I have a 20 something year old ceiling fan and....?

Question

the lightbulbs all burned out. However, when we tried to take them out they got stuck and would break. How do I remove them without getting electricuted? Or should we just get a new fan all together? (Which Im all for).

Answer 1

With the power off, use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the shell from the socket. I doubt the potato will work if the bulb is stuck as tight as it must be to break the bulb.  You might also look at replacing the light holders, rather than the whole fan. The fan/lights  come as two assemblies.  Also after the lamp bases are removed, inspect the fixture for damage. Sometimes the lamp holders will corrode and cause the lamps to get stuck.  Replacing the whole fixture is an option but it is an all day project to get the blades balanced and all of the rest done correctly.

Answer 2

this happens to me with a new ceiling fan also. unscrew as carefully as possible (light switch off of course), if base remains and u can remove most of glass, use a potato to kind of wedge into base of bulb and then unscrew bulb base from light fixture. u can cut the potato to kind of fit into bulb base, but should be a little bigger to wedge into it. make sense? hope this helps.  the potato won't conduct electricity.

Answer 3

Turn the fan switch and light switch off then cut a potato in half and use it to twist out the metal part of the light bulb. Of you could use a pair of pliers to grab the metal part and slowly twist out.