I'm converting part of an unfinished space to make a darkroom. I'm installing a bathroom ventilation fan over the sink but there is no convenient place to install a switch for the fan. I purchased a pull-chain switch and would like to install this in the ceiling next to the fan, as a pull-chain dangling above the sink would be a far more convenient way to turn the fan on and off. I'm just not sure if this will be safe electrically. Are there any issues I need to consider?
Electrical – rewire ventilation fan to use pull chain instead of wall switch
electricalexhaust-fanswitchwiring
Related Solutions
If you accidentally broke the tab between the black (common) screws on the swtich, simply use two short pigtails off the supply line like this...
If you have two separate cables (one to the fan, and one to the light), then you'd wire it up like this...
And again if you've clipped the tab between the terminals, it will look like this...
Here is what the original circuit would have looked like with 3 wire cable...
And here is what the original circuit would have looked like with two separate cables...
Don't forget, since it's a bathroom the receptacle has to be protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI).
This one is simple -- you have the "line" and "load" terminals on the fan controller swapped, assuming the wire that is going to both the fan and the light switches is the line going in. The red screw (i.e. the screw on the same side as the silver neutral screw) is the load terminal, while there is a brass(?) screw on the opposite side of the device that is the line terminal -- they are also marked RD/WH/BK on the back of the device. Turn the circuit off at the breaker, and swap the two terminals -- you will need to swap the pigtail from the other switch over to the BK/brass screw on the device as well.
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Best Answer
The switch must be in a listed and labeled enclosure, or the switch itself must have a built-in enclosure. The switch should also be rated for the voltage, and current, to which it will be subjected.
You'll also want to make sure the switch is attached in such a way, that normal use will not rip it from the enclosure. Pull chains can be subjected to a lot of abuse.