filled with posts asking when to evacuate and how many extra toilet rolls they should be buying up (to add to those bought the three previous times, and still stacked up in the garage). Be prepared, but don't over-react. |
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Thank you for your response!
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Thank you for your reply.
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1) Our ceiling fan has a three-foot stem because the roof over it is sloped so don't worry about the folks on here saying you must be mistaken. We've weathered three or four storms since we've been here and the fan has been just fine. It is under a roof surrounded on three sides with the fourth side open to the bird cage with no damage. Do what feels safe for you. 2) I joined the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and in the training, when people asked where we would relocate to in a hurricane, the instructor said, "This is where people relocate TO in a hurricane." Yep, we had friends from St. Pete stay with us a week last year when Milton hit there.
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Never had a problem with the ceiling fans and we don't do anything to them, HOWEVER, the screen door can be trashed because the wind will rattle it until it slams open, bending the closer mechanism and potentially breaking the door. We ended up using a zip or wire to secure the handle/latch to the strike plate.
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Ceilings fans are only for people's comfort, moving air. In other words, turn off ceiling fans when no one is in the room to save energy. Agree or not? |
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Milton created 80+mph winds in Parts of TV. Not only 11-13” of rain. Giant Live Oaks were felled on roads, common areas, and some homes.
While Milton was definitively less damage than coastal, but still hundreds of thousands of damage to homes, roofs, cars. Fans didn’t seem to be in the mix of damaging claims. |
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One other thing about a fan in a wind.....the harder the wind blows, the faster the blades spin. So it actually is designed to easily move in a breeze to protect it's blades. I have had fans on a front porch for 30 years on the coast. Never worried about the blades because of the spin. If it was kept from spinning, then you have a blocking of the wind and the fan blades and motor would become a projectile. BTW, I grew up on a farm with a very tall windmill. Prairie winds were extremely strong. You never tie down the blades or vane to avoid the tower destroying itself.
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