So the title is "How to Install a Harbor Breeze Ceiling Fan in an Older Home On a Single Switch 2 Wire No Ground" and you literally skip showing how or what you did with the ground wire.....
There is no ground wire in the house so you do not need to do anything with the ground wire as there is nothing to connect to unless your local area requires it. Normally the ground wire from the fan would be connected to the junction box and the bare copper ground house wire would also be connected to the junction box.
@@WelcometotheFamily1 What about attaching a fan to one of those metal ceiling braces? Is that safe in this situation, or a big no-no? Someone mentioned in a review for the product that since it's metal, it needs to be grounded, and I'm trying to figure out if it's safe enough to do so anyway. Could I replace the metal box with a plastic box, if the brace rod allows for it?
@@madelync7753 You want the strength of the metal box to keep the fan from moving. The neutral white wire and the ground wire are attached to the same bar in your main breaker and only separated in subpanels and when installing generators. The neutral is basically the same as the grounding wire. I do not use plastic boxes for a fan because they are not as strong and could potentially lead to more movement and rubbing on the wires which could lead to a short circuit situation in the future. Plastic can burn and metal does not which can help to enclose an arc but could lead to a shock, but only if the wires are missing their coating and the exposed bare wires are touching or very close to the housing which should trip a breaker.
@@WelcometotheFamily1 Thank You for the information and video! I almost have it installed and my mothers ceiling fan also has only a black and white wire in her metal outlet box. I did have a question though, would I just put a electrical wire connector screw on the ground from her ceiling fan and just put it up with the rest of the wires? Thank You in Advance!
Yes, even if you attach the ground to the junction box it is not actually grounded when only the white and black wires are present. Most areas would like the circuit / switch to be marked non grounded as there is some risk of shock which is one reason why houses started using bare copper grounding wires (third wire) as they increase safety.
Also the neutral white wire and the ground wire are attached to the same bar in your main breaker and only separated in subpanels and when installing generators the neutral is basically the same as the grounding wire.
@@WelcometotheFamily1 Thanks for making the video. I have a bare metal wire running through my junction box but it doesn't have an "end" where I could attach it to the green grounding wire. Is there some way I should be attaching the green wire to the exposed wire or should I just not connect it to anything? (And that won't present any fire hazards?)
So even though the box is not grounded back to the panel, it is ok just to to attach the ground wire from the fan to the electrical box? I have an old house built in the 70's and I discovered today that there are only two wires, and the box is not grounded at all when I tested it with my multimeter.
It is safer with a grounding wire, but many homes in the 1970s did not have a grounding wire and have been fine the majority of the time. The ground wire and the neutral wire most likely go back to the same buss bar in the main panel and are generally only separated on secondary panels. The ground wire in the event of the wire coating becoming damaged from most likely rubbing against metal if not secured would allow for redundancy to avoid a shock or spark if the neutral wire becomes damaged. I like to use the old wire to fish though a wire with a ground in most cases.
So if there happened to be a fault in the fan wiring, and no ground, the unit becomes live. The live unit potentially arcs between the moving parts, starts a fire in your insulation or god forbid shocks someone?! If there is a ground wire in the appliance, ground the damn appliance!
This was most helpful, to me. Thank you for making this video.
this will be very helpful im putting my fan up this week end. .great video
Good luck!
How does the wiring go at the light switch?..... that's what I'm having trouble with. Only two wires from wall. Very old house. Thx!
I have this fan it's great 👍 👌
So the title is "How to Install a Harbor Breeze Ceiling Fan in an Older Home On a Single Switch 2 Wire No Ground" and you literally skip showing how or what you did with the ground wire.....
There is no ground wire in the house so you do not need to do anything with the ground wire as there is nothing to connect to unless your local area requires it. Normally the ground wire from the fan would be connected to the junction box and the bare copper ground house wire would also be connected to the junction box.
@@WelcometotheFamily1 What about attaching a fan to one of those metal ceiling braces? Is that safe in this situation, or a big no-no? Someone mentioned in a review for the product that since it's metal, it needs to be grounded, and I'm trying to figure out if it's safe enough to do so anyway. Could I replace the metal box with a plastic box, if the brace rod allows for it?
@@madelync7753 You want the strength of the metal box to keep the fan from moving. The neutral white wire and the ground wire are attached to the same bar in your main breaker and only separated in subpanels and when installing generators. The neutral is basically the same as the grounding wire. I do not use plastic boxes for a fan because they are not as strong and could potentially lead to more movement and rubbing on the wires which could lead to a short circuit situation in the future. Plastic can burn and metal does not which can help to enclose an arc but could lead to a shock, but only if the wires are missing their coating and the exposed bare wires are touching or very close to the housing which should trip a breaker.
@@WelcometotheFamily1 Thank you!
@@WelcometotheFamily1 Thank You for the information and video! I almost have it installed and my mothers ceiling fan also has only a black and white wire in her metal outlet box. I did have a question though, would I just put a electrical wire connector screw on the ground from her ceiling fan and just put it up with the rest of the wires? Thank You in Advance!
So the ground is not connected to anything? I have this same wiring in my house.
Yes, even if you attach the ground to the junction box it is not actually grounded when only the white and black wires are present. Most areas would like the circuit / switch to be marked non grounded as there is some risk of shock which is one reason why houses started using bare copper grounding wires (third wire) as they increase safety.
Also the neutral white wire and the ground wire are attached to the same bar in your main breaker and only separated in subpanels and when installing generators the neutral is basically the same as the grounding wire.
@@WelcometotheFamily1 Thanks for making the video. I have a bare metal wire running through my junction box but it doesn't have an "end" where I could attach it to the green grounding wire. Is there some way I should be attaching the green wire to the exposed wire or should I just not connect it to anything? (And that won't present any fire hazards?)
So even though the box is not grounded back to the panel, it is ok just to to attach the ground wire from the fan to the electrical box? I have an old house built in the 70's and I discovered today that there are only two wires, and the box is not grounded at all when I tested it with my multimeter.
It is safer with a grounding wire, but many homes in the 1970s did not have a grounding wire and have been fine the majority of the time. The ground wire and the neutral wire most likely go back to the same buss bar in the main panel and are generally only separated on secondary panels. The ground wire in the event of the wire coating becoming damaged from most likely rubbing against metal if not secured would allow for redundancy to avoid a shock or spark if the neutral wire becomes damaged. I like to use the old wire to fish though a wire with a ground in most cases.
Is harbor breeze
So if there happened to be a fault in the fan wiring, and no ground, the unit becomes live. The live unit potentially arcs between the moving parts, starts a fire in your insulation or god forbid shocks someone?!
If there is a ground wire in the appliance, ground the damn appliance!