Description
Cherie Lee interior design specialists for period and listed houses chose the Zephyr in 1.8m walnut blades with a 3m drop rod for their stunning offices in Alswick Hall, Herts (ceiling height is 6m).
Extra Long Ceiling Fan Drop Rod – Sizing Guide
Drop rods are often called extension down rods or pipes. They are important as they bring the ceiling fan down to the correct height for optimum performance and also to look good. The correct and most efficient operation which is about 8ft/2.5m height above floor level, any lower and you risk the safety of tall occupants. The length of the drop rod will be determined by the ceiling type, it’s height and the drop of the fan. If your ceiling is above 8ft then the use the sizing guide below to see what length of drop rod is needed.
NB: If your ceiling is lower than 8ft/2.5m then you should use a flush mounted ceiling fan instead of the short drop rod that usually accompanies most ceiling fans. If your ceiling is above 2.8m/9.2 ft then the length of drop rod that needs to be added will be whatever is needed to keep the fan at a 2.8m/9.2 ft height. A ceiling fan will still work even if it is higher than this but will loose some of its effectiveness which increases as the height increases so you end up with less cooling.
Zephyr Standard Drop Rod and Smaller Sizes
The Zephyr fans come with a short 8″/20cm drop rod included as standard. This can be cut down to a min of 12cm if needed for low ceilings. We do supply standard size drop rods of 60cm and 100cm that are suitable for most needs and available from here. If you need larger drop rods then read on….
Will My Ceiling Fan Wobble With Such a Long Drop Rod?
Contemporary office foyer with 5m drop rod on a MrKen ceiling fan.
No – absolutely not, and if they are then it is a sign of bad installation or maitenance. It is advisable to use a solid cross-member for very tall ceilings, pitched rooves or alcoves since very long drop rods will resonate a little bit just like a guitar string. If a cross-member is not possible or sometimes for aesthetic reasons then longer drop rods can be used as the resonance in negligible and the motor itself will not wobble provided the blades are balanced correctly.
The picture is of a 5m drop rod on a MrKen ceiling fan. Watch the video of a 3m drop rod that we had custom made that I tested in my garden using a tree that was moving a bit in the wind, notice how the motor itself is not wobbling. If the fan blades and motor are properly balanced using the balancing kit then there should be no wobble even with a very long 72″/183cm drop rod – it is not uncommon to see wobbling fans even with short drop rods!
Fans placed near the top of a high ceiling or where no drop rods have been used – as seems to be the case in many large retail outlets and airports – are achieving nothing and are a pointless waste of money.
Zephyr Extra-Long Drop-Rod Details
We have designed our own custom 2m and 3m drop rods made in a local UK top-quality fabricator. The painted finishes are powder coated/oven baked to give an extra-hard finish. Custom colours are spray painted on top of the powder coat with synthetic paint. The 2m ones are a single rod that can be shipped within the UK.
The 3m ones are available as 2 versions: 
- Drop rod coupler/connectorCoupler kit for easy shipping – This kit consists of 3 x 1m drop rods, 2 x custom Zephyr couplers in black, white, brushed nickel or brushed bronze along with the special receiver and wiring loom. Installation details. They can also be extended if you need even longer drop rods up to 5m – please contact the office for advice.
- One full length 3m drop rod with kit – For black and brushed nickel (stainless steel) with no connectors and is a single continuous rod for those concerned about looking perfect. Due to it’s size there are no couriers available and so it is available for collection only from our office in RG10 or warehouse in Swindon. It can be fit fully into a Rav4 with the rear seat down or a smaller car with a small portion sticking out of the front window.
Drop rod coupler/connector assembled
Other details:
- Lengths – 200cm or 300cm. They can be cut down if needed.
- Diameters – Large diameter (26mm) for regular and Propeller Zephyr and small diameter (21mm) for the LED version
- Single rod version finshes – Powder coated matt or textured matt black (200cm or 300cm), matt white (200cm) in a powder.
- Coupler rod version finishes – Matt black, matt white, brushed chrome, brushed brass in both LED and non-LED sizes
- Brushed chrome finish – These are made from stainless steel and won’t ever rust, even in a damp location
- Extension wiring looms – 4 or 6 wire loom, included. This has snap connectors on the large size but the LED small version needs to be soldered due to the small size of the tube connectors will not fit.
- Special Receiver – The 3m ones need a special receiver in place of the regular one shipped with the fan in order to work properly – these are included.
- Country of origin – Rods made in the UK, wiring and receiver from Taiwan.
- Shipping – 2m are free shipping.
Other sizes – The drop rods can be easily cut down by the installer if required. Simply drill a new hole for the cotter pin to go into (centre-punch it first to make it easy to drill with a 3.5mm pilot hole first and then the rquired hole diameter is 6.5mm).
Drop Rod Wiring Looms – Installation Note
The wiring loom comprises of 4 wires that run down to the motor via a cable that sits inside of the drop rod. These carry live, neutral, earth and a control signal. Wherever possible we use the quick-snap connectors to make the connections to the motor and receiver as simple and quick as possible. For the LED version there are two additional wires for the light – live and neutral. Also the rod is a smaller diameter approx. 21mm compared to the 27mm diameter of the non-led and thus not able to accommodate the connector at the bottom so the 5 wires need to be soldered first to their respective matches on the motor during assembly and before hanging the motor from the ceiling mounting bracket.
NB: – Due to the high handling and shipping costs these large sizes are only available as a special orders. This means that they cannot be returned unless delivered damaged so please double-check you need them before ordering.
